rank - Alumni News

Transcription

rank - Alumni News

Williams
PEOPLE
April 2012
getting
together
REPRESENTI NG
TH E
As I wind down four years of Society of
Alumni leadership—two as vice president and
then as president—I thought I would try to
answer a question many alums have asked
me: What exactly is it that you do?
In some ways, the position is symbolic,
with inspiring duties such as welcoming each
graduating class in to the Society of Alumni at
Commencement and presiding over the annual
meeting of the society at Reunion Weekend. I
also attend trustee meetings as a non-voting
member and can affirm that the board is
deeply attuned to Williams’ governance and to
the thoughts of alumni. And because alumni
leadership is represented on presidential
search committees, I was honored to represent
you on the team that brought us President
Adam Falk.
Since Williams enjoys one of the most loyal
and engaged alumni groups in the world, I
also preside over the three meetings each year
of the society’s executive committee, which
works with the alumni relations office to
connect alumni with each other and our alma
mater. The executive committee works with
regional associations, class officers, affinity
groups, reunion volunteers and other alumni
seeking to engage with the society as a whole.
In recent years, the executive committee has taken a special interest in students.
Williams is now home to an increasingly
diverse group of undergraduates, not all
of whom may be prepared for the college
experience. While Williams has a fantastic
support system in place, we believe that
alumni—many of whom may have been in
similar situations—can help ensure that every
student can take advantage of all our college
community offers. From career mentoring to
offering a sympathetic ear, I have found that
alumni across the world are eager to help.
That so many of you voiced concern and
support after the campus racial incident last
November clearly demonstrates how important students are to you. My friend, Alumni
A LU M N I
BO DY
Relations Director Brooks Foehl ’88, describes
at the end of this issue some of the actions
taken by President Falk. I would also direct
you to an event planned well before this
awful crime took place: Now in its fourth
year, Claiming Williams Day is the result of
a student-driven movement to challenge the
campus community to face difficult questions
of inequality. Please take a moment to look
over the wide range of events that took place
on Feb. 2 at claiming.williams.edu. Fellow
alumni who have done so have expressed
great pride in this initiative.
I’m glad to end this overview of my last
four years with this story about current
students. They are an amazingly diverse and
thoughtful group of young men and women,
and I am proud to have witnessed first-hand
the dedication that President Falk, the faculty,
staff and of course alumni have shown in
shaping these future leaders.
Christopher F. Giglio ‘89
President, Society of Alumni
Brooks L. Foehl ’88, Director of Alumni Relations,
shares an update on campus events here
On the Cover
José Pacas ’08 and Martha
Rogers ’07 celebrate their
May 29 wedding in Minneapolis
with a host of Ephs.
CONTENT S
4 Class Notes
Click on text and photos to jump
to the corresponding page
109
1932 • ‘36 • ‘37 • ‘38 • ‘39
1940 • ‘41 • ‘42 • ‘43 • ‘44 • ‘45 • ‘46 • ‘47 • ‘48 • ‘49
1950 • ‘51 • ‘52 • ‘53 • ‘54 • ‘55 • ‘56 • ‘57 • ‘58 • ‘59
1960 • ‘61 • ‘62 • ‘63 • ‘64 • ‘65 • ‘66 • ‘67 • ‘68 • ‘69
1970 • ‘71 • ‘72 • ‘73 • ‘74 • ‘75 • ‘76 • ‘77 • ‘78 • ‘79
1980 • ‘81 • ‘82 • ‘83 • ‘84 • ‘85 • ‘86 • ‘87 • ‘88 • ‘89
1990 • ‘91 • ‘92 • ‘93 • ‘94 • ‘95 • ‘96 • ‘97 • ‘98 • ‘99
2000 • ‘01 • ‘02 • ‘03 • ‘04 • ‘05 • ‘06 • ‘07 • ‘08 • ‘09
2010 • ‘11
114
Wedding
Album
121 Births &
Adoptions
118
Williams
123 Obituaries
PEOPLE
April 2012
Editors
Jennifer E. Grow
Amy T. Lovett
Student Assistant
Rose D. Courteau ’14
Design & Production
David Edge
Editorial Offices
P.O. Box 676
Williamstown, MA 01267-0676
tel: 413.597.4278
fax: 413.597.4158
e-mail: alumni.review@williams.edu
http://alumni.williams.edu/alumnireview
Address Changes/Updates
Bio Records
75 Park St.
tel: 413.597.4399
fax: 413.597.4178
e-mail: alumni.office@williams.edu
http://alumni.williams.edu
www.facebook.com/williamscollege
twitter.com/williamscollege
47
Williams magazine
(USPS No. 684-580) is published in
August, September, December, January,
March, April and June and distributed
free of charge by Williams College for the
Society of Alumni. Opinions expressed
in this publication may not necessarily
reflect those of Williams College or of the
Society of Alumni.
Periodical postage paid at
Williamstown, MA 01267 and
additional mailing offices.
Postmaster:
Send address changes to
Bio Records
75 Park St.
Volume 106 Number 6
CL ASS
NOTES
1932
We learned just before Williams
People went to press that John
English passed away on March 6
in Yarmouth Port, Mass. He was
the last living member of the class
and the oldest known Williams
alumnus. John was secretary of
the Williams College Society of
Alumni and director of alumni
relations from 1960-75. Upon his
retirement he took on the role of
class secretary, serving for more
than 36 years and receiving the
Thurston Bowl (1982), among
his many Williams awards. A
detailed obituary will appear in
the next issue.
1936
Richard U. Sherman
Friendship Village Dublin
6000 Riverside Drive, Apt. A109
Dublin, OH 43017
1936secretary@williams.edu
Charles Cleaver sends news
that he is still driving and playing some golf and that Patty is
doing well despite some joint
problems.
From Maud Robertson comes
the sad news that Thorndike
Williams passed away Nov. 3.
Marilyn and Alex Carroll are
well. They celebrated the arrival
of his grandson, Williams Class
of 2011, as a teacher at “their”
charter school.
Gene Smith writes she has
moved into a retirement home
in St. Louis, near her daughter.
She continues to enjoy traveling,
playing bridge and following
the pursuits of her grandchildren. Holly Silverthorne sends
greetings to everyone; she
continues to show the spirit of
out great class.
Doris and John Alstrom report
the winter in Wilmington
has been mild thus far. They
planned to “bail out,” however,
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
In January William W. Steel ’37 received a certificate of appreciation for
20 years as a volunteer tutor at Mount Greylock Regional High School in
Willliamstown, where he had been a teacher at Pine Cobble School. He and
his wife Miriam live in Sweetwood retirement community in Williamstown.
1937
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Please submit notes to
Williams People, P.O. Box 676,
Williamstown, MA 01267 or
alumni.review@williams.edu.
1938
George McKay
2833 Wind Pump Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
1939
Roger Moore
39 Boland Road
Sharon, CT 06069
Bruce Burnham celebrated his
95th birthday at the Red Lion
Inn in Stockbridge, Mass. He is
in relatively good health, cooking, housekeeping and building
a grandfather clock on his own,
but “living on the edge” as he
guesses most ’39ers do.
Harry Gottlieb sends wishes to
all classmates for a happy and
healthy 2012.
4 | Williams People | April 2012
in March, for a house they
rented in Hollywood, Fla.,
which is near family.
Karl Mertz sends news they
have had the most wonderful
fall, with 47 days of sunshine.
He is very pleased to see Forbes
Magazine put Williams first
on the liberal arts college list,
ahead of Princeton.
Welcome to all you ‘ninetyfivers.’ ’39 will not mind.
1940
Please submit notes to
Williams People, P.O. Box 676,
Williamstown, MA 01267 or
1941
Wayne Wilkins
240 South St.
Williamstown, MA 01267
Pete Parish
6350 Sheffield Drive
Hickory Corners, MI 49060
Submitted by Wayne Wilkins:
Pete Parish was in town to
attend the Winter Study course
that son Will ’75 was teaching,
“Environmental Education,
What, How and Why.” We
were delighted to have Pete and
Barbara stay with us. Pete has
been nominated for the Michigan
Aviation Hall of Fame. I’d be
happy to share with you the
actual nomination statement.
Here is an edited version:
Preston S. Parish, military pilot
and aviation executive, was
born in Chicago. He was a U.S.
Marine Corps machine gun
company officer during the South
Pacific campaigns including
Guadalcanal and Peleliu, He was
awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
Parish was accepted into Naval
Flight Training and awarded
Naval Aviator wings in 1984. He
was vice chairman of the Upjohn
Co. Board and helped establish
the Upjohn Aviation Department
and select its first aircraft. In
1972 he became a principal
owner of KalAero, and in 1977
he co-founded the Kalamazoo
Aviation History Museum, now
the Air Zoo. He is authorized by
the FAA to fly all types of highperformance piston aircraft and
has 9,500 hours of pilot time.
He has served as president of
Warbirds of America, trustee of
EAA Foundation, and treasurer
and chairman of the National
Business Aircraft Association.
His election should be a shoein. The only other news is taken
from a story on the Williams
website written by Dick Quinn,
the director of sports information. Pete Parish has done the
editing. News of ’41 must be
hard to come by when I have to
write about myself! Here it is, in
the third person as written.
“On Fri., Dec. 16, two Eph
football and baseball players
met and talked about their third
common bond—the Boston
Bruins. Meeting for the first
time were current standout wide
receiver Darren Hartwell ’13 and
Dr. Wayne Wilkins, who had seen
Hartwell perform for the Ephs
and is a dedicated Eph football
fan and member of the Williams
Sideline QB Club. The Bruins
connection comes from Wilkins’
past association with the NHL
team as their team doctor from
1969 until 1984. Hartwell
covered the Bruins in January
as part of the ESPNBoston staff
for a Winter Study independent
study project. Hartwell decided
in the fall that it might be fun
to broaden his sports writing
résumé under the auspices of Joe
McDonald of ESPN. Wilkins
went on from Harvard Medical
School to the Massachusetts
n 1 9 3 2 –4 2
General Hospital, joining the
Bruins as team doctor just when
Bobby Orr brought the Stanley
Cup back to Boston in 1970.
There Wilk got to see and know
one of the all-time greats in the
NHL. ‘There are two things I
remember about Bobby Orr
that stood out,’ Wilk offered.
‘One, he was unbelievable as
a player. He could shoot, pass,
rag the puck and defend with
anyone.’ His ability to rush the
puck remains the best of all time.
‘Two, he was a fantastic person,
a great humanitarian.’ Wilk
recalled a call in his early days
with the Bruins from a doctor at
the Boston Children’s Hospital
wondering if Wilk could get Orr
to visit a 12-year-old who had
had a leg amputated because
of a bone sarcoma, thus ending
his hockey career. Wilk replied
that he would ask Orr. He
agreed with one condition—no
publicity. ‘I told Bobby I had one
condition, too; that I go with
him.’ In three hours at the ward
Orr visited with every young
patient, boy and girl, athlete and
non-athlete, and all of the kids
responded very positively to the
Orr visit. One of the veteran
nurses commented to Wilk: ‘I’ve
only seen this kind of reception
once before—when Ted Williams
came to visit.’ Orr was only 21!
When Orr scored the overtime
goal to win the cup, Wilk was
on the bench; son Wayne ’79 was
sitting in his seat with Suki. It
was his 13th birthday.
“Wilk had enjoyed Hartwell’s
breakout game as a sophomore
against Trinity when he caught
consecutive 80-yard touchdown
passes right in front of Wilk.
‘It was amazing to see him run
right by the defenders.’ He has
had great respect for the wide
receiver wearing number 1.
Wilk told Darren to say hello
to Don DelNegro, the Bruins
head trainer and former director
of sports medicine at Williams:
‘He’s my last connection to the
Bruins.’ Wilk loved Darren’s final
comment to Quinn: ‘I hope I’m
as active and energetic as he is
at 92.’”
SENDNEWS!
Y
our class secretary is
waiting to hear from you!
Send news to your secretary at
the address at the top of your
class notes column.
1942
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Thurston Holt
4902 Willowood Way
Norman, OK 73026
“She is a woman, therefore
may be wooed. She is a woman,
therefore may be won.”
—William Shakespeare, from
his play Titus Andronicus. This
was a favorite passage in a discussion I had with Ben Schneider
Jr., who had taught English
at St. Lawrence University.
He believes Hamlet is partly
autobiographical.
Was Hamlet strong? Ben
thinks only near the end when he
returned to England with a “now
I must act” determination.
Did such luminaries as the Earl
of Oxford, Ben Jonson or Francis
Bacon really write the plays and
sonnets rather the rustic bard
of Stratford-Upon-Avon? Ben
declared, “Shakespeare really
wrote them—and I can prove it!”
Ben is living at Goddard
House, a retirement community
in Brookline, Mass. “My wife
Kaye died, my right knee is bone
on bone, but this is a fine place
to live, and the food is good,” he
reported.
Phil Hammerslaugh Jr. and I
went back to our freshman days.
Soon after the Class of 1942
arrived on campus, the college
had a meeting for all freshmen.
President James Phinney Baxter,
Class of 1914, greeted us.
Later, the dean, Hafdan
Gregerson, was introduced. He
said, “Williams has a bunch of
rules and regulations, but you
don’t even have to know what
they are if you bear in mind just
one thing: Be a gentleman.” He
left after having spoken for only
about a minute.
I told Phil how much that
impressed me and how valuable
it has been through the years.
We didn’t all follow it that fall.
During a Halloween celebration,
one of us got the fire hose of a
hydrant going. When the dean
arrived at the freshman quad to
see what was going on, the guy
with the hose aimed it at him
and soaked him.
Phil recalled the fall hurricane,
a hurricane that didn’t have a
name except “The Hurricane of
1938.” It knocked out the bridge
over the Greenfield River from
Williamstown to North Adams,
so Fred Tompkins swam across it.
Phil went back to his boyhood.
When he and Bruce Sundlun went
to a camp one summer, they
became co-winners of the Best
Camper award. Phil kept the trophy for six months, then handed
it off to Bruce for six months.
Later, Phil emailed me, “David
Brooks of The New York Times
once ran a column about some
people who stay in one job
all their lives, and others who
change almost every seven
years like the itch. I’m one of
the latter.” Is he ever! I’ll cover
highlights of his whirligig career
in the next issue.
When I called Olivia Woodin,
widow of Raye, she told me, “I’m
holding my own.” She’s living
in Burlington, N.C., at Asheville
House, a retirement community,
and writing a weekly column,
“Ripples from the Pond,” for
their newspaper, The Village
Voice. Among her subjects are
profiles of new residents and
the grand outdoors, including a
great blue heron that fishes in the
pond, which has a fountain in
the middle, and sunsets that turn
the pond golden.
Raye’s father, also Raye Woodin,
was Williams 1898, then came
our Raye, then Olivia and Raye’s
daughter Eliza Lovell ’72. Who’s
next?
F. Thomas Ward said to me,
“The presence of Dottie and
Fred Rudolph in Williamstown is
wonderful. Taking in women is
the greatest thing Williams ever
did.”
I told Tom I share his enthusiasm for coeducation. Quite
soon after Deerfield Academy,
where I was class of ’37, finally
went co-ed, I was thrilled to see
the cover picture of Deerfield
alumni magazine: a smiling
young woman baseball catcher,
crouched behind home plate,
mitt out, ready for the next
batter.
Tom and his wife Cornelia
live in Sedona, Ariz., and keep in
shape hiking at Flagstaff.
Joan Larned, an honoree, has
an apartment in NYC and a farm
in Kent, Conn. “I’m selling blueberries and giving away apples,”
she says.
I told her an old story about
Jack Larned that I didn’t think
she’d heard. He lived close by
when we were growing up.
When he was about 7 years old,
at our house one day my father
asked him what he wanted to be
when he grew up. “A bishop,”
he answered. “I hear there’s good
money in it.” (His father was a
bishop.)
April 2012 | Williams People | 5
CL ASS
NOTES
Mary Boyd Carreau Timberlake,
widow of Shelby “Shell,” who
has taught watercolor painting
and been active in a theater club
and the philharmonic, is thrilled
to have a great-granddaughter. I
told her I particularly appreciated her having said at a
Williams reunion, “Thursty, you
look so rested,” because I’d had
bags under my eyes since I was a
teenager. Still do. I quoted band
leader Duke Ellington referring
to his as “valises of accumulated
virtue.” Mary has a milestone
coming up this year, to be
revealed in the August issue.
Art Richmond is living at Ginger
Cove, a retirement community
of about 300, five miles from
the Naval Academy “yard” at
Annapolis, Md.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Walking
without a cane.”
I said, “There’s a splendid
song called ‘Without a Song.’
“Without a song the day will
never end.” “Maybe you can
compose a song called ‘Without
a Cane.’”
His creativity was instant.
“Without a cane! Can feel no
pain.”
Art recalled that at Williams
football star Herb Holden gave
him help and encouragement,
but after he broke his jaw
making a tackle, he decided he
was too diminutive to continue
football, so he switched to running. He said, “Even though I
was only the sixth runner on our
cross country team, we won the
Little Three meet at Amherst a
month before Pearl Harbor.”
While in the Army during the
war, he was engaged in transfering Japanese prisoners from New
Guinea to an Australian POW
camp, and in Sydney he met
Australian Eugenia Philomene
“Phil” Hobbins.
At the end of the war he
had the good fortune to be in
the Philippines, so he went to
Australia and married Phil at
Brisbane in October 1945. After
raising three children with Phil
and a career in teaching, Art
joined Phil playing golf on visits
to New Zealand and Australia.
Being evenly matched added
to their enjoyment. “About all
we saw in New Zealand were
golf courses,” Art related. “We
played there 44 times and a few
times in Australia. We did see the
beautiful city of Christchurch,
N.Z. It was such a tragedy when
an earthquake destroyed it in
March 2011.” He ended with,
“I frequently correspond with
Dottie and Fred Rudolph.”
Phil died in 2008. Now all
three children live within an
hour’s drive of Art.
The polar bear met the
purple cow on Oct. 15 when my
grand-niece Lindsay Steinmetz,
Bowdoin ’03, married Matt
Haldeman ’02 at the Wilson
Memorial Chapel, Ocean Point,
Maine, in a service officiated by
the Rev. Rick Spalding, chaplain
of Williams. Lindsay’s grandfather was Rymund P. Wurlitzer ’44.
At our 55th reunion Wiliams
honoree Mary Raynsford (her
husband Jim having died) presented each of us with an elegant
engraved letter opener made by
Oneida, the famed metalsmith.
It was inches from me on my
desk when I called John Tuttle,
who had been publisher of the
Oneida Dispatch, a small daily
paper. Unfortunately Mary is no
longer with us. Jim had worked
for Oneida (Indian name). John
told me of the demise of Oneida.
I lamented the demise of another
famed company, Steuben Glass,
a U.S. maker of handcrafted
crystal for more than a century.
When we talked about John
and Charlie’s son John Jr. having moved to Paris, married a
French woman and become a
translator of books and letters, I
recalled how at a United Nations
day at the University of MaineOrono, when several of us were
counseling a student gathering
on possible international careers,
I suggested translator. Bruce
Stedman, a former assistant
U.N. secretary-general, agreed
it would be a fine career, then
added, “To be a really successful
translator you have to be able to
dream in a foreign language.”
John had a short foreign career.
As Bruce Sundlun described it in
the August ’08 Williams People,
during WWII, “He graduated
from college, then tried to enter
the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps,
Army and Air Force but was
rejected by all those services
because of bad eyesight. In frustration he then went to England
and enlisted in the British Army
as an infantryman. He saw
combat service in Italy and in
the fighting the British infantry
did up the boot of Italy after the
invasion of Anzio, which was
tough, and there were many
casualties. But John escaped
without injuries.” John and
Charlie have been married 64
years and are happily living in
North Palm Beach, Fla.
In Memoriam: A tourist in
Maine approached a man sitting
on his front porch.
“I’m trying to get to the
Widgery Jordans.’ Do you know
them?” he asked.
“Ayah, I do. They got a big
house. Well, you drive straight
on out to the third crossroads.
Come to think of it, you take the
fourth crossroads. Go left theyah.
Jordans’ is the fourth house
on the right. No, it’s the third
house.”
“You seem a little confused.”
“But I aren’t lost.”
On another occasion a tourist
asked a Maine native how to get
to Calais.
“Theyah’s lotsah roads out
theyah that’s crisscrossin’. You
can’t get theyah from heeah.”
These were two of the
downeast stories, with which
the late John Daly would regale
a wide audience, including
Williams reunioners. Where did
he pick up the knack? From a
friend in Maine who was an
expert on telling stories in dialect.
Do you remember any of them?
If so, send them to me, and I’ll
include them in these notes.
Here are a few details in addition to the write-up in December.
Jack was a star football player,
served in the Navy on an aircraft
carrier, was the head linesman
at the Sugar Bowl, the ArmyNavy game and the HarvardYale game, and was Northeast
regional manager for Kelvenator
Corp., a manufacturer of
electoral appliances. Jack was
a widely known football and
hockey official. Among his many
honors, the annual Jack Daly golf
tournament at the Sandy Burr
Golf Club in Wayland, Mass.
Sarah Brower, wife of Bruce—
no obit available.
Helene Hirson and her husband
Miles, who died in 1987, had a
daughter and two sons. Helene
lived most of her life in Rye,
N.Y., where she was a member
of the Apawamis Club for almost
40 years. From her obit: “She
attended Marymount College
in Tarrytown, N.Y. She was
employed as a showroom model
by Hattie Carnegie Co. in NYC.
Mrs. Hirson was a vibrant and
fun-loving woman who loved
to travel and play tennis and
bridge. Her enthusiastic spirit will
be missed.” Surely she enjoyed
the picture on p. 156 in our
50th reunion book of Miles and
Hank Kaldenbaugh clowning in
jodhpurs.
Margaret “Maggie” McCann,
wife of Ted—no obit available.
Carol McGill loved living in
Darien, Conn., 56 years. During
some of her last outings, she
n 1 9 4 2 –4 3
husband died, she married Roy
Ott, who predeceased her. Her
son Benjamin Rhodes lives in
Grosse Point, Mich., and her
daughter Susan Brown lives in
Williamstown.
Coming to our 70th reunion:
Mary Anderson, Leslie Beran,
John Gibson, Phil Hammerslaugh
Jr., Liz Hannock, Thurston Holt,
Janet MacDonald, Dottie and
Fred Rudolph and Bill Sammons.
Maybe: Byron Benton, Mary
Bartlett Reynolds and Felix Smith.
Here’s hoping the maybes
convert to yeses and we add even
more. Watch for a 1941 Buick
convertible joining the ’42 section
of the Alumni Parade.
Bill Brewer ’43 welcomed daughter Anita Brewer-Siljeholm ’75 for a visit
at his Galesville, Md., home in February.
would exclaim, “What a beautiful town this is!” She married
Don during WWII, when he was
a Navy officer. Don was decorated for his bravery as a PT boat
commanding officer in the South
Pacific. Carol had a patriotic
role during the war as a Red
Cross volunteer. According to her
obit: “She also worked for the
Office of Civil Defense in close
proximity to Eleanor Roosevelt,
whom she greatly admired.” As
an only child Carol’s dream was
to have a large family. It turned
out to be four children, and “she
adopted a few stray children over
the years.”
Don and Carol had two Eph
sons: Sandy ’73 and William ’83.
Among her extensive community activities Carol was
“especially fond of STAR, the
Society to Advance the Retarded,
where she devoted countless
hours to advance care for the
handicapped.”
Barbara Aldene Morse was born
in Cambridge, Mass. In 1948
she married Robert E. Morse, and
they had five children. A member
of the Daughters of the American
Revolution, “Morse served as
director of volunteers at the
Redlands Community Hospital,
volunteering 4,000 hours when
‘Pink Ladies’ were in existence.
Morse is described by her family
and friends as having great vision
and artistic talent.” She was passionate in her support of the arts
and local artists.
Joanne Morse, a daughter,
whose great-grandfather invented
the Morse Code, emailed Liz
Hannock, “Mother loved that she
was kept informed and included
as an honorary member of the
Williams Class of 1942 after my
father, Robert E. Morse, passed
away in 2007. I would be happy
to carry on the connection with
Williams in honor of my parents
and my grandfather (Class of
1909) if that’s appropriate.”
It certainly is. Thanks for your
enthusiasm.
Barbara and Robert were married 59 years.
Lenore Ott, who reached
the age of 97, graduated from
the University of Denver and
received a master’s degree in education. Then she taught kindergarten in Denver public schools
for 30 years. From her obit:
“She was an enthusiastic and
expert mountaineer and skier.
Together with her husband Allen
W. Greene she climbed all 54 of
1943
Fred Nathan
180 East End Ave., Apt. 22G
New York, NY 10128
Malcolm MacGruer, our energetic president and substitute
class secretary for the last three
issues, contributed a great first
two paragraphs for this issue of
class notes: “My notes are mixed
with happiness and sadness at
this juncture. Happiness because
Fred Nathan has resumed the
duties of class secretary. McGurk
is delighted that he has picked up
his quill again. Sadness because
we have all lost a dear friend
and leader in December, Doc
Phillips. He ran almost everything while at Williams: head of
Gargoyle and of Phi Beta Kappa,
editor of the Record, JA, honor
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
A Columbian mammoth skull, unearthed by Brainerd “Nip” Mears
Jr. ’43 in 1961, has been on tour since 2009, with a stop at the Field
Museum in Chicago, where it was cleaned and repaired. The fossil, also
nicknamed “Nip,” will be on display at museums around the country
until March 2014 before heading back to the University of Wyoming’s
Geological Museum. Mears was a professor of geology at University of
Wyoming and found the skull near Rawlins in Carbon County, Wyo.
Colorado’s depth peaks. She and
Allen also climbed extensively
out of state: Mount Rainier and
Mount Baker in Washington and
the Grand Teton and Gannet
Peak in Wyoming, volcanoes in
Mexico and peaks in Peru.”
Of course this Daughter of the
American Revolution belonged
to the Colorado Mountain
Club. She supported Goodwill
Industries, the Colorado
Symphony and the Lamont
School of Music. After her first
system, Chapel Committee, Tyng
Scholar, assoc. editor of Purple
Cow, Class Day Committee
and a number of lesser jobs.
And following graduation he
distinguished himself as an outstanding lawyer, ’43 class agent,
VP and loyal reunioner. His
prize-winning needlework (see
Westminster Abbey and King
George’s Chapel at Windsor), his
bridge playing and his counsel
and guidance are only a few of
the characteristics for which we
CL ASS
NOTES
will all remember and miss Doc.
We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Marty.”
McGurk also reported that
the construction of his weekly
crossword puzzle keeps his
“brain hard at work, active
and stimulated.” He invites any
interested classmate who is a
puzzle aficionado and an email
receiver to inquire about the
possibility of getting on his list
by emailing semper.eph@att.net.
Finally, McGurk performs yet
another duty: The Alumni Fund
report shows there are 44 class
members on the solicitation list
(down from 248 in September
1939), and as of this writing 50
percent had contributed, many of
them in memory of Doc. By the
time these notes are published
we’re hoping for a donation level
of 80 percent.
Al James, Doc’s good friend
and fellow Deke and a co-leading
light of our class, wrote: “1943
has lost one of its most illustrious
members in the passing of our
friend and leader Doc Phillips. He
came to Williams with a good
mind and left it with powerful intellect, social graces and
a sense of community. Indeed,
in my view Williams shaped
Doc as much as any one influence. Little wonder then that
he graduated owning the most
prestigious prize the college
can confer on a member of the
graduating class. Phinney Baxter,
Class of 1914, co-opted Fred
Nathan, Dave Brown and me to
serve as a board to select the
winner. In a matter of minutes
we unanimously picked Doc.
In him the college had one of
its most devoted alumni. We
may, as Macaulay wrote, have
‘bitter tears to shed,’ but they are
not so bitter when we can give
thanks for a life of the richness
of Doc’s.”
Al has sent off his latest Henry
James oeuvre to the University
of Virginia Press. Al is one of the
longest-term and most prolific
“literary lions” in our class,
which has an extraordinary
number of lions.
Our treasurer, Walter Stults,
commented on the magnificent
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
job that Doc did as our class
agent and as a leader for almost
70 years of our class’s activities.
Jean and Walter are dividing
their time between Chapel Hill,
N.C., and Georgetown, Maine,
except for one or two trips a
year, mostly cruises “as befits our
years.” Last year they took a trip
up the Amazon, and by the time
this issue is printed, they will
have taken one up the coast of
South America.
Len Eaton, another literary lion,
recalls Doc as a “lively contributor to the memorable senior
seminars in American history
and literature” (as does your
secretary).
Joan and Bill Wilson’s move to
California “caused a big shakeup” in Bill’s life. He is glad that
they have retained their contact
with the East through their camp
at Old Forge, N.Y., where they
“will spend a good part of next
summer.”
Ivy and Nip Wilson report from
Fort Myers, Fla., that their own
news was scarce until he found
Sallie Soule (Gardner’s widow)
being interviewed on a local TV
station about her collection of
approximately 140 international
Santa Claus objects. “I may be
the only one here who calls her
‘Senator’ in recognition of her
service for Vermont.” Nip also
reports that he seems to have
battled his thyroid cancer to a
draw and plans to outlive it and
regain his normal speaking voice.
Ken Moore, who is bedridden,
was reading a book that Doc
sent him when he managed to
lose it (in his bed) before he
could finish it. “C’est la vie,”
writes Ken.
Brainerd “Nip” Mears Jr.’s wife
Anne reports that Nip supervised
the disinterment of a fossil mammoth skull in Rawlins, Wyo.,
in 1961. It has been nicknamed
“Nip” and is on tour across the
country, including Chicago and
New York. On its return, “Nip”
(named after Mears, not Wilson)
will be ensconced in a place of
honor at the newly renovated
University of Wyoming Museum.
Brainerd’s “last hurrah” was to
rescue this part of the museum
from being “axed for budgetary reasons.” He is now at the
Laramie Care Nursing Home,
P.O. Box 447, Laramie, Wyo.
82073.
Nick Fellner writes:
“Recognizing that 90 has come
and gone, we’ve put our house
on the market and have moved
to Edgehill” (122 Palmers Hill
Road, Stamford, Conn. 06902).
He quickly found two other
alums there. He is relieved that
his doctor has restricted him
from driving “for only one
week.”
Martha Tolles recalls a story
that her late husband Roy (a
founding partner of the law firm
that has represented Berkshire
Hathaway forever) told about
an event where Doc and Marty
were playing bridge with Marty’s
parents. Reaching under the table
to pat Marty’s knee, he patted
the wrong one. Doc handled his
mother-in-law’s surprised reaction with his characteristic calm
diplomacy. Martha is happy that
she is still writing stories for The
Los Angeles Times, the last one
for the children’s page about the
Civil War.
Renee Hills, whose husband
Don passed away last Aug. 4,
writes, “Don talked about his
days at Williams College often. I
think it was the happiest time in
his life before he was drafted into
the Army.” Renee still belongs
to the Williams Club, although
“It’s not the way it was on 39th
Street—but then what is?”
Also a nice note from Phyllis
Blair, Tom’s widow, mourning Doc’s death. And a nice
note (and a check to Williams
College) from Mary Stine, John’s
widow. Mary is also a sister
of Len Schlosser ’44 and has a
nephew and a grandson who
attended Williams. She writes,
“It is a privilege to keep up with
what’s going on at Williams”
through the Alumni Review and
Williams People.
As we have been previously
advised, all Williams deaths are
now recorded toward the end of
these publications and will not be
mentioned in this column unless
we have special information or
class comments.
Your secretary attended a preview at the Century Association
on Jan. 10 of Crazy Horse,
the latest of 39 documentaries
by Fred Wiseman ’51 (Yale
Law ’54) and had an interesting talk with Fred afterwards.
Wiseman is arguably the greatest
and certainly the most prolific
documentary film producer. One
of his earliest and best known
films, Titicut Follies (1967), so
vividly described a Dickensian
insane asylum in Massachusetts
that a wave of reform followed
its release. Crazy Horse deals
with a Parisian nightclub that
is the leading presenter of nude
ballets. This film opened the following week (at “art theaters,”
not your local movie house) and
n 1 9 4 3 –4 4
is reviewed on the front page of
the theater section of the Jan. 18
New York Times. See this film,
if you can find it. Your secretary
did—with a receptive audience
of about 100 distinguished men
and women, average age over
60. During the question-andanswer period afterwards, Fred
described his techniques, which
include taking (in this case) 150
hours of film and then spending
approximately a year cutting
and editing it. He does not start
or end with a point of view but
tries to give a clear, fair, apolitical, carefully-organized and
entertaining report, including
the geographical and historical
background. He succeeded.
Fran and I expect to be in
Williamstown with son Fred Jr.
’83 and his family on commencement weekend in June. We hope
to see Helen and Ralph Renzi
and any ’43ers who let me know
where I can find them.
1944
Hudson Mead
8 Stratford Place
Grosse Pointe, MI 48230
Trusting most everybody had
a good Christmas holiday. I
never say “vacation” anymore
because there is hardly a working
stiff among us, unless you count
Uncle Miltie, who is always
busy—from meeting the famous
(Ken Burns) to taking over from
our late and dear class agent Jim
Lester. If there is anybody who
will have done a good job it is
Milt Prigoff. It is in the nature of
the beast.
I had a reasonable response
from my last-minute plea. Percy
Nelson sent his annual family
photo. The changes in appearance appear mainly in the
young—keep up the appearances, Percy.
Those of you who were lucky
enough to get Mary and Hank
Flint’s Xmas card enjoyed
the view of The Hopper on
the northern flank of Mount
Greylock. He says, “We are
fortunate to be living in such a
serenely beautiful part of this
tormented world.” Ahlsay!
Helen Corroon wrote in early
November that Bob’s and her
daughter (Class of ’84) ran the
Paris to Versailles marathon,
did very well and plans to run
the NYC one in November. I’ve
got one of those, Helen, my
daughter-in-law Diana, whose
daughter’s graduation from
eighth grade this coming June (it
is quite a ceremony at her school
in Denver) caused her to scrap
her plans to fly to Sweden to run
in a 20-miler. Ah, youth!
I quote Shep Poor’s note in full:
“I cannot believe that anything
that happened to me recently
is of the slightest interest to
anyone else. This includes having
a pacemaker installed, which
should keep me going until I join
you 90-year-olds next August.”
So nice to see you young folks
coming along.
Another chap who alludes to
his health is Ross Macdonald. (It
is better.) Still busy, taking time
off from his scientific studies for
the publishing of three papers to
get into genealogy of one of his
relatives. Ross should be pretty
good at this when you consider
he has eight grandchildren who
have graduated from college and
who are now in graduate school
at Yale, Miami and Chicago as
well as the law school of U.C. at
Boulder, Colo., and another at
Georgetown and still another at
Bucknell. The prize, though, is
Worth ’11, who is planning to be
a professional golfer. How about
that!
The Whit (Bob, that is) was
spending some time in Florida
as well as St. Simon’s Island in
Georgia before retiring back
to the hills of Franconia, N.H.
Speaking of New Hampshire, I
see where there has been quite a
political stir in them thar’ hills—
just finished before these notes
were written. That photo of Mitt
Romney and his family of 15 on
the front page of The New York
Times evoked a memory of meeting Romney himself with all of
his siblings at his father’s house
when he was about 15. I was
deeply involved in father George
Romney’s campaign for governor
back in 1962.
That “dabbing” came naturally, as my own father, Harry
H. Mead, was no dabber but
was engrossed in politics on
the way up the ladder of the
practice of law. With him it was
a case of always a bridegroom
and never a bride; he ran all of
the campaigns for public office
of his friend from law school,
the late Justice Frank Murphy,
but when he tried it himself in
1933 and ran for mayor he did
not make it. Murphy’s record
caught President Roosevelt’s eye:
Recorder’s Court and mayor of
the City of Detroit and finally
governor of Michigan—the
first successful and the second not. Lucky for Frank
Murphy. Roosevelt appointed
him attorney general. Murphy
immediately decided to go after
the gutter politicians who ran the
big cities on it its merits, let us
say, in addition to his inordinate
ambition—forgetting that it
was the gutter politicians who
produced the Democratic votes.
He was relieved of his crusade,
not like Joan of Arc, but by being
appointed to the Supreme Court
of the U.S. Actually, to Murphy
that was almost worse that the
fate Joan suffered: Murphy was
disappointed because as far back
as the University of Michigan
law school he had let it be
known that he, Frank Murphy,
was going to be the first Catholic
president of the U.S. Well, you
can’t win ’em all. My source
for “the rest of my story” on
Murphy is, needless to say, my
father. James McGregor Burns ’39,
take note! A bit of history not in
the books—or is it?
Jack Talbot slid into the 90s via
a family birthday party Sept. 4
(So did mine, Jack, same day in
Denver—I called it my “anticipatory” birthday party with a
candle wish to make the real
thing: Dec. 16.) I was honored
then by a limerick composed
and delivered by a good friend,
Jack Renick, at Prismatic Club:
“Getting old can be kind of
cruddy/but not when you are
going like Huddy/He is not a bit
fragile/He’s smart and he’s agile/
And we’re glad to call him our
buddy.” Thanks, Jack.
Bob Luttrell observed his
90th birthday on Nov. 22 and
retired from the practice of
psychiatry on Dec. 31. To spare
Roberta from having to cook
Thanksgiving dinner he took the
whole family to the Dominican
Republic for a week. There were
27 in the party, all of which
evokes a line from Tom Lehrer:
“Doing well while doing good.”
Tom Buffinton has a problem
not likely to be encountered by
his classmates: He lives someplace where the deer, if not the
antelope, play, and that means,
“Look out for Lyme disease!”
Tom did—he took a pill and had
a severe reaction. He survived
and recalls how he started out
with his dear wife 63 years ago
with no money, a job that paid
next to nothing but the hope that
things would work out—they
did! He and Sally carry on!
A word from another of our
ladies: Ruth Buck, who turns out
to be another world traveler:
Istanbul. Her daughter Cathy
accompanied her mother—something she has been doing since
CL ASS
NOTES
she was born, the first baby born
to a member of the Class of ’44.
Right on!
Herb Bell keeps in touch
with family at Chapel Hill and
Charleston and avers, “I still
drive some, but my vision is not
great.” That comment evokes
Milton’s sonnet on his blindness—remember? “—that one
talent which is death to hide, lost
from me useless—.”
Marty Oberrender favored
me with an Xmas card with
a photo of their cute (Sorry!
That’s the only word for it!)
retirement house in addition
to their unfairly (to the rest of
us) handsome grandchildren.
A granddaughter Eliza Noyes
was accepted to Williams. How
to go!
John Royal has died, a resident
of Haskins, N.Y.
Milt Prigoff’s email, a la Paul
Revere, is signed “Special
Agent,” so I shall be careful to
use the correct appellation. He
laments the decline and fall of
the U.S. and alludes particularly
to Detroit, which is outside the
“close”: Grosse Point. Yes—but
Milt. Chrysler, which has a
plant a few miles down the main
drag into town from us, has
just announced plans to make
another line of cars at that plant
(Jefferson-North), which means a
lot filled with 1,000 cars at a time
(a beautiful sight) awaiting transshipment, all of which means
more jobs and steady work. The
auto show is in progress as I
write, and it holds great promise
for the industry this year. Never
mind that our previous mayor’s
prison term is about up—brace
yourself—and the owner of the
international bridge to Canada
is in jail for contempt of court.
Yes, the Ambassador Bridge here
in Detroit is not an international
bridge. It is privately owned.
That, too, is the subject of great
controversy and swirls around
whether to build a second bridge,
and, if so, its ownership. Stay
tuned.
1945
Frederick Wardwell
P.O. Box 118
Searsmont, ME 04973
The October minireunion
produced a very pleasant time for
the six classmates and three wives
who attended. Presentations by
recipients of our class fellowship
program were greatly varied and
intellectually very interesting.
Nine students described their
several weeks in foreign countries
studying everything from the rise
and fall of squash in Pakistan to
Palestinian graffiti, memories of
WWII in Japan, domestic abuse
in Egypt, discrimination of Afro
descendants in Central America
and more. Yanie Fecu ’10, this
year’s Florence Chandler Fellow,
spoke of her year’s study of the
power and purpose of choral
music, and it was remarkably
interesting. This all took place
Friday afternoon and was followed by a dinner out at a new
place, name now forgotten, but it
was very social and good in every
way including the mathematical
issues in determining who was
to pay for what and how much,
since the bill, not small, was
oversimplified and designed for
debate.
Saturday a.m. was taken up
by a fine lecture put on by the
college on how our converging
interests in South America are
affecting our foreign relations
and the p.m. by a football
game against Tufts in which
Williams barely prevailed. Fred
Scarborough and wife Gay had
the whole group for cocktails
and dinner after the game, with
a class meeting, the telling of
stories and reminiscences of some
good and some sad times—all
in front of a lovely fire in the
fireplace. In attendance for most
of all this were Gil Lefferts, Mary
and Stu Coan, Ed Bloch, Dave
Goodheart, Dick Morrill, Gay and
Fred Scarborough and Ann and
Fred Wardwell.
Ed Bloch, wife and daughter
had just returned from China
in time for our mini after a
remarkable two weeks there.
His trip was more or less to pay
penance for having his Marines
shoot up a Chinese village while
simultaneously cooperating with
but disarming Japanese troops,
all immediately after the Japanese
surrender. Apparently his guys
didn’t shoot straight, for he was
given a hero’s welcome, asked
to speak at two universities and
several clubs and was overfed at
several dinners. After some 66
years of feeling guilt, he was on
top of the world.
Stu Coan is delighted to report
that the dizziness that led to a
fall was not a stroke but was
simple vertigo, and that he has
now improved enough to put the
cane aside.
Annette, daughter of June
Bremer, widow of Bill, wrote that
her mother plays bridge twice a
week, takes classes in politics and
film and lives at 5 Wood Lane in
Locust Valley, N.H. Annette and
husband visit weekly and find
their stories of Cambodia very
interesting to June.
Bud Edwards apparently never
slows down. He reports playing
tennis twice a week, swimming
in the Bowdoin college pool three
times a week and, given reasonable weather, using his motor
and sail boats. He and Sue have
kids all over, and they all seem
just fine.
Harold Gilboard says life is great
in Laguna, Calif., and that he is
not getting back to New England
very often. One supposes he likes
to get a tan.
Sad last-minute news that Gil
Lefferts’ wife C.C. died in early
January. She was a great addition
to the group, and I think the class
will sorely miss her enthusiasm
and cheer at Williams events.
Strother Marshall excused his
difficult handwriting as being a
function of a stroke, but he is
living alone, albeit with help. He
thinks California is the place to
be and loves the weather most of
the time.
Mary Elizabeth McClellan,
widow of Bruce, wrote just before
Christmas that her mother-in-law
advised that every Christmas is
different and that you have to
decide what not to do. She has
many kids and grandkids, really
too many to enumerate here, but
they are writing books, teaching,
camping and doing about everything you can think of. Mary Liz
and Bruce went to Lawrenceville
in 1950, he as headmaster, and
now she has been voted an
honorary member of the Class of
1960 there, so she can attend a
new 60th.
Pete McNerney reported from
Lincoln, Mass., that Newt and
the Tea Party drove him to distraction, but the book The Great
Disruption by Paul Gilding is a
must-read for your children and
grandchildren and that it ends
on a somewhat optimistic note
and a very important message.
He has a self-published book
just coming off the press, based
on his years of journal keeping, and he claims that those
who have looked at it are very
complimentary. His daughter
Caroline ’85 helped with some of
the grunt work.
Art Nims and Nancy have quit
DC and moved to the retirement community of Fox Hill
in Westwood, Mass., and he
says he loves being fully retired.
Daughter Lucy and family live
nearby in Needham.
n 1 9 4 4 –4 6
Parker Smith died in October
after several tries at overcoming
his bladder cancer.
Bill Snyder is adjusting to losing
his wife Challis after 63 years but
will stay in Vero Beach, Fla., for
the winter, though Bronxville,
N.Y., is still headquarters. He
finds it hard to think that Pearl
Harbor was 70 years ago, but
maybe that is why he is beginning
to prefer nine holes to 18. He is
contemplating a retirement community but keeps putting it off.
Arthur Stevenson says he
and Margaret are plugging
along at Rivermead, a wonderful retirement community in
Peterborough, N.H., but he finds
his eternal optimism hard to
maintain when the thought of
our government’s performance
comes up. He is very concerned
about the federal deficit but less
so about holding his own in the
local duplicate bridge club.
Don Potter in Clinton, N.Y.,
had finished many years’ work
putting together the 150 years
of his family’s history and is
now hooked on sesquicentennial
celebrations. He is writing the
history of St. James Church in
Clinton, covering the years 18622012, and says it is far from
mundane.
Tim Tyler’s wife Nancy died
last June, but he claims to be
surviving nicely in Denver with
the help of his family nearby. As
of January he felt the snow in the
mountains was building up nicely
and hoped to be skiing soon.
Ann Traylor, Dave Traylor’s
widow, fell and broke her neck
almost two years ago and in
the process killed the nerves in
her left ear, thus impeding her
balance control. The upshot was
that she sold her beautiful condo
and now has an apartment in a
dandy retirement home in Essex,
Conn., and feels that this is the
way to go. She didn’t miss many
reunions and regretted missing
our last two minis.
Barclay Trippe passed away last
June, according to wife Nancy,
after a nasty bout with cancer.
Nancy is still living in their old
house in Easton, Md., with
daughter Nancy next-door and
three other daughters away at
school. She and Barc had 60
good years together.
Nat Wilmot says he is not listed
as a serial killer and that he and
his third wife, Dorathea, have
been married for over 30 years.
He retired 21 years ago as a VP
of Textron Corp., and collectively
he and Dorathea had five kids
and 11 grandchildren. He didn’t
say whether they were all in
Niskayuna, N.Y., or not, but if
so the town must be larger and
better.
Katy Winant, widow of Jake,
has published a book since Jake
died, titled One Washcloth, One
Towel, hoping it may help others
to adjust to the loss of a spouse.
It can be accessed on www.northshire.com/printdemand. Type in
“One Washcloth.” Katy is still
living pleasantly in Williamstown
but says attending class reunions
is hard.
We have sustained more losses
than listed above, namely: Don
Brumbaugh, Don Davies and Dave
Nash. Their obituaries are in the
last section of this edition of
Williams People.
three places. They were able to
repair his back surgically, but
apparently he lost his ability to
swallow. He was in hospice care
for a couple of weeks, but that
did not please him very much,
and his passing away was really
a mercy. George hooked up with
the space program, as did Jack
Townsend, who passed away just
two weeks before George. Their
obituaries appear in the back of
this issue of Williams People.
Shelly spoke to Mase (Stan)
Babson, who sounded well.
He still lives in his house but
expected to move soon. He
wanted to go to Harbor Island
in January “to get warm.” Shelly
writes that he had lunch with
Wally Thompson, who still has
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education selected
Daniel H. Case ’46 to receive the 2012 Seymour Preston Award for his
exceptional leadership as a trustee of the Punahou School in Hawaii
from 1970 to 2000. Case, who is of counsel to the law firm Case,
Lombardi & Pettit, played a leadership role in four of the school’s
campaigns and as trustee emeritus belongs to the planning committee
for Punahou’s 175th anniversary.
And so as to not end on the
note of obituaries, I will note that
Ann and I (Fred Wardwell) have
just spent a hectic Christmas visiting with kids in Wellesley, Mass.,
and Mont Vernon, N.H. So far
this winter I have not needed to
test the new snow blower, and I
hope tomorrow to join friends
ice boating nearby. Ann will be
happy to not join me but will
instead hunker down with the
large pile of books we were given
for Christmas. Life is very good.
1946
Gates McG. Helms
5 Troon Court
Maplewood, NJ 07040
Dear fellow survivors of the
Great Class of 1946: The obituaries from Williams are coming
in to me at an increasing rate of
late, I’m sorry to report. The one
that will impact many the most
is that of George F. Pieper, whom
you will remember was the class
scribe for well in excess of 50
years. I have this to report thanks
to Bill Shellenberger, who is my
most reliable reporter on the
doings of classmates, especially
in the Delaware area. It seems
that George had a bad fall on
concrete that broke his back in
his own power wheelchair that
enables him to get out and about.
Wally has a coterie of widows
pursuing him. Tom Hyndman and
Shelly try to have lunch together
once a month, but Mary is not
well at all, and this has him quite
tied down. Shelly concluded his
Christmas card by saying he
will try to make it one way or
another to next fall’s reunion.
“I’m on a cane, and Barb pushes
me around in a wheelchair at
museums, etc. I still walk the dog
and go to exercise two to three
times/week.”
I have a letter from Larry Heely
in which he writes that he and
Susan have sold their house in
Greenwich, Conn., and moved to
New York full time because that
is where “everything important,
like our doctors and the liquor
store, are handy.” He writes
that Steve Rowan is mentoring a
bunch of American Indian tribes
in western Canada. Steve will
ever be remembered for having
ordered a cord of wood freshman year, which was delivered
on to the macadam drive in front
of his entry. Steve had had no
idea the huge amount of wood
that was in a cord. He went
on to drive ambulances for the
American Field Service during
WWII, because his poor eyesight
disqualified him from serving
CL ASS
NOTES
in the armed forces. Larry also
speculates on our 70th reunion,
which he figures “will probably
be our last big one.” He goes on
to hope that: “We can prevail
upon relatives, friends, anybody
we can think of, to drive us …
to do the work.” Bless his heart,
Larry also offers some advice
to those who are downsizing,
in moving from a house to an
apartment, for example. “The
worst things to get rid of after 45
years are not the big stuff, but
the knick knacks.”
I would like to call your attention to the mailing from Dick
Debevoise, our class president, in
which he outlines the plans for
our minireunion the weekend
of Sept. 28-29, 2012. You will
remember that Dick sent each
of us a letter in which he asks
that we respond with an indication of our intentions to attend
a minireunion. Dick was not
overwhelmed by the response but
figured it was enough to warrant
going ahead with the plans.
A few months ago, Alberta
and I were just leaving the dining
room in our continuing care
retirement community, having
finished our dinner, when for no
good reason I looked behind a
large stone pillar and spotted Art
Silverstein having dinner with
his wife Bobbie. Well, we pulled
up a couple more chairs and
had a wonderful, long visit. I got
the impression they would like
to move in here with us, if they
could sell their house on Long
Island. They have a granddaughter who graduated from Williams
this past June and a son-in-law
who is a trustee of the college.
It seems like only yesterday that
Art was worried that his son-inlaw Eric Cochran ’82 wouldn’t
make partner at Skadden Arps
Slate Meagher & Flom, which
of course he did. Their daughter
Stacy Silverstein Cochran ’81 was
in the business of making movies
and is still at it. Art had a couple
of adhesive plasters on his face
and allowed that he is keeping
his dermatologist from the poor
house single-handedly.
Just the day before the deadline
for submitting copy to Jen Grow,
I received a phone call from Toni
Brinton to let me know that Jerv
has been awarded an honorary
degree as a Doctor of Laws by
Bloomfield College that will be
conferred upon Toni at their next
commencement in May of 2012.
That is a very nice bit of news,
though it is too bad it couldn’t
have come during his lifetime.
I have a lot of information from
Selim Zilkha about his biomass
project and a new undertaking
called Zilkha Black Pellets. This
Black Pellet is a patented process
he and his son Michael have
bought that turns wood into pellets that weigh about half of what
untreated pellets would weigh,
are waterproof and will generate
a lot of heat when burned. These
are more economical to transport, because they weigh less than
wood. Cheaper to store, because
they are waterproof, etc., etc. A
plant in Alabama is under construction to make these pellets.
And so it is adieu for now.
Please, please bear in mind that
I desperately need to hear from
you in order to have something
to write about when Jen Grow
emails me with the new deadline
for these notes.
Your devoted class secretary,
Gates.
1947
REUNION JUNE 7–10
John C. Speaks III
33 Heathwood Road
Williamsville, NY 14221
1948
John A. Peterson Jr.
5811 Glencove Drive, Apt. 1005
Naples, FL 34108
Wink Halsted wrote me last fall
with a good thought. “While
cleaning out old stuff we occasionally come across Williamsrelated items from 60-plus years
ago that might be of interest
to the Williams library, and it
might be a good idea to remind
classmates to think of the Chapin
when they are clearing out their
attics & basements.”
I received a note from Cue
Kellogg: “I’m now the elder
statesman of the 18-piece band
I play in but hanging in there
enjoying every time we meet.
It’s a real thrill to play with such
talented young people.”
Re: my request in the August
2011 edition of the notes where
I asked for info on those in the
class who were related to three
or more generations of Ephs,
here are a couple more replies.
Etsy Foster writes: “Please note
an unforgivable omission from
my last email. There are two
more Foster family members to
include: brothers Charl and Reed,
both distinguished members of
’54. I’d be doing penance for
the rest of my life if the text
were not corrected!” And Harry
Dewey said: “In my family there
are five successive generations of
Williams trustees—nine generations’ connection through trustees
and graduates.”
Sadly, I report two deaths: Dr.
Robert L. Nelson, who died last
August; and Jim Heekin’s widow
Jane, who left us in November.
Their families have our deepest
sympathy.
Joel Carr asked me to mention our 65th reunion in 2013.
So Sandra and I have already
booked ourselves into the Maple
Terrace.
1949
Chuck Utley
1835 Van Buren Circle
Mountain View, CA 94040
Wally Barnes has the honor
of letting us know all about
last October’s minireunion in
Williamstown. “I can report that
the weekend was a great success,
thanks to the advance planning
by Emily and Charlie Jarrett and
superb implementation by our
embedded agent on the ground,
Dick Wells.
“In attendance were Lisa and
Ed Maynard, Donna and Herb
Cole, Sheila and Joe Dorsey, Tay
and John Thoman, Ann and Dick
Wells plus Mike Robbins and
Wally Barnes. The weather was
gray, overcast and on the chilly
side, but that didn’t matter.
Sharing the Taconic Golf Club
location for the Friday night
dinner with the Class of ’50 was
great, as we knew many of them
and it was quiet enough so we
could actually talk across the
table. Ann and Dick Wells sprang
for the drinks and wine, which
was a very generous “priming of
the pump” so to speak, and our
class table was having so much
fun that most of us didn’t even
notice that the Class of ’50 had
left until they were long gone.
Williams beat Tufts handily, and
most people enjoyed the two faculty speaking sessions. Only one
or two of our more conservative
classmates found them provoking as opposed to thoughtprovoking. The Saturday evening
dinner at Mezze Bistro was a
successful replay of last year
and again no one wanted to
leave. We started the evening
with a toast to President Charlie
Jarrett and his chief of staff,
n 1 9 4 6 –4 9
Emily. Fervent hopes were
expressed that they can be with
us in person next year.” Dick
Wells provided an addendum to
Wally’s report by writing from
Vero Beach, Fla., that the decision was made to schedule this
fall’s minireunion the weekend
of the Trinity game, Sept. 28-29.
“We will once again ‘reune’ with
1950 at the Taconic Golf Club
for a buffet dinner. The following
night, after celebrating our victory over Trinity, we shall dine
at Mezze Bistro again, which is
the former Le Jardin restaurant.
El Presidente Charlie Jarrett will
advise the class where housing has been arranged for the
weekend. I am still swinging the
golf clubs, a few more times than
previous years. Just received my
year-end handicap and noted that
I had played 118 rounds in 2011.
Get to play every week with Bob
Kingsbury ’58 both here in Vero
Beach and in Williamstown.
Vero Beach is sometimes referred
to as ‘Williamstown South.’
Chet Lasell ’58 runs the alumni
group of about 35 here, and
there are quite a few affairs
held with college speakers. The
Williams Reunion Jazz Band was
scheduled to play at the Indian
River Club in Vero Beach March
20, and the alums planned to
host the Williams golf team the
following week for rounds of
golf at three courses with lunch
to follow at the Bent Pines Golf
Club.” At that point, our golfcentric classmate signed off with
the admonition that he didn’t
want to spoil your humble correspondent with too much news
all at once.
Alec Clement notes, “Things
are in pretty good shape healthwise. Had wonderful time at the
Octet reunion in Williamstown—
audience was terrific, and mixing
with the younger crowd was a
treat. Video of the performance
is available. Made our annual
stop on the way home at the
Davenport Maple Farm on the
Mohawk Trail to pick up my gallon of maple syrup. In October
Jack Hornor ’51 provided a wonderful lieder recital at his new
digs at Brookhaven in Lexington,
Mass., and dividends were realized in seeing some additional
old friends there. Christmas
dinner was pleasant—both my
boys and the grandchildren
joined the festive board. My
daughter and my Episcopal priest
son-in-law were tied down in
Alexandria, Va., with his church
schedule, but we hope[d] to see
them early in 2012. Carolyn and
I wish all our Williams friends
the best for this new year.”
A short report from Dr. Joe
Takamine in LA strikes a positive
note, although he did close his
medical office last year after 52
years of practice: “I’m not retired
but enjoying life. Had an 87th
birthday Dec. 6. Am blessed with
good health and truly grateful
for every day. 2012 should be
an interesting year. Blessings to
everyone.”
Jim Geer: “I don’t know where
the years go. … It seems like just
yesterday in 1974 when we were
celebrating our 25th reunion at
Williams the same time that my
father Joseph White Geer ’14,
was celebrating his 60th. Now,
in 2012, it is almost three years
after we celebrated ’49’s 60th
reunion. Even though 63 years
and over 1,000 miles separate
us from Williams, it is still very
much a part of our life. Our
daughter Suzanne Delight Geer
’07 was home for Christmas with
us on Boca Grande in Florida.
The day after Christmas, the
daughter of Hank Estabrook, Liz
Hatfield, and her husband Bob
were nice enough to spend the
evening with us. Each Thursday
on Boca Grande I have lunch
with a group that includes Bill
Snare ’51 and Joe Albertson
’54. Lucy and Jim Stanton ’40
live right next to Our Lady of
Mercy Catholic Church on Boca,
which we attend, and we often
see Lee Comfort ’66 at church.
Dr. Thom Ervin ’68 is also an
island resident. The parents of
Stephen Christakos ’77 and John
Christakos ’87 live just across
the street from us, and their
grandson Jack Sessler ’07 was
in my daughter Suzanne’s class
at Williams. For a very small,
seven-mile-long island in Florida,
Williams College is very well
represented.”
In a separate update, Wally
Barnes sent along interesting
bio notes about a friend from
the Class of ’47 that probably
belongs in their Williams People
column. But it’s worth including here: “Barbara and I spent
a week over New Year’s at
Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass.,
exercising, eating less and sleeping more. Great way to get back
on the right track healthwise.
Missed seeing him this time, but
Bob Mills ’47 is a legend in his
own time here, where at 88 years
young he is the oldest (by far)
full-time outdoor guide. He leads
parties on snowshoe and cross
ski trips and hikes up Berkshire
trails including the challenging
Roaring Brook Trial up Mount
Greylock. I can personally testify
that the pace he sets is challenging, and often people 60 years
his junior lag behind. Following
25 years at General Electric,
he retired to become a ski
instructor at Butternut Basin in
Great Barrington, Mass., before
moving to Canyon Ranch. An
article about Bob in the Pittsfield
Berkshire Eagle a few years ago,
headlined ‘Leading an Ageless
Lifestyle,’ reads, ‘He enjoys his
Canyon Ranch job very much,
and the resort’s fully equipped
exercise room offers a vast array
of equipment he can use. Because
he gets considerable lower body
exercise on the job, hiking several
miles a day, Mills concentrates
on machines and free weights for
upper body workouts three times
a week.’ The article adds, ‘Mills
is often asked by clients about
his trim physical condition. He
says that keeping involved and
physically and mentally active
helps him stay healthy.’” Wally’s
closing comment: “He’s an inspiration and great role model to
geezers, teenagers and all those in
between.”
Giles Kelly writes that he
expects publication this April of
a coffee table-type book called
The Diplomatic Gardens of
Washington, which he and his
wife Ann Sevens created over
a three-year period for Schiffer
Books. The book features Ann’s
photographs. (Giles’ news nicely
coincides with publication of this
issue of Williams People, and is
being hyped solely at the discretion of your class secretary.)
That’s the good news. The bad
news is that Giles “jumped ship”
onto a dock last November and
messed up his ankle. Since then
he has been trying to get rid of
the limp that is spoiling his image
and canceling his tennis. He also
commented that during the last
Christmas season he was “pleasantly surprised at how fast his
five grandchildren have grown
into interesting adults.”
Ed Maynard adds, “It’s been a
busy year celebrating the bicentennial of the Massachusetts
General Hospital. I was given
a pin recognizing 55 years on
the staff and even had a video
interview. Truly a great place to
work for so long. And Harvard
hasn’t made me emeritus yet,
so I’m about to start another
semester of teaching. At 85, my
only complaint is being unable
to reach those drop shots on the
tennis court.”
CL ASS
NOTES
1950
Kevin F.X. Delany
3143 O St., NW
Washington, DC 20007
A highlight since we last
communicated was the now
traditional fall hijinks known as
the minireunion. It is an October
ritual where otherwise out-ofshape homebodies with a little
extra time and loose cash head
for the Berkshire hills to tramp
around campus and Weston Field
to root for the alma mater until
hoarse or frostbitten, whichever
comes first.
By all barometers, this year’s
fandango was a huge success.
Twenty-three stalwarts were
in attendance, including such
worthies as Chuck Alberti, Judy
and Bud Blakey, Sandy and Doug
Coleman, Larry Fitch, Mary and
Tom Hodgman, Morgan Murray,
Nancy and Bill Riegel, Claudia
and George Razook, Ellen and
Pete Thurber, Katie and Norm
Olson plus Edna Lomas, their
able (and very strong) health
aide, your scribe and of course
class president Stan Roller and
fair wife Mary. Also, but hardly
least, among those present were
Kitty Simpson and Eli Reynolds.
Their presence really added
much to our weekend, and we
hope more widows will join us in
the future if they are able to.
Among the features of our
weekend stay were several
faculty seminars: history professor Scott Wong spoke about
immigration and its discontents. The following day James
Mahon, professor of political
science, concentrated on how
the U.S. and Latin America are
becoming more like each other.
On Saturday morning we had
our usual class meeting over
breakfast at the Williams Inn.
Stan Roller led off with some
upbeat comments in his annual
State of the Class Address,
followed by brief remarks by
Peter Thurber re: class gifts, by
treasurer Tom Hodgman on class
finances (yes, we are solvent)
and Doug Coleman on admission
policies, particularly relating to
foreign students. The meeting
concluded in plenty of time to
head for Weston Field and the
Tufts football game. Fortunately,
the Reunion Jazz Band was on
hand to warm up the crowd
with some red hot Dixieland on
a nippy weather day. (The game
was a pretty easy romp for the
Ephmen.)
Wally Bortz ’51 and his wife Ruth Anne celebrate after the San Francisco
Marathon last July.
The minireunion participants
were treated to some fine dining
over the weekend, starting with
a Friday night dinner at the
Taconic Golf Club and Saturday
evening at the always popular
Mezze restaurant. There were a
brief few moments of excitement
at Mezze when one of the wives
in our party had some difficulty
digesting her steak dinner. Pete
Thurber, moving quickly, deftly
applied his Heimlich knowledge,
and peace returned to the dining room. Pete and Ellen may
find themselves to be popular
dinner guests, at least in the
near future. The evening and the
weekend were nicely capped off
by some late-night jazz at the
Faculty Club.
On the downside, Chapin
Breer Weed died in Flat Rock,
N.C., on Nov. 23. Chapin
served in both WWII and the
Korean conflicts. In WWII, he
was a decorated flight engineer/
gunner on B-17 aircraft. On
two occasions, Staff Sgt. Weed
saved crew and B-17 aircraft
by flying damaged planes back
to base after both pilot and
co-pilot were killed. Chapin
attended Rectory School and
Kent school before entering
Williams. He was a member
of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
A widower, he is survived by a
daughter, Patricia Ann Taylor
of Dallas, Texas, and a son,
Peter Capin Weed of Fletcher.
Our sympathies go to several
classmates on the painful loss of
a spouse. Gerda Lanes, wife of
our VP Fred Lanes of Newton
Center, Mass., died on Dec. 29
after a long bout with pancreatic
cancer. Fred and Gerda had been
married 58 years.
On Oct. 25 Karin Roach, wife
of Dan Roach, died quietly in
their Buffalo home. Dan and
Karin had been married 59
years. Survivors include their
children Molly ’78, Dan Jr. ’79,
Kate ’87 and Michael ’88.
1950 now numbers 204 strong.
1951
Gordon Clarke
183 Foreside Road
Falmouth, ME 04105
Some wise person once
observed: If one wants to learn
about a gentleman, get to know
his barber. That bit of wisdom
applies equally to class secretaries. I have my own problems
with my computer, Word, email,
URLs and the like. I am also
on the receiving end of our
classmates’ problems and get
rather cranky when I can’t help
out. Keep trying, guys; every day
we get better and better! Now, to
business.
Don Gregg forwarded a letter,
published by the Washington
Post on Sept. 28, 2011, in which
he expressed some of his views.
This is not the proper forum for
a political discussion, but the
title assigned by the Post is a fine
summary of Don’s views: “GOP
candidates are too small for
Reagan’s shoes.”
Dave Fischer writes from New
Haven that he is busy working
three days a week at a new and
rapidly growing Yale cancer
center. Along with his other
activities, he is writing a history
of the cancer program at the Yale
School of Medicine, with which
he has been associated for 49
n 1 9 5 0 –5 2
years. Always positive, he claims
the best of all worlds: a Williams
and Harvard education and a
Yale professorship.
Bill Paton and Renis are “enjoying pretty good health … playing
tennis and enjoying vigorously
biased political discussions” with
their Florida neighbors. Bill’s
comment about Destiny of the
Republic, a new book about the
last days of President Garfield,
has prompted me to order a
copy.
It took Tom Kent and me seven
pages of Internet gibberish to
sort out the mischief caused by a
typo on an email address. Suffice
it to say that the Kents are well.
Stan Hazen and Sheila live in
Charlottesville, Va., but they
didn’t spend much time at
home last year. Starting with
our 60th in Williamstown,
their itinerary included trips to
the Berkshire Choral Festival
with stops en route; a day trip
from Charlottesville to Poplar
Forest and Appomattox;
Seattle and environs using
accumulated airline miles for a
family visit; and, finally, back to
Boston on Amtrak for a family
Thanksgiving celebration.
Along with keeping in touch
with Pete Fisher, Stu Duffield ’50,
Bill Sperry and Bill Rodie, Pete
deLisser is the newly elected commander (and one of the youngest
members) of his local VFW
Piermont Memorial Post 7462.
One of his members turned 100
in November, and several served
in WWII. I had hoped to be able
to announce the electronic publication of his second book with
this submission, but so far I have
heard nothing. Stay tuned.
Tim Blodgett wins the “Oh by
the way…” award for this issue.
After recounting the typical family holiday visits with children,
he continued: “Incidentally, in
Washington we had a tour of the
West Wing of the White House
at 9:30 p.m. on Friday after
Thanksgiving, given by a young
man who worked on the Obama
campaign in Minnesota for Jeff
(Tim’s son) and now works on
the White House staff. We were
surprised at how small the rooms
are, including the Oval Office.
We observed the (closed) door of
the vaunted top-secret Situation
Room.” Tim also reported the
death of Renee, widow of Earle
Spencer. On behalf of the class, I
extend condolences to their three
children and three grandchildren.
In an email from Sarasota,
Fla., Bob Griffin reports that he
is mostly occupied at “writing
a book, with constant revisions
… a return to the days that I
enjoyed my freshman creative
writing class at Williams.” He
has been fascinated following the
careers of Fred Wiseman, John
Frankenheimer and Joe McElroy
and keeps in touch with Paul
Shorb, Chuck Halleck and Jack
Cremeans ’50. Bob still breaks 90
on the golf course, not bad for a
man who has been married for
57 years, has two children and
five grandchildren and a sore
back.
Finally, President Dick Siegel
writes enthusiastically about
our “small but most enjoyable
minireunion the weekend of
Oct. 21-23.” He extends special
“thanks to Linda (Conway) and
Sigrid (McWilliams) for hosting a
cocktail party at Sigrid’s home
Saturday evening.” As for his
own life, he writes: “I haven’t
been this busy in decades. In
June, the week after our 60th,
I resumed commuting to NYC
after a 14-year absence to work
on the liquidation of Lehman
Brothers Inc. for a former
partner of mine who had been
appointed liquidating trustee.
The PATH train and the subways
are as ‘delightful’ as ever, but my
back and knees are not. Then, at
the end of October, the trustee
also was appointed SIPA trustee
for the liquidation of MFGlobal
Inc. (John Corzine’s adventure),
and he asked me to do double
duty. I couldn’t say no, and
although at times it can be a bit
enervating, it has been fascinating and most enjoyable.”
1952
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Alec Robertson
3 Essex Meadows
Essex, CT 06426
Well, most of us weathered the
fall and the Amherst game and
have had a good go at life. Most
importantly, please sign up for
and get your room reservations
for the Gala 60th Reunion of
the Really Great Class of 1952
in Williamstown June 7-10.
This is going to be a unique
and excellent event. Nicky and
Paige L’Hommedieu and Susan
and Jim Henry have put together
a fine program for us all. They
had already received over 80
positive responses as of the end
of December. We are hoping
you will be among the lucky
ones who have made the big
commitment. It is amazing that
we have 80 already.
The minireunion at the Tufts
game on Oct. 22 was excellent,
with cocktails at John Hyde’s on
Friday evening, lunch at The
Log and an excellent dinner at
Ann and Doug Foster’s home on
Saturday evening. Elliott Bates
reaffirmed with great pleasure
his return to his natal Class of
1952, Marigold and Bob Bischoff
were in good form and looking
forward to another opera season
at the Met. Ann and Duke Curtis
looked just fine. Joan and Paul
Doyle and I stayed as usual at
the Berkshire Hills Motel with a
bunch of other Williams returnees. The Williams Octet sang on
Saturday night—their fifth year
in a row—at the Fosters'. Edwen
and President Fred Goldstein
appropriately pushed attendance
at our upcoming 60th reunion,
where we will have events and
meals like no other class before.
Susan and Jim Henry—co-chairs
of the reunion—laid out plans
for fun. Unfortunately, the
Henrys’ plans for a bumper crop
of wine this fall were dashed
by the excess rain, but Jim has
alternative sources, so his still
will be busy. Sam Humes was in
attendance, while Rick Jeffrey
left Fran at home to take care of
the move to Florida. Emily Kraft,
who with Ann Foster will be
shouldering Saturday night at the
reunion, looked swell in a couple
of new outfits. Marylin and Art
Levitt looked great, and Art had
just been quoted with words of
wisdom in an interview in the
WSJ concerning the desirability
of corporations changing their
rating agents every five years so
things would not get too cozy.
Nicky and Paige L’Hommedieu
were their usual cheery selves,
although Nicky had to be taken
to the hospital in Springfield on
Saturday night, putting a cramp
in their level of enjoyment. She
is fine now. Jim Manning left
Joan and his tie at home with
a houseful of painting ladies.
Fortunately, after some heckling,
Jim bought a splendid new tie at
Goff’s to save the class reputation, arriving for dinner Saturday
night looking sartorially superb.
Jacquie and Don Martin hit the
late-night spots after Saturday
dinner and are looking fine. Jane
and Bill Missimer came over from
their new farm in Blandford,
Mass. It sounds like they have a
lot of work on their plate. Swifty
Swift was in great form, and
Betsy and Ted Taylor are enjoying their new CCRC in State
CL ASS
NOTES
College, Pa., where the football
stadium holds 114,000 people! A
little bit bigger than our modest
grounds in Billville. Also they
receive more national coverage.
Betty Ann and Rick Wheeler
are trying to get their home in
the Massachusetts Registry of
Historic Places.
Ed and President Fred Goldstein
chimed in as follows: “Not much
to report other than seeing Nicky
and Paige L’Hommedieu for
theater and dinner in New York
on a regular basis as well as the
92nd Street Y Lyrics and Lyricists
Series. Joan and Jim Manning
came over for dinner with us,
and we had a great evening, even
if my soufflé didn’t rise as high as
it should have. I talked to Peter
Ochs in Vienna early in January
and was glad to hear that he is
recovering well from a serious illness. Have been in touch
with our great 60th reunion
committee, Nicky and Paige
L’Hommedieu and Susan and Jim
Henry, and they are doing a terrific job. Everyone should have
a wonderful time at reunion. We
are looking forward to seeing all
in June.”
“I plan to attend the 60th and
really enjoyed the mini last fall,”
reports Art Levitt. “We are at our
home in Stuart, Fla., for most
of the winter but came up to
NYC for the Xmas holidays. We
saw several shows and movies,
but the highlight was the New
Year’s Eve premier presentation
of a new opera, The Enchanted
Island. I have fond memories
every time I go to the Met of my
roommate Ted Withington’s love
of opera.” (Ted and wife Robin
still do.)
Got a nice note from Becky,
stating: “Joe Bumsted doesn’t
have anything noteworthy to
share as he continues to be challenged with vascular dementia, a
result of his long-term diabetes.
He will not be attending the
60th reunion, which is sad for
both of us, as those gatherings
are always great fun. With Joe’s
blessing, I’m joining the Williams
trip to Holland and Belgium in
April and look forward to seeing
all those beautiful tulips.” (If
you want to contact Joe, you
can do so through Becky’s email:
BBBum1415@aol.com. He will
appreciate it.)
Bob Huddleston happily
reported, “After two and a
half years as deputy assistant
secretary of defense for policy
(Africa), Vicki resigned as of the
end of December and is now
back in Santa Fe.”
Bill Missimer happily reports
that he and Jane “were married
on Dec. 29 at a little church in
Newfields, N.H. Other than
that it’s been a quiet holiday
season. Life as a married couple
is wonderful. We plan on making Newmarket, N.H., our
headquarters, with time spent at
the farm in the Berkshires and at
our hideaway in the Florida Keys.
We’ve volunteered to help the
Henrys and the L’Hommedieus
with the Big 60 celebration and
look forward to seeing classmates
there.” Also on the nuptial front,
Ray George announced that he
has some news: “BIG NEWS.
Betsy E. LaMotte of Winnetka,
Ill., and I were married in Florida
on Dec. 29, and I am looking
forward to introducing her to
you all in Williamstown this
June.” (I wonder if the Georges
and the Missimers knew they
were getting hitched on the same
day! Who knew?)
Pete Gurney reported: “Molly
and I took all eight of our grandchildren—and their parents, of
course—to Mohonk Mountain
House, near New Paltz, N.Y., for
the Thanksgiving weekend. I recommend the experience heartily,
though my checkbook showed
considerable reluctance."
Bob Rich, sounding in good
form, wrote from Annapolis:
“This fall was busy for Joan
and me. On Oct. 15 my
granddaughter Leila Wendler
was married at Bisby Lake,
Old Forge, N.Y., and on Oct.
29 Joan’s son was married in
Charlotte, N.C.” Bob also mentioned: Mary and Jack Ordeman
have a “beautiful” new grandson, Thomas Wells Foster, who
arrived in September. Jack also
reports a glorious Thanksgiving
when the whole family came
to Nassawadox to celebrate
son Lee’s 50th and Mary’s 80th
birthdays. Bob recommends
Jack’s latest book, The Art
of Milton C. Weiler. “It is a
beautiful, thoroughly documented and superbly illustrated
treatise of the life and work of a
talented artist-sportsman.”
Bob also shared the sad news
that his friend Bob Johnson
passed away last July.
Betty Ann and Rick Wheeler
announced: “Starting with the
annual ‘Holly Harvest,’ which
united our family in the process
of boxing and shipping over
three quarters of a ton of my
grandfather’s wonderful holly, we
had a lovely family reunion on
Christmas and a fun gathering
on New Year’s Eve. So the clock
is ticking now for our grand
reunion in June, and we both
look forward to being together
again. In closing, we mourn the
passing of Henry Catto and will
always remember the many ways
in which he served our country.”
Mimi and Hank Norton
chimed in to say that they are at
Hillsboro Club for the winter, as
are the John Montgomerys. Hank
said they are signed up for the big
reunion.
“After a busy September—a
wedding in Chicago and a funeral
in Maryland, we hunkered down
here while Nancy had a second
ankle replacement in October,”
writes Bob Kimberly. “The first
one wore out after nine years.
I’ve been chief cook, bottle
washer, house maid and chauffeur. Currently we are thinking
of a vacation for both of us in
Scottsdale and sunshine for a
couple weeks, but we haven’t any
plans yet.”
Bob Riegel announced with
regret: “My granddaughter will
be graduating from high school,
so our trip will have to be to
Florida rather than to Williams.
At the end of May I will officially
retire from full-time parish ministry (56 years is long enough).
Keren and I plan a two-week trip
in April to Berlin and Prague.
Sorry to miss the big 60th—hard
to believe! (Congratulations!)”
Pat and Bill Hatch had a
nice Christmas with all the
kids for one day in Cleveland.
Just enough cold and snow to
remember what it was like in the
old days. They have both their
houses here and in Chagrin Falls
up for sale, but real estate is not
moving well in either location.
“If we sell up north, we have put
money down on a lovely little
home in a retirement community
like Essex Meadows just out of
Chagrin Falls and could move
right away. We have reservations
at the Berkshire Hills Motel
for the reunion, and Pat and I
are looking forward to being in
attendance.”
Good news came in from Don
Wyman in Marblehead, who says
he will be at the 60th.
Betty and Howie Martin
returned happily from a New
Year’s weekend in Williamsburg,
Va., with their family. “New
programs since our last visit
30-plus years ago helped make
history come alive again, plus
our five grandchildren (ages
23-30) make interesting travel
companions. Happy to report
two are employed and three are
taking graduate work.”
n 1 9 5 2 –5 3
John Phillips reported he was
sorry to read about Ted Canfield
in the last People. “He was one
of my freshman-year roommates. We did not have much
in common, but he did help me
to break the smoking habit in
that first year. He and my other
roommate always smoked my
cigarettes, so if I wanted to have
money for Viagra, I had to quit
smoking. The retirees at the old
folks’ home always have wonderful stories and notions to share at
the dinner table. One fellow from
the Middle West, exasperated
with his wife, said, ‘You can lead
a girl to Vassar, but you can’t
make her think.’ Later on he
said, ‘She’s a vegetarian. When
I first saw her she was grazing
in her back yard.’ One night an
85-year-old lady got angry at
her husband during dinner and
shouted at him, ‘Why don’t you
put your teeth in backwards
and bite yourself to death?’ Still,
most of us enjoy it here. As one
female octogenarian put it: ‘I’m
as happy as a flea who owns his
own dog.’ Also, one other elderly
fellow said that he likes living
in a community with few if any
virgins on the prowl. As a youth,
his father had told him, ‘Don’t
waste your time with them—let
Captain Kirk go where no man
has been before.’”
“I have spent lots of time trying
to water my garden,” stated
Thaddeus Up de Graff Jr. from
LA. “Three or four years ago
our house filled up with water
because of a broken pipe. The
plumber lowered the water pressure and much of my landscaping has died. Good exercise in
repair, but sad aftermath. Right
now my wife and I are hanging
on. No problems, except those
of being over 80 years old. Two
daughters and five grandchildren
keep us thinking—and busy.”
News from Swifty Swift:
“Robbi and I spent three weeks
in California over the holidays
visiting my two daughters and
one granddaughter, two sisters
and their families and several
other relatives. This included my
nephew David Phinney, whose
winery—Orin Swift—has a
wine—‘Abstract’—in the worldwide top 50 by Wine Spectator
and Food & Wine magazines!
His ‘Prisoner’ has also drawn top
kudos. We loaded up (thanks to
the family discount) at his place
in St. Helena and enjoyed great
wines doing holiday gatherings!
Spent a day in San Francisco
doing museums and fine dining
and Xmas week in Grass Valley
(in the Sierra foothills), but I
missed my skiing—no snow! Oh,
plus in Sept. a new granddaughter—Isarah—number six, but
no grandsons yet! Back in cold
Maryland now, missing the daily
mid-60s we loved in the Bay
Area and Napa!”
Jay McElroy volunteered the
good news that they plan to
come to the 60th and wrote,
“We continue our travels. Last
year we started in Hong Kong
and visited several cities in
China, including Shanghai and
Beijing. We went to one port
We also lost Rodney Skutt of
Denver, Colo., who died Sept.
21. He is survived by three
children and eight grandchildren.
He was best known for his salesmanship and his love of flying,
hunting and fishing.
Furthermore I have little information about Perkins “Perk” Bass
of Poulsbo, Wash., who passed
away Sept. 9 and is survived by
his wife Anne Lawrence Bass.
Thanks to all who contributed,
and I look forward to seeing
everyone at the reunion in June.
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Bill Miller ’53, a senior policy scholar with the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars, received a Common Ground Award
from the D.C.-based Search for Common Ground last October for helping
to free two American hikers imprisoned in Iran for 26 months. Miller,
ambassador to the Ukraine under President Clinton, shared the award
with Bishop John Bryson Chane of the Episcopal diocese of Washington
and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington.
where we saw three Chinese
nuclear submarines. We ended
the trip in Seoul, which we had
never visited before. It was hard
to believe we were 30 miles from
North Korea. This spring we
are going from St. Petersburg to
Moscow on Viking River cruises.
This is the third time we have
gone with them. It is an easy way
to travel. We continue to spend
time in Martha’s Vineyard. On
the business side, I continue serving on three finance committees
and one charitable board.”
I am sad to report that our
esteemed classmate and friend
Henry E. Catto Jr. died at 81 at
his home in San Antonio, Texas,
following a long battle with
chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Henry was tapped by four
Republican presidents for highprofile jobs, including director
of the U.S. Information Agency,
chief Pentagon spokesman and
ambassador to Britain and El
Salvador. In his time as ambassador to Britain, Henry brought
a homespun atmosphere to
Winfield House, his stately official residence in London, serving
Tex-Mex food to dignitaries
and placing a Texas state flag
and a four-foot-high wooden
Hereford steer on the lawn. His
wife Jessica Catto died in 2009.
Henry is survived by two daughters, Isa Catto Shaw and Heather
Catto Kohout ’81; two sons, John
and William; and 11 grandchildren. His obituary will be in the
next issue.
1953
Stephen W. Klein
378 Thornden St.
South Orange, NJ 07079
Bill Miller received a Common
Ground Award in DC along with
Cardinal McCarrick and Bishop
Chane for his role in freeing the
American hikers held in Iran. No
mention was made of the ransom
money or how it was paid.
Attending the Snowbird
Special minireunion organized
by Mike Lazor on Oct. 7-9
were Dudley Baker, Barbara
Weedon, Sandy and John Beard,
John Dighton, Marianne and
George Hartnett, Polly and
Chuck Hebble, Barbara and Bob
Howard, Tess and Derry Kruse,
Mike Lazor, Daphney and Bob
McGill (whose house was the
venue for most activities), Karen
and Jim Truettner, and Bobbye
and Bob Tucker. As reported by
Bob Howard, four gatherings, all
involving food, highlighted the
mini, and there was the discovery
that the Williams football team
is not invincible, losing as they
did for only the third time in 26
years of play against Bates.
The officially authorized mini
was held Oct. 21-23 under the
expert organization of Happy
and Todd Mauck. Present were
John Allan, Susan and Peter
Connolly, John Dighton, Lucy and
Pete Fetterolf, Carol and Dan
CL ASS
NOTES
Fitch, Joy and Walter Flaherty,
Barbara and Bob Howard, Tess
and Derry Kruse, Mary and Jack
Merselis, Sally and Harry Molwitz,
Anne and Charlie Mott, Judy and
Art Murray, Peggy Norwood, Liz
and Bob Ouchterloney, Granthia
and Fred Preston, Bob Sillcox and
Sheila Thompson, and Nancy
and Peter Sterling. In addition, Ted Potter appeared at the
tailgate tent before the game.
Williams was victorious over
Tufts at Weston Field.
Mike Lazor received a long
letter from Mike Puffer bringing
him up to date on many of his
activities over the last number
of years. Puffer has a sizable
Christmas tree farm outside of
Saginaw, Mich., that he plans to
turn into a site for homeless veterans and old race horses. (My
feeling is that Puffer would be
a valuable addition to the Mets
2012 pitching staff.)
Greatly aided by Boine
Johnson’s $25K legacy, adroitly
steered to the ’53 Alumni
Fund by Kathleen Piagessi,
Pete Sterling advises as of early
January the 2011-12 goal was
exceeded. Pete however was
hopeful that a good showing
from recalcitrant classmates
significantly boosted the class
participation percentage.
Tony Butterfield attended
the memorial service for Dick
Salladin and mentioned that
although he saw no fellow Dekes
or Ephmen, there were a great
number of lawyers in attendance.
Phil Ingwersen died on Sept. 29
following a period of declining health. Phil is survived by
his wife Jean, a daughter, a son
and three grandchildren. John
Judge died on Nov. 6. John was
a banker and a sailor and was
inducted into the Herreshoff
Marine Museum Hall of Fame
in Newport, R.I. Dan Fitch and
Harry Molwitz attended John’s
memorial service in Larchmont,
N.Y. John is survived by his wife
Mary Francis, two daughters and
five grandchildren.
1954
Al Horne
7214 Rebecca Drive
Alexandria, VA 22307
We lost two more classmates
since our last installment.
In December Dave West died at
his home in Wolfeboro, N.H. He
served 25 years in the Air Force,
including two years in Vietnam,
and retired as full colonel with a
chestful of medals, including the
Silver Star and the Distinguished
Flying Cross. After retiring, he
worked in Florida for LockheedMartin as manager of quality
assurance for the Patriot missile
program until 1997.
In February we lost Fred Joss,
at a hospice in Pittsburgh. Jim
Carpenter, sophomore year
roommate, had kept in touch
with Fred and reports, “He had
been in failing health for several
years.” Fred worked for Alcoa
from 1958 to 1976, including
five years in Brazil, and then
spent 12 years with the Dravo
Corp. as chief financial officer
and VP for engineering and
construction. After retiring, he
taught at private and public
schools in the Pittsburgh area.
Wendell Elmendorf and Mildred
Jorgensen Pelrine tied the knot in
October and are now snowbirds,
splitting their time between
Riverview, Fla., and Remsen,
N.Y. Here’s Wendell’s account of
how all this came about: “Mil
and I were classmates in fifth
to eighth grade in Schenectady,
N.Y., and became reacquainted
in early September of 2010 when
she read a letter I wrote to the
editor of our local paper, recognized my name, Googled me and
then emailed me. After a week or
two of email exchanges I invited
her out to lunch, then she invited
me to dinner two times and on
Oct. 5 left for her winter home
in Florida with these parting
words: ‘If you come to Florida to
visit your sister again this winter,
be sure to look me up.’ I said to
myself, ‘I really wasn’t planning
to visit my sister, but I sure will
now!’ I did. Before and after my
March trip to Florida, we continued emailing each other almost
daily. About a month after she
returned to New York State last
spring we began planning an
October wedding. Millie was a
nurse while raising her five children. In 1984, after her husband
died suddenly of a heart attack,
she went to Syracuse University
Law School and became a lawyer
and is now retired.”
Here’s another piece of happy
news, from David St. Clair in
Colorado Springs: “Gail and
I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with a family
reunion on Cape Cod this past
summer. All three of our children
and their families were there:
Son David, with Julie, Alex and
Peter, flew in from Konstanz,
Germany, where David works
as an engineer for a German
company. Son John flew in from
Nairobi, Kenya, where he works
for a research company in global
finance. Our daughter Susan, an
emergency medicine physician
here in Colorado Springs, her
husband Jeff and their children
Teddy and Gabi flew with us
from Colorado to the Cape for
the reunion. We spent Christmas
in North Carolina with the
Nairobi gang: John, his wife Kelli
and their children Ainsley, Jack
and Eliot.”
From Atlanta, meanwhile,
Bob Larkin reports: “I have just
completed the process of going
through a divorce from my second wife of 10 years and am living alone and loving it. Applying
for a reverse mortgage to get
some equity out of my home and
be able to live here as I have for
the last 25 years. I still am in the
wine brokerage business—
represent one winery from
Oregon. Just celebrated my 80th
birthday and fooled ’em all!”
And here’s an update from Joe
Usatine in The Dalles, Ore.: “Life
still goes on here in the Pacific
Northwest, but a little change
has taken place. We’ve bought a
house in Arizona City, Ariz., and
now we’re spending about four
to five months in the sunshine,
abandoning our overcast, cold
winter here. Lots of golf—not
very good, but enjoyable.
Martha’s well, but I’ve been
dealing with a health issue which
isn’t very pleasant. A couple of
years ago I was diagnosed with
blood cancer. My marrow is
unable to manufacture sufficient
hemoglobin. I’ve turned down
a transplant; too many risks
involved. So I deal with chemo
infusions every month. These
keep me pretty active and feeling
well, but there will be no end to
them. Great clinics, both here and
in Arizona. Prognosis is good as
long as I follow the protocol. I’ll
be preparing a few tax returns for
longtime clients, but my practice
is not much anymore.”
From Philadelphia, Harry
Rieger reports: “We are currently enjoying the so-called
Golden Years. However, they
too have pitfalls. Both Didi and
I had some issues with macadam, leaving her with a broken
pelvis and lots of pain. (All
better there.) I just recently had
a similar meeting with blacktop
and did a beautiful cosmetic
face mess, now 90 percent back
to normal. The perpetrator was
our 60-pound Standard Poodle,
who is quite active and tends to
not understand the basic word
‘No.’
n 1 9 5 3 –5 5
another delightful and boisterous dinner at the ’6 House we all
wanted to attend their wedding
the following weekend. Alas,
they had planned a small, private
affair, but we almost talked them
into expanding it.”
1955
Charley Bradley
103 Meadow Road
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
Roger Friedman ’55 (middle) received “Peter’s Coat and Tray” given
annually in honor of the late Pete Pelham ’55 and his widow Isobel for
service to Williams and the class. Classmates (from left) Norm Hugo,
Whitey Perrott, Merce Blanchard and Sandy Laitman joined Friedman to
celebrate on Homecoming Weekend in November.
“We enjoyed 10 years in
Savannah but returned to Philly
in 2005, as all three children
live within 40 minutes, and
with seven grandchildren it
made sense to return to familiar
grounds. Katie Rieger ’12, our
oldest (Glenn’s daughter) is a
senior at Williams as a math
major and enjoying it. We have
reunited with Harry Montgomery
and Audrey, with some most
pleasant visits. His Billsville
home is beautiful and spacious.”
From Mexico, Steve Livingston
sends “just a little piece of
Williams lore”: “The Club
Rotaract of Williams College
picked a small nonprofit here
in San Miguel de Allende to
assist—one in which I am a volunteer. It is Computadores Por
Jóvenes, or Computers for Kids.
We solicit used computers—
mainly from the U.S.—clean
them, install Spanish programs
and give them to needy schoolchildren in our town (about
150,000 people—most under
18). The group in Williams was
instrumental in writing a user’s
manual, which we can distribute
with the computers, and several
of us had the job of translating
the manual, adding some material as required and distributing
it. The manual is a great hit, and
we owe a great debt of gratitude
to the students at Williams that
participated—particularly Laura
Villafranco ’13, who grew up
here in San Miguel.”
Closer to home, Russ Carpenter
reports from Williamstown:
“Spent Christmas with son
David and family in Brunswick,
Maine, which gave us the
opportunity to visit with Audrey
and Beatty Smith in Topsham,
the next town over, where they
moved last year to a splendid
community. As usual, Beatty
remembered some stories from
our years together in the Zete
house that I had long forgotten.
Santa gave me a Nook, which
apparently would counter my
aging eyes and finger dexterity,
but turning pages by a weak
finger tap is a new challenge.”
And here’s some more oneon-one-reunion news, from
Paris via Dan Tritter in New
York: “Jacqueline and I had the
pleasure of dinner in Paris in
late September with Scorp Craig.
We missed Penny, who was off
in the country administering
discipline to their new caniche
royal (Standard Poodle to you
anglophones) with the intriguing, recession-busting name of
Gatsby.”
As for the class’s official
minireunion in Williamstown
in October, our president Hugh
Germanetti reports that along
with he and Nancy, those
attending were Sonnie and Bob
Murdock, Bill Stott, Miriam
and Ted Irwin, Emily and John
Miller, Harry Montgomery and
Audrey Clarkson, Dan Tritter and
Jacqueline Laroche, Pokie Kalker,
Annaick and Buzz Eichel, Wendell
Elmendorf and Mildred Pelrine.
“Wendell and Mildred,” Hugh
says, “originally planned to be
married that weekend. They
put their marriage off until the
following weekend so they could
attend our mini. By the end of
Greetings in the New Year and
thanks to all who were able to
provide updates of your lives.
Thanks particularly to Norm
Hugo for sending the following news of so many classmates: “George Kesel thriving
in Missoula, Mont., having
moved to be closer to one of his
sons,” he writes. “They closed
an upscale fishing and sporting
goods store earlier, so George
has time to enjoy the beauty of
his town. Mac Fiske has moved
back to Denver and still enjoys
tooling around in his vintage
TR3. Has had some offers to
sell it, but his son has already
laid claim to it. Rick Smith is as
busy as ever with a new book
coming out shortly. Can’t wait.
Jim Weber is retired from his
architectural practice and living
the good life. His old Milwaukee
buddy Ted Gerhardy has moved
to Denver and is enjoying the
Rockies. Larry Frank is writing
another critical book on Charles
Dickens and is acknowledged
as one of the world’s experts on
Dickens. Sandy Fargo continues
his year-round residence in
Florida and looks forward to
all visitors. Tsuneo Tanaka has
personalized the devastation of
Japan in his emails. It will be
years before full recovery. Tery
Canavan continues his active life
with family in Savannah and
‘micro-loans’ to small startups.
Al Lazor suffered a stroke in late
fall and is successfully rehabilitating. Billy Pogue has retired
from active practice (radiology) but entertains and cheers
hospitalized kids by playing a
clown. David Lindsay was one
of our first classmates to be
in the computer world—right
after graduation—and has been
plagued with a bad back—eats
all his meals standing up. But he
is as cheerful as ever and enjoys
life. Sent a couple of computergenerated holiday cards, which
were beautiful.”
Loretta and Walter McLaughlin
wrote greetings in January from
CL ASS
NOTES
their home in the “snow (sort
of) country” in Colorado, noting
that “our winter recreations,
skiing and snowshoeing, are in
abeyance until La Niña awakens.” They were looking forward
to spending March and April
in San Miguel de Allende, a
historic city in the high plains of
Mexico. “It’s safe,” he assured,
“off most traffic routes … with
a vibrant cultural life, both local
and imported, including a good
classical musical scene and excellent restaurants, from genuine
Mexican to European.”
John Newhall planned a
February jaunt through India
and Nepal, “thanks to the
thoughtful remembrance of
my prior interest by Williams’
erstwhile tour director, our
president, Bob Behr.” The
trip, led by former Williams
President Frank Oakley, was to
include Tink Campbell ’56 class
president, his wife Paula and
Bill Montgomery. Meanwhile,
Deere and Melville Bearns traveled to Tokyo in late November,
visiting friends of Deere’s before
joining a Williams-Smith tour
group led by Peter Frost, former
Williams professor and “master
of all things Japanese,” Melville
writes. “We were a most congenial group of 20 which included
Margot and Bill Moomaw and
Peter’s charming wife Marnie.”
I can’t do justice to their journey, except to relay Melville’s
particular recollection of a day
seeing temples and shrines in
Kyoto: “By the end of the day, I
felt as though we had surely seen
them all, and the old cerebral
hard drive was full to overflowing with unforgettable images of
timeless grace and beauty.”
For each that tells of his
travels abroad, two more write
of life on the home front. “Just
like the bulk of our classmates,
Cecile and I have not climbed
Mount Everest or broken into
Ft. Knox,” jokes Al Ogden. “We
are just doing the usual old
folks, grandparents stuff—having a good time and enjoying
reasonably good health,” though
they did enjoy a cruise along
the Dalmatian Coast and Greek
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
Bill Merizon ’56 (fifth from right) and his wife Martha hosted seven
classmates and their significant others in Sun Valley, Idaho, last October
for the Sun Valley Jazz Festival.
Isles—“Very laid back and
enjoyable with a refresher, crash
course on Greek politics, ancient
history and mythology, most of
which we had forgotten or never
knew.” Martin DuBois continues
practicing medicine in Great
Barrington, Mass., “though it
will soon be less,” and has this
to say about Mass Health Care:
“It is nice to practice in a clinic
where 98 percent of people have
basic health care insurance. The
ones that do not live in New
York!” Outside of work he
and Sharon “see Martin Deely
and his wife Jesse in Lee,” and
he recently went to the top of
Mount Greylock—for the first
time!
“We’ve sold our house in
Weston, Mass.,” writes Ted
Bower. “Vero Beach is our
regular residence, and we’re
looking at options for this
summer and others beyond in
New England.” (In his numerated email, however, he first
mentioned Exeter’s victory over
Andover in November. Some
things never change, no matter
where one lives.) Eugene Latham
and wife Gloria are also “happy
to report that we will be moving
back to the U.S. permanently”
this year, having ended their
“daily relationship” with the
NPH orphanage and helped
form its new board of directors.
“Our seven grandchildren and
10 great-grandchildren living
in the U.S. are pulling us home,
as Mexico’s increasing violence
makes it ever easier to leave. We
are both retired, and Gloria, a
Mexican citizen, will soon apply
for a green card, which will
allow her to reside permanently
in the U.S.” He describes the
approval process as an “international Catch-22” but says
they look forward to spending
summers in Rhode Island and
winters in Denver, “where we
hope to make contact with some
Williams friends.”
Across the ocean, Ted Oviatt
describes his life is “in a holding
pattern as 2012 begins,” parenting 13-year-old daughter Angel,
who is “doing very well in
school,” as Marilyn pursues her
law degree. The older children
are also doing well: Son Peter is
still running marathons—
following in the footsteps of
his father!—and coaching track
club in Bellingham, Wash.;
Ted is “serving up Starbucks
in Westlake, Calif.”; Jill is
communications director for a
health research firm in Seattle;
and Wendy has ushered all but
her last child to college. “I love
my life in the Philippines,” Ted
writes, “and thank God for my
health, even though I complain
that back injuries have slowed
me to a non-competitive runner.
I’ve stayed busy this semester
tutoring an IB French lit course
for a French boy of 17. Majored
in French at Williams but
haven’t taught it for 30 years—
so I’ve been working hard …
and enjoying.” Erwin von den
Steinen is also “regrouping
after having a joyful houseful
of young grandsons over the
holiday period.” Erwin reflected
the shock at Ned Reeves’ death
that many mentioned in their
letters. “It shows again that life
is as fragile as it is robust,” he
writes. You can find an obituary
for Ned in the back of this issue.
n 1 9 5 5 –5 6
1956 classmates (from left) Walter Jensen, Tom May and Bob Buss
enjoyed the sunny weather of Napa, Calif., in November.
1956
Vern Squires
727 Ardsley Road
Winnetka, IL 60093
I have one sad note with which
to commence this report. Jim
Innes passed away in August
of 2011. Jim practiced internal
medicine and gastroenterology
in Greenwich, Conn., from 1965
to 1997. During these years he
held multiple leadership positions in local, state and national
medical organizations while
enjoying his passion for travel,
golf and skiing. Jim is survived
by Eleanor, his wife of 56 years,
and many members of their
extended family.
My apologies to Bill Kerr for
not incorporating his nice note
in my last article. It became a
victim of the column’s space limitation rules. However, definitely
better late than never because it
is so interesting. Bill expressed
his regrets for not attending the
55th last June, but he had a very
good reason: That was also the
weekend for his 50th reunion
at Johns Hopkins Medical
School. Moreover, Bill was in
Williamstown the preceding
weekend for the graduation of
his grandson Connor Olvany ’11,
son of daughter Kendra Olvany
and son-in-law John Olvany,
both Class of ’82. Bill noted that
at the baccalaureate service an
honorary Doctor of Letters was
awarded to Bruce Russett for his
work in conflict resolution while
a professor of political science at
Yale. So a belated “congratulations” to Bruce. Bill recalled that
during the Williams years he
and Bruce and three others
majored together in political
economy. Bill met Bruce at the
Faculty House and emerged with
much information. Bruce is now
emeritus at Yale but still working hard. He thanks Professors
Fred Schuman and Emile Depres
for launching his career and
credits a year in Cambridge for
opening vistas beyond the world
of North Adams (his hometown)
and Williamstown. Bruce and
his wife, also a professor at
Yale, have four adult children.
International assignments have
conspired to keep him from
many of our reunions, but
let’s hope the 60th will find
him and many others back in
Williamstown.
I had a nice note from Clarke
Sperry, but he felt that (contrary
to my own belief) he really had
nothing to relate. So I will insert
a memory of Clarke: playing
first base on the baseball team of
1956 under the watchful eye of
coach Bobby Coombs.
A great letter arrived from
Wally Jensen that related several
items of interest. In November
Wally and Carolyn joined with
Martha and Tom May and
Bourne and Bob Buss to stage a
Class of ’56 minireunion in the
Napa Valley. As Wally related,
“We reestablished friendship,
enjoyed wonderful dining and
of course drank fabulous wine.”
Tom and Martha capped off
a great luncheon by bringing
two bottles of their classic 1990
Martha Vineyard Cabernet
Sauvignon. Wally concluded his
letter on a nice philosophical
note: “Again I was reminded
of the privilege given to us in
attending Williams. The breadth
of knowledge possessed by Tom
and Martha bespoke of the
power of the Williams College
liberal arts education. It instilled
in us a curiosity about the workings of the world. And somehow
it bred character, or was that
something Fred Copeland ’35
detected in those he chose to
enter each class?” Thanks,
Wally, for the reminder of how
fortunate we were.
Kay and Wayne Renneisen have
joined the list of classmates who
have said a goodbye to their
longtime residences in favor
of downsizing. After 48 years
in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., they are
now in a small apartment in
Wynnewood, Pa. However it
was not a far move, geographically. As Wayne noted, 1.5 miles
and six traffic lights. Wayne
has retired from his position as
chairman of the board of trustees of the Wetlands Institute but
remains a member of the board.
Paula and Tink Campbell
participated in a fall trip,
described by Tink as “fantastic,” to Thailand, Vietnam
and Cambodia. The Thailand
component was just about the
time of the terrible flooding
around Bangkok, but they were
fortunate to escape it. Tink had
a couple of interesting side notes.
He encountered not a whisper
of the war, now more than 35
years behind us. And he found
many of the local people not
only friendly but quite fluent
in English. (Note to Tink: The
Wall Street Journal of Dec. 22,
2011, reported that a current
hot investment in Vietnam is
buying a membership in a golf
club. “Buying a membership is
better than putting cash in the
bank, better than putting it in
the stock market, and better
than putting it into gold,” said
Do Dinh Thjuy, a 48-year-old
management consultant.) The
next big trip for Paula and Tink
will be a journey to India in
which the head docent will be
former Williams President Frank
Oakley.
On a personal traveling note,
Judy and I spent the latter part
of November on the Hawaiian
Islands, first on Maui for the
Maui Invitational Basketball
Tournament (won by Duke,
her alma mater, for the fifth
time) and then on to Kauai for
Thanksgiving dinner and several
days of sightseeing, including
a catamaran ocean trip and a
helicopter flight over the virtually inaccessible sections of the
interior of the island.
CL ASS
NOTES
An event that I know from
personal experience is special is
the annual October Sun Valley
Jazz Festival. Martha and Bill
Merizon, as Sun Valley residents,
serve as the hosts for Williams
classmates who come in for
the occasion. This year they
hosted a terrific group: Toni
and Ken Harkness, Nancy and
Kirt Gardner, Mary Clare and
Bill Jenks, Ausra and Bill Kerr,
Carolyn and Bill Mauritz, Gaysie
Taylor and Jeff Smythe and friend
Nancy. A great time was had
by all, and many have planned
to return to Sun Valley in July
for a five-day rafting trip on
the Middle Fork of the Salmon
River. Bill and Martha are marvelous hosts for the jazz festival
affairs, and they have expressed
the hope that classmates will be
in Sun Valley again when next
October rolls around.
It was nice to hear from Tony
Morano. He and Mary are still
living in White Plains, N.Y.,
where they were born. Tony has
retired from 43 years of medical
practice but misses his patients,
many of whom he has known
his whole life. He is justifiably
proud that the White Plains
Hospital has a wing named “The
Anthony J. Morano MD Cardiac
Care Unit,” clearly reflecting a
distinguished medical career. He
mentioned his recent correspondence with Steve Gilman and
Bill Evans and their interesting
achievements over the years.
Tony’s letter concluded: “Best
regards to all our classmates.”
Vance Ludtke, reporting in
from the U.S. Navy city of
Pensacola, Fla., expressed his
regrets for not making the 55th,
but he is planning ahead for the
60th. Vance lives close to the
Pensacola Navy Air Station,
which means he can watch the
famous Blue Angels practice
for their air shows. Although
they fly so low that they shake
his house, he is spared the need
to join the massive crowds
that gather at Pensacola Beach.
Vance’s health is holding up
pretty well, with his weight at an
enviable 175 pounds, but without getting into details he noted
some harrowing experiences that
he has shared with Phil Wick.
Like Tony Morano’s letter, Vance’s
letter concluded with thoughts
of his classmates: “My very best
wishes and prayers go out to
you all.”
Jo Anderson has published
a new book in collaboration
with two other scientists. Diet,
Nutrients and Bone Health
consists of 35 chapters on
bone-related topics by leading researchers throughout the
world. He and Betsey went to
New York in February for the
annual Williams Alumni Fund
telethon and joined forces with
Bob Schumacher and other
classmates. As Jo sadly noted, it
will be hard to replace our late
classmates Tony Fisher and Mark
Saulnier, who did a great job for
many years at the telethon. John
Reeves (whose annual Christmas
letter, entitled “The Voice of
Atlantic Avenue,” I always look
forward to) had lunch with Jo
in Bar Harbor, Maine, and more
recently Jo got together with
Pete Brown, a fellow resident
of Chapel Hill. Jo and Betsey
have a wonderful trip planned
for late June and early July:
a Williams-sponsored trip to
Athens, the Greek Islands and
Turkey. Having done this trip
several years ago (although not
Williams-sponsored) I can attest
that it is a winner. I am happy
to report that Jo has recovered
from knee surgery and is in terrific shape (but no longer referreeing football and basketball
games as he did for many years).
Speaking of good health news,
I am glad to report that, after
encountering a spot on his arm
which naturally raised a concern,
Jock Duncan had surgery in midJanuary which was successful.
The prognosis is excellent, and
all is well. I have saved this
paragraph for the conclusion of
this article as it is always nice
to be able to say “the end” on a
high note.
1957
REUNION JUNE 7–10
John S. Pritchard
150 Candlewood Drive
Williamstown, MA 01267
Greetings from Williamstown,
which only yesterday resembled
late fall and today (Jan. 12) has
become cold and snowy for the
first time this winter. Members of
the Greylock H.S. cross country
ski team, including my grandson,
have been frustrated for lack of
snow to compete. One thing for
sure is, come June 7, we won’t
have these concerns for your
return to celebrate our 55th
reunion. President Fleming and
Reunion Chair Tom Slonaker have
been busy with arrangements,
including visits to campus and
the Dodd House complex (old
Williams Inn), where you will be
staying, dining and enjoying old
friends. Ted Cobden and yours
truly, with considerable help from
some of you, will be in contact
on your plans to return. We look
forward to a terrific weekend
together in June!
As promised in my December
notes, the Oct. 21-23 ’57
Scholars and Summer Interns
Weekend was special, with 29
classmates and spouses attending. The round table discussion
at the Saturday night dinner
was a highlight and led by our
scholars’ chair, Richard Miller ’86.
Fourteen scholars and interns
participated in sharing ideas
concerning economy/scholarship
issues. Dinner sponsors included
Steve Bullock and the Cobdens,
Driesens, Flemings, Gardellas
and Holmans. The Class of 1957
Scholars Fund dispensed in excess
of $160,000 to scholars last year.
Other highlights of the weekend
included faculty lectures, museum
tours and athletic events, including the Tufts football game.
The Hubert H. Humphrey
Centennial Commission celebrated its 100th anniversary by
honoring several Minnesotans
who have distinguished
themselves in a variety of fields
involving public service. “Arne H.
Carlson, governor of Minnesota
from 1991-99, was presented a
Humphrey Legacy Award for
his continuous work on behalf
of improving the quality of
governance in Minnesota. A
blogger and frequent speaker
in his retirement, Carlson, a
moderate Republican, frequently
teamed with former VP Mondale
on a variety of issues, ranging
from creating an independent
panel to handling legislative
and Congressional redistricting to presenting a compromise
designed to resolve the 2011 state
of Minnesota budgetary deadlock. Carlson was also honored
in October 2011 by being named
by the Rochester Post-Bulletin
as Minnesota’s most effective
governor in the past 50 years.
In 2001 Minnesotans, in a poll
conducted by the St. Paul Pioneer
Press, named Humphrey, Carlson
and Mondale as the ‘great’ political leaders of the 20th century.”
Congratulations, Arne, and
please bring some pearls of political wisdom to us in June.
News from Nick Wright, who
reports, “Joan and I were in DC
Nov. 6 to protest the building
of the Tar Sands Pipeline from
Northern Canada to Texas. It is
n 1 9 5 6 –5 7
hard to act against the economic
interests of a friendly government, but the addiction to fossil
fuels in the U.S. and the rest of
the industrialized world has to be
broken, and stopping this pipeline is a very good start. Twelve
thousand people showed up,
and after some speechifying in
Lafayette Park they proceeded to
encircle the White House about
two to four deep, with innovative
placards, including quoting some
speeches on the environment
from President Obama’s 2008
campaign. It was a civilized affair,
and I did not see anyone arrested.
There were students from many
universities as well as a small contingent of Williams students who
came by overnight bus. A mock
section of black plastic-covered
pipe undulated around the White
House, carried above the heads
of some students. A few days
after the protest, the president
referred the pipeline proposal
back for further review, including an investigation of lobbying
tactics that may have influenced
the State Dept. to express its
satisfaction with the project. The
trip gave us the opportunity to
visit with Jane and Crane Miller,
who had volunteered legal and
bail services! Since none were
needed, we instead enjoyed some
memorable Turkish food at the
Ezme Restaurant, near Dupont
Circle.” Thanks, Nick, for your
up-close-and-personal experience.
Phil Fradkin continues to
produce creative and picturesque
photography, and I wish you
could view his “Winter Sunrise
Over Brock’s Boathouse and
Tomales Bay.” This beautiful
December image captures the
spirit of the holiday season and
serves as the introduction to
his next creative effort involving images rather than words.
“I will be sending one monthly
for those requesting them or a
short series of my digital images.
For those who gave me a photo
printer on my 75th birthday, I
would like to make a gift of a
signed photograph of their choice
printed on archival paper. For
others, unframed photographic
prints of West Marin, Calif., and
the American West are available
at a reasonable price. A few are
on display outside my office in
downtown Point Reyes Station.
Call or email me for an appointment: philfrad@earthlink.net. I’m
not new to photography. Taking
photos for publications dates
back to my first newspaper job
in 1960. The equipment I have
used spans a century of camera
technology. I began with a simple
Kodak; graduated to a large
formal Speed Graflex; a medium
format, twin-lens Rollieflex;
various single-lens reflex cameras;
and finally digital cameras. Such
photo and design conscious
publications as the Los Angeles
Times and Audubon magazine,
book publishers such as Alfred
A. Knopf and the University of
California Press used my images
both on covers and inside with
my texts. A Life magazine editor
even asked to see a sample of
my photographs. Except for
some freelance assignments to
Finally, it was Abraham Lincoln
who said, ‘The legitimate object
of government is to do for a community of people whatever they
need to have done, but cannot so
at all, or cannot so well do, for
themselves in their separate and
individual capacities.’ If we listen
to these three great Americans,
we must do better.” Len, hope
you achieved your extension.
We lost a well-remembered
classmate and have heard
from several close friends, and
especially from his wife Kathleen,
who wrote on Jan. 4, “My
husband Dick Ennis died on Nov.
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Arne Carlson ’57, governor of Minnesota from 1991-99, received
a Humphrey Legacy Award for his continuous work to improve the
governance of Minnesota. Most recently he worked with former U.S. Vice
President Walter Mondale to design a compromise to resolve the state’s
2011 budgetary deadlock.
illustrate articles by such noted
writers as Page Stegner and Peter
Matthiessen, the images were
secondary to my words. Now
photos are my dominant interest,
and they provide a quick, intuitive way to tell a story. I have a
number of exciting directions
in which I want to travel. If you
know anyone else who would
like to join this trek, please have
them contact me with an email
address. In the next few months,
I plan to have a website for my
photographs. Information about
my writing life is available on my
current website at www.philipfradkin.com as well as a small
photographic component.” Many
thanks, Phil, for your update,
and you will no doubt be hearing
from more classmates.
Len Kirschner, president of
AARP Arizona and former director of AHCCCS, was quoted in
the Dec. 18 editorial section of
The Arizona Republic in support
of using money to help people
in need. “In advocating for the
extension of the 1-cent-perdollar state sales tax, we should
remember the words of the wise
people who led this country
during our tumultuous history.
Supreme Court Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes said: ‘Taxes are
what we pay for civilized society.’
VP Hubert Humphrey, in the last
speech before his death, opined,
‘The moral test of government is
how it treats those in the dawn
of life, the children; those in the
shadows of life, the sick, the
needy and the handicapped.’
30 this past year. He had many
good friends and memories from
his years at Williams. He was a
wonderful husband and father
and is deeply mourned by his
family,” including four children
and five grandchildren. Kathleen
shared Dick’s obituary, which
appeared in the Naples Daily
News, the Washington Post and
in the online Bronxville paper.
Please contact me if you’d like to
read the full obituary. A Williams
obituary appears at the end of
this issue. Thank you, Kathy.
Looking forward to June and
our 55th. Many of you will have
made plans to be with your classmates as you read this update.
Ted Cobden, Tom Slonaker, Pete
Fleming and others, including
yours truly, will have been in
touch with the reunion schedule and details of our weekend
together.
SENDPHOTOS
W
illiams People accepts
photographs of alumni
gatherings and events. Please
send photos to Williams
magazine, P.O. Box 676,
Williamstown, Mass. 012670676. High-quality digital
photos may be emailed to
CL ASS
NOTES
1958
Dick Davis
5732 East Woodridge Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Last fall was a great one for
’58 conviviality. It started in
September with the collegesponsored jazz cruise to Nova
Scotia and back. Bob Kingsbury
and Fred Clifford led the musical
way; I’ll bet Clare and Barbara at
some point supplied some lyrics.
Marcia Schoeller was aboard,
along with Pete Paullin and
Ann; Joe Young and Betsy; David
Grossman and Jill; Jim Bowers
and Suzie; and Bill Harter. Tom
Hayne ’59, with Martha, was
beatin’ on the drums, and John
Halsey ’59 tickled the ivories.
Three other ’59ers many of us
know, Bill Applegate, Tony Volpe
and Bob O’Neill,were also on
board.
Sam Jones and Becky had lunch
with David Grossman and Jill and
Bill Harter before the cruise was
under way. I understand there
was a pre-cruise concert where
Spencer Jones was honored for
his contributions over the years;
a taped solo was played.
In October there was a
beautiful minireunion. The following were there: Dave Allan
and Connie; Ron Anderson and
Barbie; Jim Bowers; Fred Clifford
and Barbara; Dave Cook and
Loy; Tom Connolly and Ann; Rick
Driscoll and Jeanne; Steve Frost
and Anne; David Grossman and
Jill; Joel Greeley and Louise;
Spence Jones and Susan; David
Kane and Siegrun; Chet Lasell and
Kate; Skip Martin and Nancy;
Bruce Maxwell; Jock Purcell and
Nancy; Dick Siegel and Pam; and
Joe Young and Betsy. Matt Donner
and Judy and David Sims were
there for the “Tentgate Lunch”
and football game. Joe Young
reported that the seminars were
stimulating, especially on immigration and movements in South
America. The Eph gridders beat
Tufts. The ’58-’59 joint Friday
dinner at the 1896 House and
the Saturday class dinner at the
Williams Inn were first rate. Joe
and Betsy stayed with Chet and
Kate. We all are grateful for Joe’s
continuing contributions. Major
credits for the weekend to Chet
and Rick.
On Dec. 2, the urbane gathered at the Williams Club within
the Princeton Club in New
York. Matt Donner writes: “We
had a successful holiday lunch
at the Williams/Princeton Club
attended by Brad Thayer, Dick
Lisle, Jim Conlan, Bob Guyett, Bill
Kaufmann, Lin Patterson, Tom
Synnott, Rich Lombard, Joe Young,
Arnie Sher, Dave Grossman,
Howard Abbott and myself. It
was an upbeat get together.”
That was the sentiment of all I
heard from. I’m told the waitstaff
loves the Ephs.
Just when you think a Texan,
even a transplanted one, would
be kicking back, you learn
that Carl Vogt is taking on the
chairmanship of the Ephraim
Williams Society, succeeding
fellow President Emeritus John
Chandler. The society encourages
testamentary and other major
gifts to the college, and Carl
aims to expand the universe of
donors. Congratulations, Carl,
on undertaking this additional,
and major, service to the alma.
Tex and Margrit visited
Mongolia last summer on an
“adventure” tour. They typically
stayed in yurts, called “gers”
there. It’s a huge, friendly country, Carl says, and something
of a model in its distribution
of ownership shares in mining
enterprises to citizens. Mining
royalties to the nation should
cover most of the national
budget. “The Russian influence
is everywhere, including some
world-class vodka. Should only
be visited in the summer, as Ulan
Bator is the coldest capital city in
the world.”
Skip Martin and Nancy were
recent guests of George Vare
and Elsa. They got Tex and
Margrit up to Napa for some
wine tasting. George and Elsa are
looking toward slimming down
and George is considering and
promoting a “village” concept
for the Napa area similar to the
Beacon Hill village in Boston.
George says there are 60 or so of
these around the nation.
Rick Driscoll and Jeanne have
moved to a condo a little north
of their former house. Rick says
he is happy to be out of the
home-owning business. The new
address is 403 North Hemlock
Lane in Williamstown. Rick’s
new email address is driscoll.
ephans@gmail.com; phone is the
same: 413.458.8681.
Larry Nilsen and Barbara are
going to hold their next family reunion, Thanksgiving, in
Williams, Ariz. If you’re ever
near the Grand Canyon, spend
a day and night at Williams,
named for Bill, a kind of
Mountain Man. It’s in the
mountains west of Flag, cool in
the summer, on old Route 66.
Black Jack Pershing stayed at the
old hotel there I think before he
took on Panchovilla. Larry and
Barbara’s son Scott and his wife
Megan, who live in Colorado
Springs, are expanding their
family from four to six with the
adoption of two young children
from Ethiopia. The paperwork
and vetting took 16 months.
Larry says if anyone can handle
the challenges, Scott and Megan
can.
Joe Borus and Carolyn and Sam
Jones and Becky attended the
50th reunion of the law school
class of 1961 at Yale. Sam and
others filled me in. Phil McKean
and Deborah got to Phil’s 50th
reunion at the Yale Divinity
School. Phil and others recalled
the Rev. William Sloane Coffin,
our chaplain senior year, who
spearheaded the Divinity School
in those subsequent years. Phil’s
new address is 633 Leyden Lane,
#203, Claremont, Calif. 91711.
They expect to be back in Maine
in the summer to visit with,
among many others, Charlie
Hudson.
George McCracken continues
his teaching, practicing and journal editorship and has received
the 2012 Maxwell Finland
Lectureship by the Infectious
Disease Society of America. He
will deliver the honorary lecture
in October.
Peter Bogle was to retire from
Smurfit-Stone at the end of
January, since it was acquired
by Rock-Tenn and moved its tax
operations to Georgia. Peter and
Cheryl are still raising their two
grandsons, and Peter is starting
a home-based business dealing
in wellness and health care products. Peter’s new email address is
peche1978@gmail.com. Pete says
he’ll enjoy being his own boss.
When I turned on the TV this
morning, I turned it up to better
hear Mohamed El-Erian, the
Pimco CEO. When he was last
out here the group was talking
bonds, and Dave Cook remarked
that in his last career, setting up
a security system for the IMF, he
developed a close and personal
relationship with El-Erian, then
still the head of the Harvard
Endowment Fund. This in my
humble opinion is a world-class
financial sage.
In the same realm Matt
Donner audited one of Prof. Tom
Synnott’s classes on business
economics at Cooper Union.
Matt notes that Cooper Union
was rated by Newsweek in 2010
as the “#1 Most Desired Small
School.” It is highly selective
n 1958
and all full scholarship. Matt
said Tom’s class was highly
stimulating.
Matt also had lunch in
December with Bill Harter. Matt
says Bill has lost 60 pounds and
looks great. Hey, nothing like
Bill, but I’ve lost a few; Tom
Shulman noted it last year. I got
a shot over the bow re: type-2
diabetes and hope to stave it off.
I mentioned Phil Rideout’s
and Flavia’s son Danny and his
high position at the Waldorf.
This astounds Phil, who teaches
a lot of Danny’s contemporaries who have few if any job
prospects. Danny is a graduate
of Johnson & Wales, a university
in Providence big in hospitality.
One of Danny’s fortés is providing for the particularized tastes
of the many foreign dignitaries
who make the Waldorf their NY
home. When the cooks cannot
deliver, Danny cooks it himself.
Phil and Flavia paid a moving
visit to Ground Zero. They were
both working two miles away
in midtown when the attacks
occurred. Phil also says that he
has finished all of his work on a
fifth edition of his Dictionary of
American English.
Phil said they visited the
Ramapos after their NY visit.
I imagined this must be some
obscure group of North Atlantic
islands. Nope—they are mountains in northern New Jersey.
I think Ron Cullis drove me
out there once yea those many
years ago. Phil says they greatly
enjoyed the relaxing visit.
Jim Conlan said he and Virginia
spent an enjoyable (and ocean
swimmable) few days at Spring
Lake, N.J., in the fall. Jim says
this area is known as “the Irish
Riviera.”
Jim Hutchinson and Kay finally
did make it to Antarctica on their
third try in December. “Very
enjoyable, though the Drake’s
passage going and coming was
rough. Back in Portland with the
usual winter rain.” Up near the
other end of the planet, Whitey
Kaufmann attended a meeting of
his University of the Arctic board
in Fairbanks in early January. It
was only about 5 below zero—
practically a heat wave for the
time and place. Whitey almost
daily informally posts a reply to
a conservative blog commenting on some of the prominent
media op-eds. Whitey is so well
informed and articulate that I
sometimes wonder how he managed to stay out of an even more
active political career. He’s going
to have an active 2012.
I’m going to give you the bad
news about Jim Becket first. He
had some intercranial bleeding
and a subdural hematoma and
underwent brain surgery on
Christmas Day. Jim notes that
it was just a “one hole” surgery.
He was in Southern California
at the time. The good news is
that the surgery appears to have
been very successful. Jim had a
follow-up with the leading neurosurgeon at UCLA, who gave
him a strong thumbs up on the
denouement. Jim sent me a priceless blow-by-blow of the events
and his mindset as he awaited
this meeting and “verdict.”
Jim earlier completed his
“peace climb” of Mount
Kilimanjaro with the two scions
of the past-warring African
legends referred to in the last
issue. He’s currently editing and
finalizing that documentary and
a “horror thriller” he directed
in July called Serenity Farm. Jim
reports he’s feeling fine and preparing for a trip to the Ganges in
India for some more production
work.
I was kind of hoping for an
upper-midwest World Series this
year after the Brewers knocked
off our local Diamondbacks.
Tigers vs. Brewers wasn’t to happen, but Sandy Hansell confirms
that the renaissances of the local
feral beasts, the Tigers and the
Lions, have raised spirits around
the Motor City. Someone is
going to get rich writing a book
on fan psyche.
John Buckner and Lorraine and
all available family members go
dressed up in stylish Renaissance
garb to celebrate Lorraine’s
birthday and sent me a picture.
I can’t say whether John looks
more ducal or troubadorian. Lorraine is very much the
contessa, ready to outmaneuver
Catherine de Medici. John Jr. is
very much some royalty higher
than conte. John and Lorraine’s
daughter Alison ’89 is either
queenly or high-level peasantry.
I’m not enough of a renaissance
man to know which.
Donna and Bill Dudley are cochairs for the National Maritime
Historical Society’s Washington
Awards dinner to be held April
12 at the National Press Club.
Honorees are Admiral Bruce
DeMars, who directed the Navy’s
nuclear propulsion program;
innovative racing yacht designer
Bruce Farr; and eminent marine
artist Patrick O’Brien. Bill says
this was to be a gala affair. You
can reach him at billdudley@
starband.net.
Bill Taggart and Lil were off to
Salinas, Ecuador, in late winter;
report to come.
Bruno Quinson and Minkie
had a harrowing experience
relocating to NYC. They were
on the Taconic in the early heavy
snowstorm and their car conked
out. Bruno confesses to envisioning some “Elderly Couple Found
Frozen to Death” headlines. But
he finally got the car restarted
and limped into Poughkeepsie,
where they got the last room at
the Marriott. Next day, Fifth
Avenue Manhattan never looked
better.
Bruno ran into John Karol at
the annual black-tie affair of
the Century Association in New
York. Bruno says John is looking
good. Not long after the last
issue’s material was submitted
John sent me some fine memories
he had of our late classmate Bill
Huckel. John writes: “I was sorry
to read of Bill Huckel’s death. I
have happy memories of time
spent together with Bill while he
was at Williams. Among others,
I recall long discussions on the
relative merits of Mozart and
Bach—his passion for the former,
mine for the latter. And when
winter ice now clings to our trees
here in New Hampshire, I recall
a hike with Bill up Pine Cobble
where the ice-covered underbrush chimed our way to the
sun-dazzled summit one Sunday
afternoon. On vacations while
still at Williams, Bill visited my
parents and me in Chappaqua
and Edgartown and joined me
for an event or two in New York.
I heard from Bill in January
2002, together with an appeal
to support The Regeneration
Center in West Palm Beach. I
was pleased to contribute to the
faith-based nonprofit organization that had rescued Bill from
the addiction that he forthrightly
described. ‘Brother Bill,’ his then
moniker, joyfully responded,
enclosing photos from the center,
including [one] with the caption
‘Here I am with Corey, who, at
18, is our youngest graduate.’ At
the time, Bill reported that his
cancer was in remission but that
hepatitis was taking a toll. Bill
has come to mind many times
over the years. Those who add
to one’s life are never forgotten.
If any of you are in touch with
members of Bill’s family, I would
be pleased to hear from you via
karol@apertura.org.”
Be sure to either download or
order your copy of the “hardcopy” mag.
CL ASS
NOTES
1959
Dan Rankin
1870 Bay Road #213
Vero Beach, FL 32963
“I’ve noticed that the older
and more gnarled the cherry
tree, the greater the profusions
of blossoms. And sometimes the
oldest and dustiest bottles hold
the most sparkling wine. I’m
drawn by faces lined with crow’s
feet, those credentials of humanity, beautifully lit from within.”
As the majority of us turn 75
this year we should reflect on
Chaplain William Sloane Coffin’s
thought and cherish our classmates who continue to do good
works and stay active.
Out in San Diego Cliff Colwell
continues his medical research,
and while he cautions his lab
hasn’t cured anything yet, they
have received a $3.5 million
grant from the California
Institute of Regenerative
Medicine to study stem-cell
regeneration and a possible cure
for arthritis. He and Carolyn
celebrated their 50th by hiking, biking and fishing with
their children in Whitefish,
Mont. Back on the East Coast
in Virginia another MD, Alex
Reeves, finds he’s reversed the
clock and is gradually slipping
out of retirement by working for
the Department of Corrections of
Virginia. He provides specialist
consultations for “offenders”
who have neurological problems. And while he finds this is
a long way from the academic
world in which he once lived, it
is rewarding and allows him to
pay the mortgage and buy the
necessary and important fish
gear he so cherishes. Across the
pond in Scotland, Valedictorian
Bob Gould remains active in the
theological field as an interim
pastor yet demonstrated his versatility by delivering a lecture at
the Computer School in Spain on
“How crystallographers survived
before the digital computer.”
(Right!) Bill Moomaw continues
to fight the good fight against
global warming by publishing
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
major papers on nitrogen pollution and what steps must be
taken in climate change negotiations. His 19 years of work with
the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change concluded
with the publication of a crucial
report on the very large potential
for renewable energy. He still
teaches graduate students at
the Fletcher School at Tufts and
hits the road to faraway spots
with Margot when he can—
Spain and France this year. Joe
Prendergast’s wife Marlene states
that the busy endocrinologist is
still trying to save the world. He
remains active in his practice in
Palo Alto and Redwood City,
Calif., with a real expertise in
diabetes. No matter how hard
he tries, Jack Hyland writes he’s
“unable to stop doing what I
like,” which is doing mergers
and acquisitions with three other
partners (www.mediaadvisorypartners.com). He’s just completed
another novel and spends plenty
of time on his hands and knees in
the garden. As antsy as ever, Jack
traveled to Bhutan, Angkor Wat
in Cambodia, and Borobudur in
Java last October. Jack wins the
battle with Marc Newberg over
who can accumulate the most
frequent-flyer miles, since Mark
and Ruth only saw fit to travel
to Patagonia on a Williamssponsored trip in January. And
then there is Geoff Morton,
who is never far behind on the
traveling circuit, as he routinely
flies from Cleveland to Phoenix,
to NYC, to Palm Beach, Fla., to
Hawaii, etc. He made sure he
was in attendance at Madison
Square Garden to see Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski
break Bobby Knight’s record of
902 victories. Now that he has a
new hip, Geoff feels confident he
and Pete Willmott, who had a full
knee replacement in December,
will earn starting positions on the
2012-13 Eph basketball team.
The knee Pete had replaced is
the one he hurt so badly playing
basketball in 1958.
From Raleigh, N.C., comes
word that Stu Wallace continues
to teach at North Carolina State,
where he offers a six-session
course based on Ed Ayer’s book,
In the Presence of Mine Enemies.
Stu marvels at how fascinating it is to study two counties
(Franklin, Pa., and Augusta,
Va.) who were so much alike yet
fought against each other in the
Civil War. Never one to let my
requests for info go unanswered,
Richard Crews writes, “The
chickens are molting, which
means they almost quit laying
eggs and they look like they’ve
been in a bar fight with a lawn
mower. The bees spend cold and
rainy days indoors (in their hives)
this time of year, but Silicon
Valley weather being what it is,
they have lots of nice days to go
foraging for pollen and make
honey.” Until this recent description of Richard’s flock I used to
think I could say his chickens
crossing the road were like
poultry in motion. (Sorry about
that.) My Scarsdale HS classmate
always throws me for a loop
with his many different thoughts
and activities. He brings me back
to the basics of life, which are
so important. Our class may not
have had a diversity of ethnicity,
but don’t let anyone tell you we
didn’t have a diversity of interest
and reflection.
Dave Skaff has finally succumbed to the constant tug
of the sun and has taken up
permanent residence in West
Palm Beach, Fla. While the
weather warms his heart and
soul, the success of his son in
starting up a digital advertising and production company
provides a continuing glow. Bob
Lowden, Sam Parkhill, Jerry Tipper
and I gathered in Brunswick,
Maine, for lunch and to watch
the Eph football team open the
2011 season with a win against
Bowdoin. Since we all arrived at
the restaurant in separate cars,
we left lunch to attend the game
in our individual vehicles. Poor
Lowds—though he’d played on
the Bowdoin field over 50 years
ago, he had no idea how to get
to the game and spent the next
20 minutes wandering around
Brunswick, finally arriving as the
second quarter began. Directions
to Cambridge, Mass., were no
problem for Jerry Tipper, who
returned to Harvard to attend
his 50th at the business school.
Jerry supervised Betsy’s rehab
after total shoulder replacement,
and they both still escape the
cold Maine winters to spend time
in Florida fishing and golfing. A
long note from Tony Distler in
Blacksburg, Va., where Virginia
Tech understands they have
the quintessential Renaissance
man in Tony. He’s described as
“Alumni Distinguished Professor
and Director of the School
of Arts, Emeritus, a teacher,
performer, director, scholar, TV
host and producer. His production of Waiting for Godot was
presented at the Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts as part
of the American College Theater
n 1959
Festival.” And that’s just the
beginning—he’s been teaching at
VA Tech for 45 years.
From northern California, Bo
Kirschen, Chuck Dunkel and Norm
Cram remain excellent correspondents. They continue to meet for
lunch and make sure they huddle
up for the Williams-Amherst
game each year. Bo vividly
recalls taking a break from
his studies at Yale Law School
in November 1961 to attend
the famous Williams-Amherst
game. As many remember we
were a huge underdog in this
contest since the Lord Jeffs
were undefeated and had not
been intercepted all season. As
Bo reports, the Ephs played an
“absolutely inspired game,”
causing him and Bill Russell ’60,
to cheer loud and enthusiastically
(“obnoxiously”—my word) as
they sat directly behind some
older Amherst rooters who had
to scurry to find more soothing
shelter during the second half. (I
never thought of Bo as boisterous
at Williams, but I guess Yale Law
brought out his more aggressive
personality in two short years.)
The word is out that our good
Navy chaplain, “Crammie,”
knowing compassion and justice
are companions, not choices,
has taken up the cause of the 99
percent in the Occupy Wall Street
movement and has protested in
both Sonoma and Santa Rosa.
He reports his placard pointed
out that Bank of America did
not pay federal income taxes in
2010, and the Gregorian chant
he led was, “I pay, you pay,
why not B of A?” He’s a strong
proponent of Louis Brandeis’
comment, “We can have a
democracy or we can have
great wealth concentrated in
the hands of a few; we can not
have both.” Dick Lee writes from
Rye, N.Y., that he and Sally
took a wonderful cruise on the
Danube last year; traveling from
Passau, Germany, to Budapest.
Their daughter Dorothy then
descended on them from France
for two weeks. In mid-October
Terry Northrop and Susan visited
David Thun and Barbara and
proved to be perfect PR agents
for Barbara as they notified
their son George to check out
Barbara’s paintings on the website barbarathun.com. In no time
George bought one of Barbara’s
paintings. David is therefore
encouraging all classmates to
make sure they tell their children
about this website; however, they
must do this soon, since supplies
are limited.
Though Pete Fessenden suffered a stroke a year ago you’d
never know it by reading about
his activities. From his residence
in Santa Fe he traveled to Palo
Alto to see friends and old colleagues at Stanford Radiation
Oncology. Within two weeks
of returning home he was off
camping in the wild and remote
area of northwest New Mexico,
where he claims to have caught
a beautiful 13-inch Rio Grande
cutthroat trout. He followed
this adventure with a trip to
Nevada, where he attended the
Las Vegas Independent Film
Festival to see the eventual firstplace winning film, 40 West,
which was directed by Andy
Packard’s son Dana. He insists
he challenged Wayne Newton,
Mr. Las Vegas, to a karaoke
competition. (And the outcome,
Fess?) Pim Goodbody took time
out from his rowing exercises to
recount a little history he recently
learned. The Williams College
Muslim chaplain is the great
grandson of Agnes and Harry
(Doc) Logan, who tended to the
maintenance of the Chi Psi (now
Spencer) House and counseled
the rambunctious residents during our years on campus. What
Pim appreciated most was that
Doc had the ability to prepare a
“magic potion that cured” him
and his buddies of heavy hangovers so they could quickly return
to their partying ways. Doc may
have originated the pun: “A
hangover is the wrath of grapes.”
Henry Folz and Caryn hosted a
nice lunch in Delray Beach, Fla.,
for Tony Volpe and Amy and the
Rankins. Henry turned ashen
when we informed him we were
there to solicit a major gift for
the college, and it was not until
we told him this was just our
perverted sense of humor that his
color returned.
Fall weather in the Berkshires
brought together 30 classmates
and spouses for a minireunion.
Friday night dinner with our
special guests John and Joyce
Chandler was held with the
Class of ’58 at the 1896 House,
and our Saturday night dinner
took place at Hobson’s Choice.
We heard two excellent faculty
lectures Friday afternoon and
Saturday morning, followed by
lunch under the tent on Weston
Field and a football win against
Tufts. Tom Davidson directed
a class discussion for folks to
remember and relive moments
during our time on campus.
Saturday dinner proved there are
classmates who are still at the
top of their game: Bill Moomaw
walked away with an extremely
valuable prize for naming Robert
Joseph Allen as the chair of the
English department during our
senior year. Bill Collins picked
up the award for knowing that
Sam Matthews was chair of
the faculty, and Jay Hodgson
collected gold for having the
most grandchildren: 13. David
Boothby’s performance was a
bit weak when he was unable
to identify the President of the
Williams Concert Committee.
Though he was still given his
priceless prize, he’d forgotten
that he, David Boothby, was the
president. Once we managed
to pull Barry Mayer away from
telling anyone who would listen
to tales of his fishing exploits, he
proved again he could entertain
the whole room as a storyteller
par excellence. It was a nice gathering and very special to also see:
John Coffin and Anne, Bill Collins
and Ann, Bev Compton, George
Dangerfield and Margaret, Jack
Dietze and Maureen, Tim Enos
and Sheilah, Nick Frost, Tom
Hayne and Martha, E.J. Johnson,
Jim Richardson, David Thun and
Barbara, Jerry Tipper and Pete
Willmott.
I want to thank those classmates who toil in the trenches
as agents for the college to raise
money for the annual Alumni
Fund. Under the leadership
of Bob Lowden, Bart Robinson
and Tony Volpe, the following
constantly prove their loyalty
to the college: Al Benton, Henry
Cole, Bev Compton, Chuck Dunkel,
Dan Fanning, Tony Harwood, John
Kimberly, Dick Lee, Bob McAlaine,
Hugh Morton and Ty Smith.
Ever the voice of reason and
remembrances, Ernie Imhoff
writes from Baltimore and offers
memories about our common
denominator, Spring Street 1955
to 1959. You must remember
Ernie is our “townie” classmate
and Baltimore Sun luminary who
lived with the local businesses
long before we arrived in the
Berkshires. He reminds us: Mama
Girgenti’s offered “pizza fit for a
king”; Williamstown Ice Co. had
ice for house parties until 9 p.m.;
Lupos Shoe Repair was located
at the foot of Spring Street; Steele
& Cleary’s Garage repaired
our cars; the House of Walsh
and the Williams Co-op were
there for our clothing needs. We
could get Utica Club and most
anything else we wanted to drink
from Cal King’s: “Always 5,000
cans of cold beer”; we bought
our books at Ray Washburn’s
CL ASS
NOTES
Book Store at prices that always
seemed exorbitant; we kept
the pinball machines hopping
at the Gym Lunch; and at the
Walden Theater we could see An
American in Paris, For Whom
the Bell Tolls, The Wages of Fear,
High Society and many others.
Ernie recalls Rudnick’s Master
Cleaners, which was run by the
street’s unofficial rabbi, Louis
Rudnick, a colorful character on
the town’s board of selectmen.
The street had two competing drug stores: The College
Pharmacy on the northwest
corner and Hart’s Drug Store
on the mideast side. The dearly
departed in town were often
handled by Hopkins Funeral
Home, which also sold furniture
near the money changers at the
Williamstown National Bank.
Then there was Richard Gold,
the diamond merchant, who
urged students to “Come in and
Get Stoned.” And just down the
street from Gold was the District
Court, where Ernie covered
drunk driving charges and other
sins unearthed by the town’s
constabulary. Being a local resident he particularly liked the two
stores at the bottom of Spring
Street that in 1952 ran competing
ads for the presidential candidates, one saying “I like Ike” and
the other saying, “But I’ll vote for
Stevenson.” Good memories—
thanks, Ernie.
We just received news of the
sudden death of Richard Crews
in San Jose, Calif., on March 7.
Our condolences to his family.
Please keep the notes coming.
That’s the view from hear.
1960
Michael Penner
38334 South Desert Bluff Drive
Tucson, AZ 85739
Joe Masino responded from
Wisconsin while visiting his
daughter Julie. Joe and Jackie
now live in Kentucky. Joe reports
he is in good health and has
become a stay-at-home person
taking care of their dog Gabriel,
a miniature German Schnauzer.
Joe has retired from selling
products in the Midwest and is
hoping to write a book about his
life if he can overcome writer’s
block. Duncan Brown reports he
and Susan, and Susan and Tony
Roberts, Jill and Ned Benedict
and Nancy and Peter Berkley all
had a great rendezvous with Phil
Scaturro and Rey Enriquez, who
hosted them at Casa de Campo
in the Dominican Republic in
November. They had beautiful
weather and fantastic accommodations on the water. Golf,
biking, hiking, swimming and
boating were some of the
activities, while the superb
cuisine and excellent wines were
frequent and abundant. Jim
Pilgrim writes from Plainfield,
Mass., that on Nov. 8 he had his
left knee replaced by Dr. John
Cluett ’96. Recovery has been
slow, with physical therapy
classes, but Jim hopes to be
cleared to drive soon. Jim reports
that his right knee now feels fine.
He feels it’s scared to act up or it
will be replaced also. Stew Smith
responded early so as not to be
outdone by that laggard, Nimetz.
He reports that he and Nancy
were huddled on the eastern
shore of the chilly Chesapeake
Bay for the solstice holidays. The
demands of work and responsibility must still be met, mainly by
schlepping more firewood and
defending the camellias from
Bambi and friends as they make
sweeps through the shopping
mall of their shrubbery. Stew
professes no envy of those
Prestons, Healys, Cutlers,
Stegemans, Alfords, Browns and
other loyal legions of our
classmates still in Yankee land
right now. Or even of the
Roaches and the rest of those
expatriates perched on a West
Coast fault line. Harvey Brickley
writes that he has joined the
advisory board of the Andrew
Young School of Policy Studies at
Georgia State University in
Atlanta. The school includes
3,700 of the university’s total
enrollment of 32,000. Initially
Harvey will focus on the work
being done in career services and
using opportunities presented in
that area to bring all the
members of the board in contact
with students. Harvey reports
that Andy Young has attended all
the meetings, bringing his
experience as a lieutenant to Dr.
Martin Luther King, mayor of
Atlanta and congressman and
ambassador to the United
Nations to bear on national and
international issues. I received a
great note from Dick Holliday,
who asked that I remind
classmates about Alumni Fund
season. Dick’s goal as our new
class agent was raising our
participation percentage from
last year’s 66 percent to well
above 70 percent. We all should
thank Dick for taking such an
important job. Dick continues to
divide his time between the
printing equipment business and
several community and sailing
organizations. Ardis maintains
her shared studio in nearby
Stonington, experimenting with
new ways to express her artistic
vision. Dick keeps in shape
bicycling and walking with Ardis
and 10-year-old lab Gretta. Dick
and Ardis left the New England
winter to visit friends in San
Miguel de Allende in the high
interior of Mexico. San Miguel is
an old Mexican town with
spectacular weather and is a
mecca for artists and their
patrons. The Hollidays just loved
it, and a return trip was
scheduled for February. Dave
Banta reported on the minireunion weekend Oct. 21-23.
Dave writes: “A relatively small
but typically enthusiastic number
of classmates were back for the
minireunion weekend. The
‘locals’ spearheaded the list,
namely Ned Benedict, Duncan
Brown, Foster Devereux, Jim
Briggs, Dave Paresky and Bob
Stegeman. We on the traveling
squad included: Dick Alford, Fred
Combs, Jon Gilman, Win Healy,
Marshall Lapidus, Jon O’Brien,
Bob Pyle, Dave Banta and Toby
Smith. Buck Frederickson won the
distance award—a Tebow
bobblehead. Penny and Foster
Devereux hosted us all for dinner
(as they have done many times
before) on Friday night. Some
played golf on the upgraded,
always challenging Taconic
course that afternoon. Saturday
featured lectures, tailgating and
Tufts football, an Eph triumph.
Saturday night the class gathered
at the ’6 House (private room)
for a down loose dinner. Our
prez, Buck, welcomed all and
posed the following question:
What do all Williams and
Amherst students have in
common? Answer: They all got
into Amherst! Toby Smith took
the floor and told a Scottish joke
with a burr that was worthy of
Robert Burns. We ended the
get-together with the following
idea: It’s a shame for so few to
have so much fun, so let’s try to
double the number for next year.
Give it some thought. After all,
why wait for the 55th?” Thanks
again to Dave Banta for a great
report. I had planned to attend
(and win the distance award),
but an important family event
took precedence. Our daughter
Jane Penner ’90 presented us with
our first granddaughter in
October. I received a very
interesting note from John
Whitman. John has been engaged
n 1 9 5 9 –6 1
celebration was to take place in
Washington on Feb. 11 at St.
Marks Episcopal Church on
Capitol Hill. Ron expresses his
gratitude for the wonderful
support from so many of our
classmates.
1961
Bob Gormley
P.O. Box 3922
Westport, MA 02790
Ephs gathered at the Mount Desert Island Garlic Festival in Southwest
Harbor, Maine, last fall included (from left) Eliot Coleman ’61, James
Thompson ’68 and Hal Crowther ’66.
during the past year in a
none-too-practical but very
interesting self-motivated study
of how difficult it is to improve
upon the vertical accuracy of
public topographic data using
GPS and GIS methods. Even
with good equipment and
software, GPS data are none too
accurate, particularly in the
vertical coordinate. What’s
worse, that inaccuracy grows
almost an order of magnitude
larger when trying to receive
GPS signals under a forest
canopy. Nevertheless, John has
amassed data (convincing to
him) that show he can improve
upon the best available public
data for his region. Since this
accomplishment has required
more data collection and
processing than any sane
individual would wish to
attempt, John suspects that the
most appropriate conclusion
may be that Whitman has too
much time on his hands. John
does hope to present a paper on
his work next July at the ESRI
User Conference. John, be sure
to report back on how it went at
the conference. For all you
non-science majors, aren’t you
sad you weren’t a physics major?
Earla Sue and Colin McNaull
report settling into their first
Christmas in Trumansburg, a
suburb of Cornell and Ithaca
College, outside of Ithaca. Colin
has learned Cornell gives no
senior citizen discounts for PhD
programs, so “Sex, Drugs and
Rock-and-Roll Eugenics, a
Modern Retrospective” will
probably never make it into
print. Colin may have reached
the limits of his desire to be a
cowboy last fall. Seven days on a
horse with the cows at the
Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming
may have been two days too
many. Earla Sue, on the other
hand, finished her 350-mile bike
ride from Buffalo to Albany
along the Erie Canal with a zest
to do more in 2012. Spain
perhaps? Sounds to me like
Colin and Earla Sue are one of
the most active couples in our
class. Bob Stern remains active in
the practice of law and has
published the book Pennsylvania
Nonprofit Corporation Law. It
looks like a very complete
coverage of the subject. With
many of us retired, it’s great to
see Bob publishing new material.
Noelle Ho-Lam ’02 writes that
although Tao Ho remains mostly
bed-bound, he enjoys his
grandchildren’s visits (Noelle’s
21⁄2-year-old son Noah and
11-month-old daughter Gabi).
The noise (cries and screams) the
children make add much life and
joy to his daily routine. At the
beginning of November,
President Adam Falk visited
Hong Kong with Geraldine Shen
’01. Tao’s wife Irene and
daughter Noelle had tea with
President Falk and enjoyed
getting to know him and hearing
his vision for Williams. On a sad
note, Ron Stegall reports the
death of Lael, his wife of 44
years, after a year of struggle
with pancreatic cancer. Ron
writes the outpouring of
messages and appreciation of her
from around the world has been
overwhelming and gratifying.
There was a celebration of her
life in Deer Isle, Maine, in
November and a similar
It’s mid-January of a relatively
mild winter as I post these notes;
it’ll be April and spring when you
read them. So welcome to spring,
baseball and flowers again, and
with a cumbersome national
election process plodding
toward summer conventions and
anointed candidates. One thing I
urged when soliciting these notes
was something on how you all
stood on the presidential election.
Remember that in the fall of
1960, just before that historic
election, as John Chandler
pointed out in his letter for our
50th class book, the student body
chose Nixon over JFK by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent.
I think it’s interesting to see how
we of ’61 stand 51 years later.
Here follow a handful of replies
but I hope that by September,
when the next notes come out,
more of you will take the opportunity to declare yourselves.
John Mayher, who was editor
of the Williams Record in 1960,
recalls the poll back then and
dug out his “somewhat moldy”
copy of the paper to prove it.
(The Record also had “an ad for
Budweiser, two for long-gone
Schaeffer, one for Kools and
a ‘humor’ column sponsored
by Marlboro.”) In the poll we
students liked Nixon’s choice of
Henry Cabot Lodge as a running mate, noting he was “far
superior” to LBJ. But as John
proudly points out, The Record
officially endorsed Kennedy, and
he and Ben Campbell wrote a
brief that concluded: “He can
provide the leadership we have
lacked for the last eight years.”
Meanwhile, George Reath argued
for Nixon that “he has professed
his reluctance to have government spending any higher.”
Notice how much more civil
we were in those days about
politics. John concludes, ”I’m still
a Democrat and ready to work
again for Obama. Are you still a
Republican, George?”
Walt Henrion chimed in that
“being on a board with Lou
CL ASS
NOTES
Guzzetti and Wally Bernheimer
is quite the experience when it
comes to political views, the far
right and the uninformed left. I
guess I make the sandwich complete, although I like to be on the
unbuttered side of the bread.”
Funny enough when Walt first
submitted that he mixed up left
and right and said “the far left
and the uninformed right.” He
quickly corrected himself but
I liked thinking of Lou on the
“uninformed right.”
Van Schreiber was next in:
“Schreiber is motivated as never
before and thinks this election
is the most important in my
memory. We shall see, but the
country is about to make decisions re: our future direction
unlike anything before.” Pete
Haeffner added: “Things not so
bad for the Haeffners. Family
is great. Sally and I are looking
forward to our 50th wedding
anniversary in 2012. Interestingly
our three kids will also be
celebrating milestones of 25th,
20th and 10th anniversaries. The
reunion was neat. We hadn’t seen
a lot of the class over the years,
class art contribution was great,
tour of the college art museum
was really good, and wish I had
spent more time exploring this
field than breaking rocks in geo
lab. Quick thoughts on politics:
If I recall the 1960 election year,
Prof. Burns was running for
Congress … on platform suggesting Congress be abolished
(interesting concept, now).” Dave
Farrell, who ran Burns’ campaign
around campus, may differ on
the last point, since Jim wanted
reform, not abolishment, I think,
but Marty Linsky, who headed the
Young Republicans on campus,
may also want to add a point.
Pete continues: “Have you seen
the email offered with Warren
Buffet’s name attached, wish list
for 2012, suggests Congress give
up a lot of their ‘perks’ including
their own medical and retirement program, join SS instead,
etc. If you do the math, seems to
me, a government-elected office
is now a better paying ‘job’ vs.
the real world, idea of service no
longer driving force, neither is
working together. Went to Tea
Party rally in Vero Beach, Fla.,
held outside municipal building
at lunch hour. Ninety percent
of attendees were the municipal
appointees. Rally lasted 30 minutes, employees were there till
4:30. I was a Nixon supporter in
’60, even handed out brochures
in N. Adams. Maybe that’s why
I get 50 calls a week from the
GOP. You guess Hopper and I
are still in the GOP voting ranks.
I guess you’re right.” Thanks,
Pete, for an honest and forthright
response.
Joe Low continues with this
comment: “Judging by how well
our reunion went, we might consider drafting Denne, Guzzetti,
Bernheimer and Wadsworth
for a run at DC. Frightening
potential as to who will lead
this nation next year. Even
Wally might admit our hopes
for Obama might have been too
exaggerated. Enjoyed dinner
with Lou and Joan where we
laughed at the CD of our ‘Buddy
Holly’ session at the reunion.
Music does have a way of energizing us oldies. Also dined last
week with Bill Penny and Marge,
who seem to revel in each others
company.”
Joe ended by hoping that a
new class travel idea will gain
traction. Wally Bernheimer, John
Byers and John Denne have put
forward a future plan for travel
based on the fun and bonding of
the 16 classmates and partners
who made our Oxford trip in
2010. They sent out a survey
questionnaire on it in January,
so you are aware of their idea.
The hope is that we can keep the
good relations among classmates
going, pick up some new people
and travel occasionally to exotic
places possibly led by a Williams
faculty member and at a reasonable price. End of commercial.
Back to politics and the
thoughts of two wild-eyed
California liberals, Bill Holmes
and Jay Tarses. Bill begins a long
letter with his “falling off the
porch roof while untangling
Christmas lights.” He’s OK
but sworn off gutter cleaning
and lights. After news about
the weather and family and a
fire in the neighborhood, he
goes on kind of a political rant:
“Between eight years of the idiot
Bushies, the Norquist lemmings,
the Obama haters and the
Gingrich family values crowd,
there’s not a lot to love about the
Republicans.” That was the mild
part. Jay is subdued by contrast:
“By the time this is printed all
the boring caucuses and frantic
fundamental right-wing cackling
will have died down some, and
whoever invoked the name of
Reagan the most times will be
the Republican front-runner,
unless I’m wrong, which has only
happened once when I thought
I was a shoo-in for a Rhodes
scholarship.” He goes on to
say how much he enjoyed the
October weekend minireunion to
which I’ll turn in a moment.
Last two on the political scene
for this go round. Fed up with it
all, Gil Kerr sends along his New
Year’s resolutions, in historic
perspective: “2007, diet to get
weight under 180; 2008, work
harder to get weight under 190;
2009, work new diet to get
under 200; 2010, join a gym to
exercise along with diet; 2011,
work out three days a week;
drive by a gym at least once
a week.” Apologies to Jerry
Remy. He has decided to view all
politics in a historic sense and to
include “our country” in his evening prayers. Al Demb leaves us
with this warning: “If Americans
want a taste of how dangerous it
can be to have conservatives in
the driver’s seat, keep an eye on
Canada!”
Now on the October minireunion with classes ’60, ’62, ’63
and ’64. Also our famous “baton
passing” dinner as ’62 became
the new 50th reunion class. We
had 30 classmates back, proving
the success of our June festivities
and once again topping the other
classes in attendance. Another
reason too why maybe the class
travel plan should go forward.
It is, after all, later than we think.
George Lowe meanwhile
proceeds with his world travel.
I never know where he’s going
to pop up. In September he and
Barbara hiked 110 km on the
Camino de Santiago in northern
Spain, the great medieval pilgrimage route. He mentions the
recent film The Way with Martin
Sheen as a fine film. In Santiago,
they hooked up with Fred Noland
and Susan, who have a place in
Salbrena, and toured through
Portugal. Wish I were a judge
too.
Frank Gluck beat the deadline
this time and reports that he’s
still loving his voluntary teaching in a residency program for
internal medicine. He enjoys
keeping connected with young
would-be doctors but also
more down time for family and
travel. He watched the Williams/
Amherst game in Nashville and,
despite the outcome, enjoyed
the socialization and especially
the moving tribute to Mike Reily
’64. Several others mentioned
this to me as well. Frank was on
the wrestling team with Mike,
who died too young. The gang
in Nashville also discussed Tim
Layden’s ’78 moving SI article on
Mike. And Frank commented on
Clyde Buck’s reunion retrospective as a great memento.
n 1 9 6 1 –6 2
Friend and sometime neighbor
Wally Bernheimer had lunch with
Paul Boire and Nancy together
with another friend, a Red Sox
exec who had worked with Paul
in the Cape Cod League baseball
many moons ago. Stories floated
about funny back-room sports
happenings, including one about
Lou Guzzetti after a game getting
into a scuffle with a UMass
basketball player that led to our
terminating basketball relations
with them and several about Paul
being ejected from ball games
after throwing down his clipboard to protest a ref’s call in Al
Shaw fashion. Wally also had fun
phone conversations with Fred
Mayer on Red Sox baseball and
Bruce Shilling, who had attended
a Minneapolis lecture by Wally’s
writer daughter, Kate (Wesleyan
’88), on her fairy tale research.
Jack Heiser certainly caught
my attention with his note:
“Planning to attend a Big
Meeting proved harmful to
my health. I was packed and
ready in June but ended up in a
hospital. My doctors ignored my
plea for emergency performance
enhancing drugs. Eight months
and a knee surgery, followed by
much rehab, a total-knee replacement, yet more rehab, a second
total-knee replacement scheduled
for late March followed by
even more rehab later, I am also
completing an almost complete
body rebuild with a 50-year perfect health expectation (more a
guideline than a guarantee).Most
distressing about this is the burden (me) on my caretaker wife.
Much of my career has been
spent managing stress and strain.
Now I am the stress straining my
wife. I hope to return to work
in May. I look forward to seeing
everyone at the centennial, unless
I end up in the hospital again.”
Lastly, on a bittersweet note,
I would personally like to
acknowledge that Pete Raisbeck’s
beloved wife Peggy passed away
in August after a long battle
with cancer. (Peggy resisted the
spotlight, and Pete wanted to
respect her wishes, but I insisted
on a notice here.) Many of us
knew Peg from back in college
days but perhaps didn’t know
all that she accomplished in outreach over the years. She was a
model of volunteerism, including
Shelter Inc., finding housing for
the poor, founding the Becklam
Foundation to fund a number
of projects for the underprivileged, being active with Loaves
& Fishes and soup kitchens,
tutoring mentally challenged
kids and assisting in the Oakland
schools, helping to settle Laotian
and Cambodian refugees back in
Vietnam days in Connecticut and
looking after desperate families
at Christmas. She was a great
lady, and our condolences go out
to Pete in his loss.
Onward to September, when
I hope more of you will emerge
from the closet about the election. We are of a generation that
votes, so take the opportunity
to speak to the Williams community, whatever your stripes.
Cheers, all!
1962
50th
REUNION JUNE 7–10
William M. Ryan
112 Beech Mountain Road
Mansfield Center, CT 06250
I will begin with a quick
procedural note. Now that my
visits and the reporting of them
are complete, I will be soliciting
information for future class notes
via email. The college has email
addresses for over 80 percent of
the class. If you think they may
not have yours (and you care),
please contact the alumni office
and provide it. If you do not
have access to email, please let
them know that as well, and I
will make certain you receive a
hard copy of all requests.
Thirty-one classmates, most
with partners, attended the mini
in October. We now are the
official holders of the baton,
received from the Class of ’61 by
our president Spike Kellogg at a
first-class dinner at the Faculty
House. In other words, it is time
to make your contribution to
the 50th reunion fund. It was
a fun-filled and educational
weekend, with several Williams
faculty speaking to us and lots
of athletic events taking place.
We were entertained, amused,
and learned much from President
Adam Falk and former President
John Chandler. Rufus Jarman led
us in a stirring rendition of “The
Mountains” (all four verses)
at our Friday night dinner. I
enjoyed seeing all classmates but
especially ones I hadn’t seen in a
while, including Bob Jackson and
Mike Scott.
Rufus also deserves credit for
tracking down former classmate
Pete Hayes and turning him into
a current classmate. Pete began
with us but graduated in ’63
and was officially a member
of that group until he changed
his affiliation. He immediately
wrote his bio for our book and
will be attending the 50th. He
and wife Melissa live in Santa
Fe, N.M., and have a total of
five children and five grandkids.
If you remember Pete, you will
not be surprised at the many
twists and turns in his life. He
began his post-Williams life in
the Peace Corps in Peru, served
as an A.P. photographer in New
York and moved to New Mexico
to manage a new outdoor store
founded by friends. Then he
started his own firm, Omniverse
Research, of Los Gatos, Calif.,
based on inventions Pete had
devised for a battery-powered
MIG Welder (I don’t know what
that is, either). “By the early ’90s
I was exhausted with commuting to Silicon Valley so I took a
job at the local Boys and Girls
Club, helping transform ‘at risk’
kids into computer whizzes with
real prospects. Utterly fantastic!”
Welcome back, Pete. Get out
your wallet.
It is always special for me to
reunite with classmates, but the
minis are a real treat, as one can
mingle with members of adjacent
classes. I ran into Clyde Buck ’61,
who asked me to contribute to a
testimonial book he was preparing for former coach and one
of my all-time favorite persons,
Clarence Chaffee. I assented and
now have a copy of the book.
(John Botts is also a contributor.) It is an amazing tribute to
an amazing man. Contact the
alumni office if you would like to
purchase a copy.
Three weeks after our mini,
the college staged another huge
weekend to honor Mike Reily ’64
and officially retire his number.
(Too long a story to relate here,
but read the early November
Sports Illustrated story.) Over
300 of Mike’s classmates and
football players returned to
campus, including all seven of
the living members of our class
who played with Mike in our
senior year: Rawson Gordon,
Dan Crowley, Choppy Rheinfrank,
Price Gripekoven, Carl Davis, John
Newton and Bruce Grinnell. (Tovi
Kratovil also played but passed
away earlier in the year.) Price
and Bruce both wrote to me that
it was one of the “most memorable, emotional and enjoyable
reunions” they ever attended.
Kudos to Ben Wagner ’64 for
organizing the event!
Now the sad news, which
unfortunately is becoming a
staple of this column. Two of
CL ASS
NOTES
our classmates have passed away
since last I wrote, and we have
been notified of another who
died in 2005. John Patterson is
the not-recently-deceased class
member. I admit to not knowing
John but was able to ascertain
that he left our class during
our sophomore year and was
a member of the Theta Delta
Chi fraternity. He finished his
undergraduate work at SUNY
Buffalo and obtained a master’s
degree from Stanford. He moved
to LA, where he began a most
highly decorated career as a
director of TV dramas, including
13 episodes of The Sopranos.
He was twice nominated for an
Emmy and received the Directors
Guild award in 2003. He is survived by his companion Andrea
Makshanof and two children.
“Bert” or “Gerry” White
died on Aug. 17, 2011, at his
residence at Merrill Gardens
in Monrovia, Wash. He was
a cowboy born into a family
of Philadelphia lawyers, and I
always thought of him as the
original Marlboro man. He had
been married to his high school
sweetheart, Elaine, and they
raised their three daughters in
Vail, Colo. He and Elaine built
the Ram’s Horn Inn in Vail in
1967, and they were pivotal in
the development of the community. An article in the Vail daily
newspaper referred to Gerry as
the foundation upon which Vail
was created. Gerry suffered a
traumatic brain injury in 1974
when he was biking and hit
head-on by an automobile. He
was never quite the same, and his
memory was seriously impaired.
Nevertheless, he returned to
Williams for several reunions
and enjoyed himself immensely.
When a classmate would come
over to greet him, he often would
ask those of us who knew him
best (I was a fraternity brother),
“Did I like that guy?” He was
one of a kind, and I will miss
him. Great sympathy to his
daughters and six grandchildren.
We lost Irv Marcus from our
class on Nov. 14 from a series
of complications following a
long illness. Irv was a man of
many talents. Among them was
a remarkable sense of humor
which he often expressed with
very clever cartoons. I remember
him sketching Robert Frost as he
spoke at Williams. After the talk,
Irv approached the renowned
poet and asked him if he would
sign the sketch, which he did,
with the caveat: “Said to be
Robert Frost.” After obtaining
his Harvard law degree, Irv
worked for 40 years at the firm
of Lasser, Hochman LLC in
Roseland, N.J. Irv and I were
roommates (along with Steve
Brumberg) during our sophomore
year, and there was not a subject
he was unwilling to debate. He
is a loss in my life as well as that
of the class. Our thoughts of condolence go out to his wife Harriet
and his daughters Sarah Barton
’89 and Miriam Karas ’91.
It was exciting to hear from
Graham Phipps after many years
of silence. He wrote: “My life
in a nutshell: Taught secondary school in Williamstown for
four years, then went to UPenn
School of Architecture and
worked as an architect for 15
years. Gemologist and jewelry
store owner in Denver for five
years and then became an optician for LensCrafters for 12
years and Advanced Eyecare for
five more. Now I donate some of
my time to doing eyeglasses for
the Colorado Coalition for the
Homeless. I have been married
three times and have two children and three grandchildren by
my first wife and several stepkids
and stepgrandkids by my other
wives. I still ski with all the kids
and my dearest third and last
wife, Carol. We travel quite a bit
and manage a couple of properties in Scottsdale. I have not
been in touch with my Williams
classmates but returned to
Williams 25 years ago with my
daughter Catheryn ’86, who was
a student there. I will really try to
attend the 50th with Carol.” A
lot of people are hoping you do,
Graham.
Our itinerant actor, Ash Crosby,
keeps on doing his thing. “After
The Crucible and Romeo and
Juliet in rotating rep last summer
off-off-Broadway, I returned to
Tennessee to do Twain, not the
Hal Holbrook version but one
devised for Lincoln Center’s
‘Meet the Artist’ series. Now
back in NYC ready to rehearse
Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus
Descending, which will play offBroadway and on tour. My film
Wind Jammers is now available
on Amazon.”
Of course Spike Kellogg will
be at the 50th, looking forward
especially to seeing his past
roommates Dave Kieffer and
Johnny Russ. He is throttling
back on long business trips and
was looking forward to a good
winter of skiing in Jackson, N.H.
Volunteer activities loom more
prominently in his future, particularly the Manchester-Essex
Conservation Trust and the U.S.
Biathlon Association. “Next
year marks the 100th anniversary of cross-country running at
Williams. I am intent on running
in a commemorative race in
late September that will mark
that milestone. I hope other
classmates will run as well.” (I’m
afraid I’ll miss that one, Spike.)
Brenda and Tom Johnson will
be attending the 50th and hope
to see Denny Bauman, Scott
Mohr and Stu Meyers there as
well. Both of them stay busy
working as standardized patients
for the UMass Medical School
in Worcester. In addition to
teaching patient interviewing to
UMass medical students, they
travel to three Boston-based
med schools, Tufts, Harvard
and BU. “We help prepare the
students to pass the oral portion
of the National Boards on the
final path to medical licensure.
We continue to enjoy life in
Worcester volunteering at local
theaters and historical preservation groups. Any time left is
spent visiting our four children
and grandchildren. Our health
is good, especially for me since
a pacemaker was placed a year
ago for a ‘sick sinus syndrome.’”
Brenda and Tom celebrated their
50th anniversary in 2011.
Mike Scott wrote: “There have
been some important changes for
me in the past six months. On
the Sunday at the tail end of our
minireunion in October, I got a
chance to lecture to the Williams
pre-med interest group. Can you
believe it? Sunday, 2 p.m., and
the lecture room in Griffin was
full! The students were a delight,
interested and attentive and full
of questions and comments after
the talk. It was simply a thrill
to be there with them. I stepped
down as chair of our pediatric
neurosurgery department at the
end of October and right now
am working only three days a
week and operating only one
day—certainly the most relaxed
work schedule I have ever had as
a doctor. We have a new chief of
the department, recruited from
the Rainbow Babies’ Hospital
in Cleveland, whom I know
extremely well (my wife Susan
was his scrub nurse when he
was in Boston years ago), and
the leadership transition has
been a smooth one. I now get to
forward all of the administration
emails regarding new directives
and policies to him without the
burden of actually reading and
enforcing them—perhaps the
best dividend from the change. I
n 1 9 6 2 –6 3
received a wonderful award from
my peers at our annual meeting
in Austin, Texas—the Ingraham
Medal for distinguished service
to pediatric neurosurgery—and
was given a surprise party with
our current faculty and many of
my previously trained fellows in
attendance. All of this was like
getting a chance to read your
obituary before the event itself!
Best of all, I got a chance to play
jazz piano three nights in a row,
the last night at The Stage on
6th Street as an opening act for
the blues singer Jimmy Vaughn.
Susan and I will be there for the
50th and are looking forward to
seeing everyone.”
Jeanne and Andy Hero will be
at the reunion, and Andy notified
me of a new role undertaken by
Mike Keating, chairman of the
board of the Boston Foundation.
Mike filled me in. “The Boston
Foundation is the largest community foundation in New
England and the 10th largest
in the country. Our principal
activities are to make grants to
worthy nonprofit organizations
in the Greater Boston region.
Last year we made grants of
approximately $90 million, with
resources drawn from an endowment of approximately $850
million. In addition to our grantmaking, the Boston Foundation
is a leading advocate for many
significant public policy issues in
this area, particularly in the fields
of urban education, public safety
and employment opportunities. I
chair a board of 23 persons who
have significant positions in both
public and private organizations
in the Boston community. Peter
Hero ’64, Andy’s brother, headed
a similar community foundation
in San Jose.”
Rufus (Ed) Jarman is staying very busy, as he is chairing a study for the NYC Bar
Association on country of origin
disclosure laws. It revolves
around, as best I understand it,
how products must be labeled
based on the amount of their
foreign content. That is, “Made
in the USA.” may or may not be
used properly depending upon
which agency—FDA, customs,
FTC, defense—is doing the labeling. “It’s a real hodge-podge, in
my opinion. We hope to produce
a report with recommendations
for change that will be forwarded
to Congress and the president.”
He travels a great deal, much
of it following his daughter
Georgia’s operatic career. Most
recently he attended her performance of Lucia di Lammermoor
in Atlanta and will be going to
London to see her in The Tales
of Hoffman. His son Baird and
daughter-in-law Susannah, both
’92, have a 14-month-old child,
Rufus’ first grandchild, and live
in Minnesota, where Baird is an
art history professor at Carleton.
Elsie and Ed Cordis will be at
the reunion, but it was touchand-go for quite a bit of last year.
Elsie was bitten by a tick while
at their summer home in Niantic,
Conn., and developed babesiosis,
a disease caused by a tick-born
parasite that eats red blood cells.
She spent many weeks in several
hospitals but finally recovered.
Meanwhile, Ed developed blood
clots in his legs, a condition
called DVT, which he battles
constantly and, lately, successfully. So the couple that has been
married the longest in our class
will be with us again.
Alan Hood is coming in June
and promises that he will bring
no more than 100 photos of his
two new (and only) grandchildren. Linda and Doug Haley will
be with us. Their much-beloved
15-year-old Dalmatian, Dudley,
recently died, and they are again
free to travel. Win Satterlee
will return and hopes that Lou
Benton and Bill Sommerfeld will
also. Eugene Cassidy is coming.
He would be a good one to talk
with, as he has no grandchildren.
Gil Leigh crossed paths with
Steve Telkins at the Arlington,
Va., library, where Gil volunteers.
Both are planning on the 50th.
Leon Lane spends most of his
time with a group of 120 retired
men in a variation of “camp,”
i.e., playing poker, bridge,
cooking lessons, book clubs and
monthly bus trips out of Atlanta.
He’s coming and looks forward
to seeing Choppy Rheinfrank and
Mike Ebert. Dinny and Barney
Shaw will be there and hope that
Ann Hill will, also. He said it’s
even OK for her to bring Paul.
Carl Davis is planning on the
50th. Last Christmas he decorated a tree in the Beaufort (S.C.)
Festival of the Tree contest. His
was a Williams tree complete
with many banners and purple
cows. Barbey and Ned Dougherty
celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary last summer under a
starry Maine sky with 125 family
members and friends. They will
join us in June, and Ned hopes
that Tin O’Leary, Larry Daloz, Jim
Wick and the “elusive” George
Downing will also. Art Palmer is
coming and looks forward to
seeing what 50 years have done
to and with us. Since retiring
from teaching, his geology field
work and writing have occupied
most of his time. Steve Huffman
is delighted that his son Mark
’88 and his family have moved
back to Sacramento and hopes
to see Linda and Bob Nevin, Julie
and Bill Penick, and Shannon
and Jim Evans in Williamstown.
Steve Brumberg is coming and
wishes to see his grandchildren
the most. (Son Joshua ’92 will be
celebrating his 20th.) Jane and
Bill Vaughn are coming. Archie
Palmer continues his part-time
ministry work, while wife Lynne
has embarked on a career as a
watercolor artist after retiring
from 35 years in social work.
“She’s good,” says Archie.
They need some persuasion to
get them to the reunion. Get to
work, folks!
I have begun the final editing
work for our 50th reunion book.
It is early January as I write,
and if this work is successful
you should have had it before
you read these notes. I am very
pleased with it, mainly due
to your fine efforts. About 80
percent of our class submitted
autobiographies, which ties the
modern record. Many spouses,
relatives and classmates wrote
about deceased classmates, so
our book will have more biographies than ever before. And that’s
the way it should be!
See you in June.
1963
Jim Blume
23 Vicente Road
Berkeley, CA 94705
At the outset of these notes, I
will briefly describe the delightful
and extremely productive events
that took place at our class’s
minireunion, which was held
Oct. 21-23 in Williamstown.
While the attendance was somewhat disappointing, I can attest
that those who gathered had a
SENDPHOTOS
W
CL ASS
NOTES
wonderful time, replete with class
cocktail parties followed by dinner on both Friday and Saturday
evenings, a football game in
chilly, overcast weather which
was offset by the Ephs’ triumph
over the Bantams of Tufts, several
scintillating lectures, meetings
of both the reunion planning
committee, ably chaired by the
visionary Bill Burnett, and the
reunion gift committee, chaired
by the ever-competent Lenny
Bernheimer. Both of the committees made remarkable progress
in planning for our gala 50th
reunion celebration in June 2013
in Williamstown. I encourage you
all to place the reunion on your
calendars. Without question, it
will be a memorable weekend.
In attendance during the weekend were Winston Wood, Roy
Weiner, John Bell, Gordy Prichett,
Lenny Bernheimer, Phil Kinnicutt,
Bill Burnett, Stu Jones, Rick Berry,
Clay Davenport, Rich Goodman,
Bill McDaniel, me and Bonnie
Knight, Woody’s widow. Most of
us brought our spouses, which
in contradistinction to our years
at Williams, brought richness,
warmth and gentility to the
gatherings.
I would be remiss if I didn’t
describe our class’s next planned
gathering. Williams creates a
fabulous week at Oxford a year
prior to our actual reunion. The
positive reviews from previous
classes have been extraordinary!
The Oxford week presents us
with a chance to re-create our
academic prowess among longtime friends. A slew of classmates
have already indicated that they
are attending. I urge all to attend
this remarkable event, if possible.
After my promotional pleadings
for class events, in keeping with
my responsibilities as scribe, I
will update you on the doings of
several members of our class.
I received a touching note from
our former president, the illustrious Dick Potsubay. Unfortunately
the Bay, who has been a class
stalwart, will be unable to attend
our 50th.
Recently, Bay had a deep vein
thrombosis of his ankles, which
was secondary to the removal of
a chondrosarcoma from his right
shoulder. Thus, he is unable to
travel but is otherwise in good
health. Dick wrote, “I spend
time listening to Hayden, Liszt
and Chopin with Ormie played
by a visiting pianist among other
entertainment coming regularly
to the grand lobby south at
Regency Oaks (in Florida). I
have finished acrylic/watercolor
artwork and mounted a year’s
worth in a scrapbook, incorporating a small portion of the art
in a private memoir for family
to spawn their writing of our
family tree.”
The Bay exercises regularly and
then meditates outside “in a comfortable chair peering through
Spanish moss drooping from a
live oak tree to view bougainvillea flowers in the distance.” He
further noted that one of his
children and their family (including grandchildren and great
grandchild) would be with them
for Thanksgiving. Two other children and their families celebrated
Thanksgiving in a cabin in North
Carolina. His sons Richard and
David live in Seattle and Las
Vegas, respectively.
Politically, he has moved to the
right, subscribing to a rightof-center philosophy which he
claimed was “consistent with
most Americans.”
I should also note that Bay’s
relatives have cut a wide swath.
John Bell and his family have been
deeply involved with the Bay’s
sister, Susie Symons, who with
her husband John are renowned
ceramic artists. In addition,
Dick’s niece Amy Symons long
ago taught seventh-grade English
to my son Zach.
In re-reading the fall class notes,
I realized that there was an item
worthy of mention. At our class’s
recent San Francisco luncheon,
four (Stu Brown, Alan Schlosser,
Wood Lockhart and Bob Binder) of
the nine attendees were members
of Phi Beta Kappa. I ask you all
to ponder the implications of this
statement. How is that a disproportionate number of academic
achievers settled in the Bay Area?
I await explanation from anyone
who is able to make sense of this
phenomenon. The most cogent
explanation will win the keys to
Goddard’s 6-year-old Saab for
our 50th reunion weekend.
And speaking of Schlosser, I
don’t know how many of you
read The New York Times
series about high school seniors
cheating on the SATs in order
to enhance their chances of
college admission. The reports
focused on Great Neck North
High School, which Alan, Frank
Simunek and I attended. The gist
of the articles revolved around
one student who was paid by
several others to take the exam.
The unfolding series of articles
has finally provided me with the
opportunity to reveal a secret
which I’ve kept under cover for
over 50 years. It may surprise
many of you, but it is now time
to set the record straight. I actually took Alan Schlosser’s SAT
exams for him.
The next commentaries are
about three classmates: John
Davis, Bill Holmes and Steve
Thomas, who are all in the medical profession.
John Davis, who lives in
Phoenix, retired from a private
practice in 2007, “driven out by
the escalating cost of regulations and compliance.” He then
took a position with the Indian
Health Service, providing otolaryngologic services to Native
Americans. He and two other
physicians are the “ultimate
referral source for the tribes of
Arizona and Southern Nevada.”
John and his wife Teri have
three married daughters:
Kathleen, Jeanne and Cassie.
Cassie, the youngest, who resides
in Connecticut, was married on
Sept. 4 in Newport. The older
daughters live in proximity to
John and Teri in Arizona. They
have three grandchildren—two
boys, Gavin and Thor, and one
girl, Mia. Gavin is a budding
horseman, which leads me to
John’s passion, his horse.
Until he was 67, John rode
competitively. Even now he
remains engaged in other riding
activities, primarily three- and
four-day horse camps and rides.
He also rides as a volunteer for
the Maricopa County Sheriff’s
Mounted Posse. “Arizona is a
beautiful state, but the best parts
are accessible only to hikers and
horsemen,” John exclaimed.
Financially, John has been hurt
by the Great Recession, but he
has not changed his lifestyle.
Politically he remains more conservative than his cousin, Gordon
(really!). He mentioned that Teri
chides him by saying that she
wouldn’t have dated him if he
had been so conservative when
they met.
Bill Holmes wrote that he retired
from his private practice in suburban Philadelphia some years
ago. He subsequently retired
from a corporate medical practice
in Kansas as well as the U.S.
Naval Reserves and the Mayo
Clinic. He is ] living in quasi-rural
Wyoming, where he and his wife
Mary Ann stay active in summer/
winter physical activities. He also
volunteers for the county health
department and does a little
cooking (a newfound hobby),
while serving as an elected official
for the county health department.
Mary Ann and Bill married in 1979 and have raised
n 1963
six children, three of hers and
three of his. Bill exclaimed that
“the kids have matured into
all wonderful and mature and
successful citizens of life.” Their
kids have produced 14 grandchildren, most of whom live in the
East. Bill states that the time he
spends with his grandchildren is a
“treasure on demand.”
Age has made him more
reflective. He noted that “clinical physicians perhaps see their
fate reflected in the travails of
their patients throughout their
careers.” He added that “the
recent celebration of Mike Reily’s
’64 life hit me particularly hard
as a meaningful life experience
at Williams.” Bill related that
he hasn’t participated in “class
events for other unstated reasons,
although it has not dissuaded me
from following news and class
events with more than casual
interest.” In the political arena,
he expressed concern about
“the sense of entitlement, class
differentiation and obdurate
political stances on both sides of
the aisle.” He considers himself
an independent/conservative who
voted for Obama, about whom
he expressed disappointment.
After his revealing exegesis, I
hope that Bill will see fit to reengage with classmates.
Steve Thomas has been a
professor emeritus at the
University of Cincinnati College
of Medicine since 2000 but
continued to work full time in
the Department of Radiology,
Medical Physics, until 2007. He
remains active with the American
Board of Radiology, where he
was a trustee in medical physics
from 2001-05. He then became
associate executive director for
medical physics. He is planning
to fully retire this spring.
Steve and Ingrid have been
married for 41 years, and he
indicated that “sainthood is on
her side.” Their daughter Kristin
’98 works at Genentech. Steve
and Ingrid are making plans to
attend our Oxford adventure.
As many of you have surely
realized by now, the information
in the class notes is often dated.
Let me explain why: I write
the notes from material I have
gathered in the quarter prior to
their submission to the Williams
People; then after editing and
other prep work, they are sent to
you about three months after my
submission. Hence, frequently,
the information you receive is as
much as six months old.
This explanation segues nicely
into my next news item, which
is, indeed, six months out of
date because I didn’t have
enough space to include it in my
last notes. Dave Lougee wrote
that he and Carolyn “indeed,
had a great summer—I played
(he and his tennis partner) the
U.S.T.A. National Hardcourts
in early June and got to the
quarter finals, spent a couple of
great weeks with Jill and Gordy
Prichett in Lyon, the Macon
and Burgundy and then spent
a couple of family weeks in the
Sawtooth’s and at Tahoe.” Loug
also spent a week trout fishing
in Alberta and then traveled to
visit with his family of origin in
Maine.
Mike Gehrhardt commented
in November: “People ask how
I get my jobs. The answer is
simple—my great network of
knowledgeable people. (Sixteen
assignments at 15 separate agencies in 12 years.)” Evidently no
position surfaced this year, so he
and his wife Doree have escaped
Providence to the warmer climes
of Tucson for a short jaunt.
My ex-roommate Bernie
Wruble sent his annual holiday
update, which detailed his children’s impressive exploits. His
youngest and only male child,
Austin, is a senior at Choate,
where he is captaining both the
wrestling and tennis teams while
awaiting college admission. Mati
’14, Bernie’s next oldest child,
is at Williams, where she “had
a smoking year eclipsing family
GPA.” Since I’m well aware of
Bernie’s academic record, Mati’s
accomplishment is not surprising,
but I assume the reference was
really to the academic prowess of
Bernie’s wife Jill ’83, or daughters
Vanessa ’96 and Alexis ’99.
Alexis, his third oldest child,
ran her first marathon in Boston
and finished in the top third.
Vanessa’s year “began in Sierra
Leone and there focused on
developing www.okayafrica.com,
a website that combines “music
with news coverage, dedicated
blogs, feature stories and concert/
events highlighting the best coming out of Africa.”
Bernie’s oldest daughter, Justine
and her husband Peter live in
Hanover, N.H. Justine is the
mother of two boys and a girl.
She teaches yoga and is an active
runner.
Alas, no information about
Bernie, but Team Wruble seems
to be really outstanding!
In the process of casting for
his holiday show of Peter Pan in
Colorado Springs, Murray Ross,
stage director par excellence,
fantasized about an ideal cast
consisting of classmates for the
production.
He dreamt about Gordon
Davis in the role of the dark and
sinister Captain Hook, whose
gigantic brain was obsessed
with good form. Murray stated:
“Misguided man, though he was,
we may be glad, without sympathizing with him, that in the end
he was true to his traditions of
race. His shoes were right, and
his waistcoat was right, and his
tie was right, and his socks were
right—of course he will also bite
in close quarters.”
Alan Schlosser was cast as
Bo’sun Smee, Hook’s right-hand
man, a non-conformist who
plied “his sewing machine ever
industrious and obliging.” The
Crow noted that Smee has the
best lines, including, of course,
“Captain I have often noticed
your strange fear of crocodiles.”
As for the role of Peter Pan,
Ross cast the original puer, David
Larry, “for reasons too obvious
to be enumerated but including an early brilliant audition
in the fall of 1961 when he and
Gordon reportedly swash-buckled with foils across the Williams
campus.”
John Davis, the nemesis of
all left-leaning pirates (cousin
Gordon), king of the desert
reptiles, was to be cast as the
crocodile.
Charlie Pratt, the defender
of gender switching and the
oppressed, seemed ideal to
Murray for the role of Tiger Lily.
Bobby Seidman would make
a natural Tinker Bell, “small,
compact, fiery, loyal and inclined
to stream of talk and babbling
words.” Roger Warren, a judge
who, in Ross’ fantasy, assumed
the role of Tootles, rescuer of
the heroine at a crucial moment.
Jules Quinlan could assume the
role of Nana, since he has “longer and better experience with
great dogs.”
Bill Whitney, Geoff Howard,
Bill Boyd, John Kifner and I will
have to fight our way for the
remaining roles in the production. Murray also cast himself as
the neverbird, who sits on eggs in
brood and floats in the hat lent
to him by Peter Pan.
To me, it sounds destined to be
a smash hit. If Bill Burnett will
produce the play and Murray
agrees to direct this grand
production, perhaps Peter Pan
can be staged as part of our 50th
reunion celebration.
CL ASS
NOTES
1964
Martin P. Wasserman
13200 Triadelphia Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Classmates, this is the first
opportunity there has been to
write following the extraordinary
Mike Reily special weekend in
November, and I want to devote
this issue to describe that time
to you. Perhaps Quentin Murphy
expressed it best: “Only at
Williams College could such an
event as the Mike Reily Memorial
Banquet have taken place. Susan
and I were amazed at the amount
of organization, planning and
perfect execution involved. The
Lasell gym truly resembled a
banquet hall. The entire affair
was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with so many classmates,
former teammates and friends
there. Mike’s family seemed truly
moved. It was a WOW (Williams
Original Weekend).” This truly
was Williams at its finest! Kudos
to Ben Wagner, who performed
most of the heavy lifting for the
event, although he is far too
modest to accept the compliments. But it was certainly Ben
who provided the inspiration,
leadership and drive to make
this all happen. More than 270
people attended the Saturday
evening event, which spanned
classes from 1952 to 1988 along
with three generations of the
Reily family plus friends, managers and coaches from the 1960s.
It became something even more
special because so many friends
came from those classes which
surround our own—friends
whom we don’t normally see
during typical reunion events.
So many people signed up for
the celebration that the original
venue for the events was changed
from the Williams Inn to the
beautifully decorated and transformed Lasell gym. You would
hardly have recognized that
this was the same arena where
we could taunt our adversaries
by nearly sitting on court with
them!
Classmates and spouses who
attended the events include:
Lisle Baker, Martha and Larry
Bauer, Jack Beebe, Jack Beecham,
Polly and Steve Birrell, Peter
Buttenheim, Bill Chapman, Bob
DiForio, Mabel and Dan Ellis,
Terry Finn, Jane and Bill Frado,
Jay Freedman, Sarah and John
Foehl, Janet and Bob Furey, Nick
Goodhue, Hope and Al Hageman,
Ginny and Tim Goodwin, Dick
Hubbard, Chris Hagy, Peter Hero,
Karen and Tom Howell, Steve
Hyde, Dave Johnston, Muffy
and Peter Johannsen, Sandy
Kasten, Jack Kuehn, Polly and
Dave Macpherson, Mary and
Gay Mayer, Jack McWhorter,
Jim Moodey, Susan and Quentin
Murphy, Walt Nicholson, Joel
Reingold and Coro Gorriti, Pam
and Bill Riley, Caroline and John
Romans, Craig Schelter and Liz
Nill, Jeff Silver, Andrew Smith,
Susan and Peter Stanley, Abby
and Bob Summersgill, Jamie
and Tom Todd, Sandy and Ben
Wagner, Barbara and Marty
Wasserman, John Winfield and
Leigh Callahan. It was fun to get
to see so many classmates really
into the warmth and inspiration of the life and passing of
an extraordinary young man.
I hope I did not overlook any
other classmates who might have
attended.
Others recognized the importance of, and were touched by,
this event as well. Ben Wagner
received a note from David
Jaffrey, who wrote that he had
“just instructed our fund at the
Boston Foundation to contribute
$1,000 to Williams for Mike
Reily Recognition. It must be
satisfying to you to have orchestrated such a heartfelt tribute to
your old friend and co-captain.
All of us who knew Mike
appreciate what you have done,
Ben.” David helped with the
production of the video Tackle
by Reily, which was played at
the beginning of the event and
really set the stage for the entire
evening’s activities. As Ben commented, “We accomplished our
purpose—to honor and remember Mike in a suitable way. There
are many final tests for how
we did, but the expressions of
appreciation from Mike’s brothers and their families have been
nonstop, genuine and effusive.
There is more purple and gold on
the streets of New Orleans than
ever before!”
Peter Buttenheim writes, “I
am still floating on air about
the Reily weekend. That was
one fine thing we did to honor
Mike. Ben gets 90 percent of the
credit to be sure, but I think that
the class did something for the
classes around us, the college and
ourselves by having such a glorious and kind event, even though
it took 50 years to occur. I feel
extra special being a member
of the Class of 1964.” And Tim
Goodwin adds, “I was blown
away by the weekend! Ginny
says I was on a high the whole
time. Not only were we able to
properly honor Mike’s memory,
but we were able to include his
family and friends in the celebration and at the same time have
a reunion for guys from five
classes from ’61 to ’66. We have
Ben to thank for much of this,
but I think it took the hand of
providence for all the pieces to
successfully fall together the way
they did. I just wish there could
be other opportunities to convene with such a broad selection
of classes. Many of the attendees
I had not seen for years and will
probably not have the chance
to ever see again! On the plane
back to Houston all I could think
about were conversations I wish
I had been able to have with a
lot of these guys. The weekend
just went too fast! Maybe we
can figure out ways to have more
multi-class reunions in the future,
but time is getting short! At any
rate I am so thankful for the
weekend and again congratulate
Ben and all who helped for such
an enjoyable and meaningful
time!”
Jay Freedman, one of the
originators of the event, said,
“This was one of those times
none of us will ever forget. I
have had many people ask me
how the weekend turned out,
and I have not yet come out
with the right superlative!” Both
Tommy Todd and Tom Howell
reminisced about many things at
a gathering following the event,
but Tommy kept “reminiscing
about the wonderful weekend
that we all had recently spent
in Williamstown. Everything
about the weekend made me
feel good inside: good that I had
chosen Williams, good that I had
had the privilege to know, live
with and play with Mike, good
that people like Ben and many
others would spend such an
enormous amount of time and
effort seeing that the right thing
was done, good that so many
parts of the Williams community
not only embraced the effort
but came together to celebrate
it, good about The Game, good
that the Reilys got to see why
Mike wanted to spend his last
months back with ‘his friends,’
good that they and we had an
opportunity for closure after 50
years and, most of all, good to
be part of a celebration with my
friends that Mike would have
really enjoyed.” Can anyone put
it better?
Steve Birrell, former director of
alumni relations and development for the college, commented:
n 1964
“Through years of Williams’
events and countless alumni
dinners, I’ve never experienced
anything like the Reily weekend.
The most satisfying aspect was
to witness its powerful impact on
members of Mike’s family … his
brothers Patrick, Tim, Jonathan
and Stephen, along with several
of their children and grandchildren and other friends of the
Reily family. This was a very
emotional weekend for them all;
the entire family was grateful to
Williams for holding this event to
honor Mike. Particularly moved
were the youngest generation of
Reilys, who knew very little if
anything about Mike. They now
carry his legacy with them.”
I had a chance to speak with
several members of the Reily
family, each of whom was very
appreciative for the opportunity
to hear about Mike from his
friends and coaches and most
important for the family to heal
from the loss of a member so
young, so long ago. As Steve
remarked, “The most satisfying
aspect was that this occasion
brought a measure of closure to a
family tragedy that had lingered
for years.”
As you may know, several very
special occurrences took place
during the weekend. Mike’s
jersey, number 50, was retired—
the first and only number ever
“officially” retired by the college.
If you were able to read “The
Forgotten Hero,” the wonderful
article by Tim Layden ’78 in the
Nov. 7 Sports Illustrated, you
will remember from the story the
fact that Mike’s jersey actually
had been “unofficially retired”
for generations by the Williams
equipment managers: “For five
decades Williams College kept
the number 50 jersey packed
away in a box, unofficially retiring it even though the school
did not retire numbers. No one
remembered who had last worn
it or why it was not given out.
Until last year.” See http://bit.ly/
zkmJNq for the entire article.
During the evening, a beautiful
bronze plaque was unveiled
honoring Mike. It now resides
outside the office of football
coach Aaron Kelton. The plaque
was created by the Matthews
Foundry, which, according to
Ben, “underpromised and overdelivered on the artfully created
sculpture.” Ben’s contact at the
foundry dealt sympathetically
with Ben, who “was extremely
nervous about spending a king’s
ransom for an irreversible and
unchangeable end product that
would not be seen until the day
before the big event. You would
never believe how much time
was spent making sure that the
two apostrophes were facing
the same and correct direction.
My sole comfort was knowing
that Matthews had performed
extremely well for the Major
League Baseball’s Hall of Fame
for a long time.”
And, finally, there was the
creation of the Michael Meredith
Reily ’64 Award to be presented
to the football player selected by
his teammates who best captured
the essence of Mike. It was
presented for the first time at the
conclusion of the annual football
banquet. Ben was there, so let’s
hear him describe this remarkable evening: “Coach Aaron
Kelton started the presentation
talking about Mike, his short
but remarkable life and how
important Mike’s values are
to Williams and the football
program. Coach asked me to talk
about Mike’s award and how
it ensures that Mike’s legacy is
passed on to future generations
of Williams student athletes.
Then coach handed me the
handsome crystal cup with Dylan
Schultz’s ’12 name engraved on it
to be presented to Dylan, whose
teammates selected him to be
the first recipient of the Michael
Meredith Reily ’64 Award. To me,
Dylan is an extremely worthy
recipient. I watched him play
four times over the past two
seasons. He played the middle
linebacker position with the
intensity and effectiveness that
reminded me of Mike. He served
as a captain of both last year’s
team and this year’s. … After the
presentation, Dylan told me that
he was particularly moved by
Mike’s story, that he was greatly
honored to receive Mike’s award
and that being its first recipient
made it even more special.” He
seems like a fine young man,
who is very well spoken … and if
he tackles like Mike did, then he
is a bone-crusher as well!”
The only thing that placed a
blemish on the weekend was
an act of racism that occurred
on Saturday but was little
known by any of the attendees
until we returned home and
received a notice from President
Adam Falk. I wrote him a note
thanking him for the leadership he displayed in canceling
classes on Monday and making
a special effort to demonstrate
zero tolerance of such behavior.
I also thanked him for speaking
with the class and to say how
much we all enjoyed the Reily
events. His response, which I
can share with you individually
if you’d like, affirmed the fact
that although President Falk
did not come from Williams,
he has quickly understood the
“Williams way” and will be a
fine leader for the next generation of Ephs!
And with those words in mind
I want to close by reminding
everyone that our 50th reunion
is fast coming up and that we
should hold the dates: June
11-15, 2014. There will be many
events leading up to this very
special long weekend. One of
them is the special presidential
colloquium in Williamstown,
Thursday through Saturday,
April 19-21, 2012, to which
all class members are invited.
We want to do everything we
can to encourage attendance at
this event, which will be held
primarily at the beautiful Mount
Hope Farm in Williamstown. On
Friday we will have the opportunity to hear about admission,
curriculum, campus life and the
finances of the college. President
Falk will join us for a reception
and dinner that evening, and
there will be a final breakfast on
Saturday.
As promised at the outset, this
is in honor of Mike Reily. It is
fitting to close with this tribute
from Tim Layden’s ’78 article
in S.I.: “Reily could not have
imagined the ways he would
endure in memory. He could not
have known what older men
learn: that friends and teammates
are never really forgotten, and
those who live largest and die
soonest are remembered in the
most poignant way. He could
not have known that nearly half
a century after his death, those
who knew him best would still
be haunted by his absence. He
could not have known that men
who served in combat would
recall his courage in the face of
death and compare it to bravery
in battle.”
We all were privileged to
witness the college at its very
best, except, perhaps, for the
football loss to Amherst! Kudos
to Ben Wagner for an absolutely
amazing job of providing the
inspiration, leadership and drive
to make this all happen.
Be well, and remain inspired
by the extraordinary life and
legacy of Michael Meredith Reily.
—Marty
CL ASS
NOTES
1965
Tom Burnett
175 Riverside Drive, #2H
New York, NY 10024
Secretary Burnett reports: The
highlight of last fall was the
Amherst homecoming weekend,
which included the salute to Mike
Reily ’64. Many of our classmates came back to participate
in the events. While the Amherst
victory left a bad taste in one’s
mouth, the class participation
was impressive. Some 30 classmates attended all or part of the
various activities, which included
formal tailgating before the
game, the Mike Reily events and
a warm and friendly evening at
the home of Alice and Joe Small.
Classmates with homes in the
area include Jim Worrall, Dusty
Griffin, John Jay, Phil McKnight,
Dave Wilson, John Storey and, of
course, Joe, all of whom were
there. The reunion class gift
committee, under the leadership
of Mike Brewer, met after the
Amherst game and narrowed
the choices. More information
about gift ideas and proposals
will be forthcoming. Joe wanted
to single out the contributions
to the Saturday dinner at his
home from Elizabeth and Lenny
Gibson, who provided a bounteous selection of fresh vegetables
from their garden in Vermont.
Joe, Dusty, Dave Coolidge and
John Storey all deserve citations
for their contributions to the
dinner and the weekend. I stayed
with Jack Foley, Diane and Ron
Kidd and Tim Reichert at Dorm
Worral, where hostess Priscilla
prepared a sumptuous repast for
us on Friday night. Jim’s legendary skills at tailgating were tested
and praised; no one went hungry
at halftime. Space considerations
prevent my listing all the attendees, but I particularly remember
chatting with Max Gail, who did
not want to miss the Mike Reily
remembrance. Neil Peterson
joined us at the Worralls’ for dinner Friday as the weekend coincided with a business trip back
East for him. He recently was a
finalist for the position of director of the MTA in New York but
lost out to a politically connected
local choice. It was also a treat
to catch up with Irene and Julian
Gladstone, who came up from
the Philadelphia area with their
charming daughter Alexandra,
a recent Amherst graduate
(nobody’s perfect). In all, some
12 percent of the available class
attended the weekend festivities,
and the spirit and genuine friendship among participants was
evident throughout.
Jim Worrall referred a Dec. 11,
2011, front-page article in the
Boston Globe to me about the
efforts of Norm Spack to treat
patients with transgender issues.
The article was very flattering to
Norm and his leadership efforts
in this field. In his reference to
me, Jim wrote that reading the
article made him proud to be a
member of the Class of 1965.
On Dec. 12, 2011, the Hospital
for Special Surgery in NY
announced that Steven Goldring
had been appointed the first
chief scientific officer under the
Richard L. Menschel Research
Chair at the hospital. Steve will
seek to translate basic research
into new therapies for patients
with mobility disorders with a
focus on expanding the hospital’s
osteoarthritis initiative.
I had not heard from Ted
Barlow in many years, so it was
good to learn that he and his
wife Meriel took a long leave
in Australia and toured Canada
and the U.S. While in the East,
he returned to Williamstown and
spent time with the Worralls,
the Storeys and the Wilsons.
Speaking of John Storey, he and
Martha have been spending time
in Westport, N.Y., near Camp
Dudley and its girls’ camp affiliate Kiniya. They acquired the
girls’ camp six years ago. It turns
out that Peter Erwin’s son and
Ron McGlynn’s grandson attended
Camp Dudley last summer.
Sally and Henry Lum have
been busy. Last year they visited
Prague to be with their son
Zach ’91 and his wife Liana and
granddaughter Sabina. Liana
is with the U.S. embassy in
Budapest, and Zach commutes
to Vienna, where he works for
General Dynamics. During the
summer, all the family gathered
on the Cape. Children Silas ’97
and his wife Pamela, also ’97,
Rosy (Kenyon ’02), Hannah ’07
and Daniel ’99 were able to join
them. Daughter Kaimi ’94 lives
only 20 minutes away with her
husband Josh. She is the associate editor of the Provicetown
Banner. Silas is an attorney in
NYC, Rosy is an energy reporter
for a trade publication in NYC,
and Hannah recently relocated
from Chicago to Providence
to work in an upscale restaurant. Sally is likely in her final
year of teaching English at
Nauset Regional High School,
and Henry is a supply chain
consultant for domestic and
foreign-based manufacturing
companies.
The annual Jean and Sam White
letter this year did not include
photographs, as the family has
become too dispersed to count
on a single photo opportunity.
Sam traveled widely in Asia to
Singapore and mainland China
to participate in conferences and
study groups concerned with
water purification and resource
allocation. Jean and Sam now
have two grandchildren, but the
White boys are now spread out
in Madison, Wis., San Francisco
and Connecticut, so they relish
the time in the summer when
the family can reunite. Sam’s
research and teaching activities
continue, but he and Jean would
like to enjoy more international travel, and that time is
approaching.
Hunt Hawkins sent a helpful
email message. He is currently
a professor and chair of the
English department at the
University of South Florida. He
has been there since 2006, after
a 28-year career at Florida State.
His specialty is Modern British
literature (Joseph Conrad) with
an avid interest in African material, an interest he developed
after teaching a year in Tanzania.
He met his wife Elaine Smith at
graduate school at Stanford, and
she also teaches (American studies) at USF. His daughter Molly
’08 works at the Urban Institute
in DC. His son Sam went to
Emory and is now enrolled in
the PhD program in computer
science at USF.
A personal highlight last fall
for Harriet and me was the opening of an exhibition of vintage
19th century photographs
from my collection at the Art
Museum of the University of
New Hampshire. The works by
Felice Beato date from 1864-73
and cover the period of Japan’s
opening to the outside world
along with the transition from
rule by the Shogunate to the
restoration of the emperor. The
curator of the museum is on the
UNH faculty, and she arranged
for the show and the 64-page
catalog accompanying the exhibition. The opening was a thrill,
especially since Jim Leitz, Dennis
Holland, Fred Ohly, Jack Foley and
Art Wheelock all took the time to
attend it. Except for Kathie and
Jim Leitz, Durham, N.H., is not
that easy to get to, and I really
appreciated everyone’s effort
to make it such a special event
for us.
n 1 9 6 5 –6 6
1965 classmates gathered at the University of New Hampshire Art
Museum in October to celebrate the opening of an exhibition of Felice
Beato’s 19th century photographs of Japan, part of the personal collection of class secretary Tom Burnett (center). Also pictured (from left) are
Jim Leitz, Fred Ohly, Jack Foley and Art Wheelock.
1966
Palmer Q. Bessey
1320 York Ave., #32H
New York, NY 10021
John Gould
19 Nahant Place
Lynn, MA 01902
It looked as though it would
be a quiet season for news. But
life, of course, does not stand
still, and we had some additional
news from the time of Reunion
XXXXV.
Toward the end of the year,
we learned of the death of Peter
D. Gallagher from esophageal
cancer in October. He majored
in poli sci and had an artistic
bent. He was president of Zeta
Psi and active in the AMT, usually doing tech support or scene
design. He joined the Navy
after Williams and retired in
1989 with the rank of commander. Along the way he got a
degree in architecture. He was
from California and returned
there with his wife Susan and
their children. The write-up the
college sent described him as a
gracious, welcoming host and
neighbor. That fits with how I
remember him: upbeat, energetic
and funny. He never sent in
news for the notes, at least not
during my tenure, and I thought
he may have soured on Williams
because of the fraternity business. I had thoughts of trying to
make contact and enticing him
back East, at least for the 50th,
but I hadn’t gotten to it yet.
Jim Harrison filled in the gaps
for me from reunion. He and
Karen still live in the DC area,
where he is actively engaged in
economic consulting. Their son
Jay ’90 lives in Hong Kong with
his Italian wife and their two
children. Babysitting or even visiting the grandchildren is quite
a trek. Daughter Kathy (Kenyon
’92) lives closer by in Fairfax
County, Virginia, where she
works as a foster care placement
coordinator.
At the time of the reunion,
Dave Batten had recently begun
a new venture: corporatizing
some intellectual property from
MIT and the Mass Eye and Ear
Hospital. He had retired in his
50s to go sailing but couldn’t
stay away. The downside is that
he will spend this year commuting between New York and
Berlin, where Evi has found an
apartment so that Alexis and
Lydia can go to a GermanFrench school there to solidify
their German, which, according
to Dave, is good but not great.
Dan Cohn-Sherbok sent a
Christmas card. That from a
professor of Judaism, drawn
by the rabbi himself and sent
electronically via BlackBerry
of Orange, seemed to me to be
contemporary and ecumenical
enough to capture the spirit of
the holidays at the end of the
year for all. We tried to forward
it to the class but apparently
without success. Dan reported
that he has published his 86th
book: Introduction to Zionism
and Israel: From Ideology to
History (Continuum, 2012 and
also available on Kindle).
Stuart Simon and Betty (and
Brandy, their 13-year-old dachshund) live in Aptos, Calif., where
he practices emergency medicine
full time with no plans to retire
for now. They had planned to
follow up their Israel trip last
winter with a trip to visit their
daughter Lisa, who was on an
archaeological dig on an island
in the Ionian Sea, where she was
digging up skeletons from the 7th
century BC. But there were riots
in Greece at the time. They reconsidered and spent three fabulous
weeks in London and Scotland
instead.
Joe Hardy sent news from Wells,
Maine, where he lives with his
wife Alice just down the road
from their daughter and her
family. He retired last fall after
17 years with Maine’s Mediation
Service. Though slowed down by
arthritis, he still hoped to cross
country ski in the winter, if they
got enough snow. He also devotes
time to the Sierra Club, helping
them with issues surrounding
global warming. His home gets
100 percent of its electricity
from solar panels. He stays in
touch with John Rugge and Keith
Salsbury.
Andy Burr and Ann wrote
enthusiastically about the marriage of their daughter Alexandra
at their farm in Worthington,
Mass., on the weekend of
Hurricane Irene. All the guests
enjoyed the reception in the barn,
but eight of their “beloved tractors” had to sit out the festivities
in the deluge. Happily, they all
started right up in the next couple
of days. The bride and new
son-in-law are both architects,
as are Andy and Ann. And their
younger daughter is now in architecture school.
Mike Katz retired from
Middlebury College a year
ago and is emeritus professor
of Russian and East European
studies. He was also named a
Mellon Foundation Emeritus
Fellow, which is a generous
grant to support his research on
Tolstoy’s controversial novella
The Kreutzer Sonata. Mike and
his wife Mary are traveling:
Egypt and Jordan last January;
Spain and Portugal in October;
and to England and Germany
this spring. Life is good, and he is
looking forward to Reunion L.
Ron Worland decided to close
his plastic surgery practice in
Medford, Ore., after 35-plus
years. He says it has been a
great run, but his heart is in
CL ASS
NOTES
international humanitarian
missions. He enjoys the travel
and the work and has found
the changes in U.S. health care
increasingly frustrating. He has
trips already planned this year to
India, China and Benin, Africa.
Lisle Dalton continues to practice obstetrics and gynecology at
the University of Kentucky. He
and Kathy have a new interest:
a grandson, Reilly Lisle. Lisle
also finds time for fox hunting
and ski trips, so he can zip down
the black diamond trails. Who
says you can’t be active after hip
replacements?
Bill Ewen, though retired from
teaching math, continues to
coach racquet sports. He is in
his 44th season of coaching boys
varsity tennis and sixth season of
varsity squash.
Bailey Young was discovered
last summer by Belgium Public
Television (RTB). They were producing a documentary on castles
in Wallonia (French speaking
part of Belgium). A crew spent
three days filming the excavations
at Walhain Castle that Bailey
directs with colleagues from the
University of Louvain-la-Neuve.
They were so intrigued with the
idea of an American professor
and students coming to Belgium
to dig in the dirt and excavate
a castle most Belgians do not
know exists that they followed
him back to Charleston, Ill., to
film the American backstory. The
piece is scheduled to be aired in
May.
In December, Ron Bettaur spent
a week in Vienna for meetings of the board of the U.N.
Register of Damage Caused by
the Construction of the Wall
in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory. (See www.unrod.org.)
This happens quarterly. For the
rest of the time, Ron is a visiting
scholar at George Washington
University Law School and the
policy officer for the Section
of International Law of the
American Bar Association. For
now, he and Raija are off on a
trip to Southern Patagonia.
On Feb. 2, the annual Class
of 1966 NYC Dinner with No
Special Agenda took place. This
year it was held at the Williams
Club at the Princeton Club in
Midtown. Twenty-one living
worthies of the class attended
(tying the record for attendance)
along with three from the alumni
office. Lance Knox was again the
genial host and had negotiated
the arrangements. The ambiance
was jovial. The food was palatable, though noticeably more
heart-healthy than in years past.
Those attending were all robust
and appeared well, though two
had already dealt with prostate
cancer and several were managing diabetes.
Co-secretary John Gould rode
into town on Amtrak from
Boston and Lynn, Mass., where
the winter had been more typical
of DC than New England: rain,
moderate temperatures, brown
grass, only one snowfall of any
measurable amount. Dreary,
but it kept him inside to plan
his “Through Syntax to Style”
course that he will teach at
Bennington in April and May.
John was in NYC to see his son
Gardy, who was about to head
to LA for the completion of the
filming of Life of Pi, for which
he is the assistant film editor.
John sent in this report about
his memories of the class dinner:
“I sat next to David Corwin, an
attorney who is now beginning
a stint working for Legal Aid,
assisting people who are trying
to deal with the housing crisis.
And I chatted with many others.
Jody Dobson is still living in
Philadelphia, where he continues
to practice his educational consulting business. Dave Kollender
looks extraordinarily fit; he does
contract work for a number of
spooky governmental agencies—
NSA, FBI and so on. If I told you
any more, he’d have to kill you.
I can say that his daughter is a
struggling actor in California,
working her way up the acting
food chain. Bob Rubin told me a
hilarious story about dealing with
Ronald Reagan and his cabinet,
and if I told you any more about
that, he’d have to kill me. Rusty
Haldeman has recovered from
cancer surgery and looks terrific.
Jim Meier was preparing for
another 100-mile ski race across
Canada. (He is disappointed that
the age record for swimming the
English Channel just went up to
71, so he’ll have to wait till he’s
72 to reset it!) Jim makes me
proud to know him, without in
any way wanting to do the stuff
he does. All in all, it was a great
evening.”
Others attending included John
Carney, who had come in from
Cleveland, and Punky “Ed” Booth
from Arizona, who was on his
way to visit his daughter. Wink
Willett and Bill Bowden joined the
alumni office folks in speaking
about the beginnings of plans
for our Reunion L. Other locals
included Karl Garlid, Dave Tunick,
Ned Davis, Dave Batten, Alan
Rork, Jon Linen, Mike Burroughs,
Bob Krefting and me. Next up
is the Class Dinner in Boston
in April or May. Details will be
forthcoming.
John and I managed to meet
with Peter Koenig in London the
next morning via Skype for initial
discussions about the class book,
which will come out shortly
before Reunion L. After some
technical difficulties, we were
able to chat and watch flickering
images of each other. Happily we
each have tech-savvy sons, and
with their tutelage things should
go more smoothly next time. Be
warned that we will be asking
you for a biographical reflection
(not a CV) about where you’ve
landed a half century down the
road and how you got there.
There are many stories out there
that are not the ones we imagined
in 1966. We all want to hear
them. We also will be looking for
other materials—artistic, literary,
photographic, philosophical—
that you would be willing to
share.
Later that morning, several of
us met with Chris Robare, Mary
Richardson ’91 and Lew Fisher ’89
from the alumni office to begin to
flesh out some of the planning for
Reunion L. That rag-tag group
will grow some in the next several months, and you will all hear
from them between now and
June 2016. Many of you have not
been able or inclined to maintain
close connections with our class
or the college. There were no
doubt good reasons for this, but
we hope you will think anew
about it all in the next few years.
A half century is a big share of
a single lifetime. Fifty years out
of college is a notable milestone.
None of us has come through it
unscathed, but we did share time
together in Williamstown.
In that regard, John Gould
recommended a book called
Rerunning, written by Jonathan
Stableford ’67, who was a colleague of John’s at Andover. This
is a terrifying and ultimately
happy account of his near-death
experience with a particularly
fast-acting and virulent form of
pneumonia. “It’s fodder for all of
us post-60 guys. His coming back
from this precipice is a fascinating and heartening story.”
And this shameless late news
is just in from Bob Mitchell. “My
wife Susan is an artist, and I am
a novelist. We both love what we
do very much. But as the Italians
say, ‘Non ci son rose senza spine’
(’There are no roses without
thorns.’) Because accompanying
the joy of art and writing is the
n 1 9 6 6 –6 7
1967 classmates Bill Taylor (left) and Steve Watson got together in Vail,
Colo., in September.
pain of shameless self-promotion
for survival purposes. Susan now
has her new artist website up and
running. It is located at www.
susanellenlove.com.” Check
out Bob’s novels, Match Made
in Heaven and Once Upon a
Fastball at www.bobmitchellbooks.com. “Do forgive me for
all of the above, but understand
that this is what we artists are
sometimes compelled to do.
Susan and I both hope that you
all have a fantastic 2012!”
And so do your secretaries. Be
well, and keep in touch.
1967
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Kenneth A. Willcox
178 Westwood Lane
Wayzata, MN 55391
In this final edition prior to our
big reunion we’ll first spotlight
some of the retirements unfolding
among us.
Leading off is Ron Bodinson,
who we thank for orchestrating the very clever design for
our class reunion button. Ron
has retired from 38 years of law
practice in Kansas City and will
be relocating to the Connecticut
coast. That will put him closer
to three daughters: Sara, a
Smith grad and now a director
of MoMA; Lily, in her second
year at McGill in Montreal; and
Maya, who graduates from high
school in West Hartford and may
be heading to Tulane.
Mark Piechota is enjoying his
retired status. He and his wife
made the decision to move
into a co-housing community
committed to sustainability. It is
located in EcoVillage at Ithaca.
The village has been a pioneer in
co-housing and sustainability for
20 years.
Bryan Hickman finally completed the sale of his bus-building
business and is now looking for
the next challenge. He’s considering either another business
turnaround or doing something
in the public sector. He and Beth
are planning to be at reunion. He
found the last one relaxing and
fun just visiting with everyone.
Jeff Bowen says he likes retirement more each day. Among
other interests he’s pursuing is
writing for fun with no deadlines.
His wife Hilary is retiring in June.
With that they look forward
to vacationing at untraditional
times and “doing stuff together
on whims.”
Leslie and Jeff Modesitt became
great-grandparents a year ago
to Coltyn Cash Walker. With
a name like that Jeff figures he
should be a country western
singer or bronc rider. For a few
years Jeff has been involved in a
project in Argentina. He wishes
he had paid closer attention in his
Williams Spanish classes. They
like Buenos Aires but particularly
enjoy the southern Mendoza
area, the slower pace of the countryside and, of course, the wine.
He invites visitors to the Denver
area to call and enjoy some of his
Argentine wine inventory.
Gregg Meister had another
busy year. Much of it involves
the organization Foundation For
Peace and focuses on the needs
of the poor in the Dominican
Republic and Haiti. He writes,
“It is important to keep the
hurting and the helpless, the
hopeless and the homeless, close
to my heart. It is with these
people I believe Jesus especially
lives.” Miriam is closing in on her
PhD in neuroscience, and Gail is
anticipating a well deserved sabbatical this spring.
Valerie and Rick Williams spent
the holidays in their second/
third home in Texas to be with
their daughter and her family,
which includes grandkids 27
months and 8 months old. Their
son Christopher was also there.
Last year he was commanding
a USMC forward patrol base
in nowhere Helmand Province,
Afghanistan. Back in the civilian
world he is now employed as a
computer network consultant.
They hope to spend some more
time this year in their home base
in the Florida Keys. Many family
events last year, including the
death of Rick’s mother-in-law,
meant that they seldom spent
more than two months in any
one place.
Jonathan Vipond has no
retirement plans. He cites both
temperamental and financial
imperatives. He still practices
law at Buchanan Ingersoll &
Rooney PC, where he co-heads
the 50-person Harrisburg
office. He was recently named
regional health care lawyer
of the year by Best Lawyers
in America. He and Tim
gathered a mostly Williams
’67 group in Pittsburgh last
September in accordance
with their 2006 pact to do
so. Attending were the Bents,
Comforts, Olsons, Gillepsies,
Turner Smiths, Covingtons,
Hawns, Shafmasters, Thrashers,
Lampheres and siblings Sharon
and Jimmy Vipond ’71 and Linda
Vipond Heath ’73.
Although Chuck Glassmire
left academic administration,
he returned to his first love and
is teaching chemistry again.
Last November he and his wife
Eileen spent a fun afternoon with
Mebuccel and Paul Atkinson at
the new Glassmire townhouse in
Worcester, Mass. Their youngest
daughter is doing a sophomore
year abroad, the fall in Hong
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
CL ASS
NOTES
Kong and spring in Netherlands.
In between semesters she is
traveling in southeast Asia. After
reunion Chuck will leave for
northern Georgia to begin the first
half of a trek of the Appalachian
Trail. He will do the southern
half this year from Georgia to
Pennsylvania, then from northern
Pennsylvania to Maine the following summer. He hopes to
have each of their four kids do a
section of the trek with him.
Sally and Ted McPherson are
looking forward to our reunion.
Trips to Phoenix, Pensacola,
Salt Lake as well as visitors in
Gettysburg before then. He was
honored to be asked to say a
few words to the current men’s
basketball team at Williams just
prior to the start of the season.
Dave Nash continues to cut a
swath through the international
tennis circuit. Last November he
and three teammates led the USA
to first place and a gold medal in
the Britannia Cup international
competition for men 65 and over
held in Antalya, Turkey. The
competition features 500 players
representing 35 countries, playing
in various age groups. Well done,
Dave.
Bob Conway begins his comments with great praise for Rich
Bernstein’s accomplishments in
the 1650 Masters swimming
championship. As a former competitive swimmer himself, Bob
states that Rich’s technique and
conditioning must be impeccable.
He thinks the achievement is a
accumulated experience. He
hopes to be at reunion, which, he
is embarrassed to say, would be
his first!
Bill McClung and his wife have
returned to the U.S. following his yearlong sabbatical in
Ludwigsburg, Germany. Their
older son Andrew has started his
doctoral program in quantum
physics at CalTech, while their
younger son Charles is in his last
year as a philosophy major at
Macalester College. Next year
they will own their home and
won’t be paying tuition, so he can
think about retirement. However,
he still enjoys teaching computer
science, so he may postpone that
a bit. His heart operation seems
to have fixed things, so he hopes
to see us all at reunion.
That’s it for this segment. The
good news is that with reunion
just a few weeks off, you won’t
need to wait for the next edition
for an update. You can get it in
person. Remember, the place to
be is Williamstown. Dates: June
7-10. Do please be there.
1968
Paul Neely
P.O. Box 11526
Chattanooga, TN 37401
From London, John Murray
writes: “We are now about
three-quarters through the
construction project we started
in December 2010, which is
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Dave Nash ’67 and three teammates helped the U.S. win the title at the
Britannia Cup at the 31st International Tennis Federation Super-Seniors
World Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey, in October. Nash, who
played tennis and basketball at Williams, has won more than 19 national
tournaments and five World Team Championships over the past 20 years.
great credit to both Rich and to
Coach Bob Muir. Bob expects to
be at reunion but may arrive late.
He will be in DC for the opening
of the George Bellows retrospective at the National Gallery
that Thursday night. He says,
“Working on that show has been
a wonderful experience, which
I interpret as proof that some
things get better with age.”
Hank Grass enjoyed a great
Christmas skiing vacation in
Central Oregon with his children
and grandchildren. He says
his skills as a psychiatrist and
psychotherapist seem intact and
in some ways still benefit from
designed to turn our farmhouse
in the rural Wiltshire countryside
into something, well, bigger. The
happy ending is coming into
view and in anticipation of a
new pattern to our lives, Jenny
and I are evaluating various
dog breeds, keeping in mind the
English adage that Labradors are
born half-trained while spaniels
die half-trained.”
John claims to be cutting back
on time devoted to business
but then adds that he has just
taken on a directorship of a
BlackRock investment fund that
invests in “frontier” markets
like Nigeria, Kazakhstan and
Mongolia. “I have also invested
in—and become a director of—a
company that is opening lowcost gyms across Britain. Since
I have never been to a gym, I
bring a unique perspective to the
deliberations of the board.”
Orthopedist Bob Stanton traveled to Jakarta in January as a
guest speaker at the Indonesian
Hip and Knee Society. “Flight
through Hong Kong is about
24 hours. We have a supply of
Ambien. Medical degree is worth
something.” He and Debby
also managed to fit in a side trip
to Bali without any speaking
engagement.
Jeff Brinn reports “no classmate
sightings but several great
conversations with those on
my associate class agent’s list. I
highly recommend such activity
for all those who have not yet
had the honor of serving our
class in this manner. Larry Levien
can no doubt arrange it.”
Michael Yogman, in his double
role as physician and board
chair of the Boston Children’s
Museum, writes: “It has been
a busy fall working to create
an advocacy coalition for early
childhood, pulling together neuroscientists, educators, business
leaders, psychologists, pediatricians and policy makers. We
(the Academy of Pediatrics, the
Children’s Museum and others)
ran a well-received early childhood summit in November at the
Mass Medical Society. We will
kick off the 100th birthday of the
museum in April of 2013 with a
second summit and symposium.
I am using all my Williams colleagues to network.”
Geoff Connor writes: “I retired
as a partner of Reed Smith and
was lucky enough to get an
adjunct professor teaching job at
Bloomfield College, New Jersey’s
‘other’ Presbyterian college,
the one you’ve heard of being
Princeton. This fall I taught a
senior honors seminar entitled
‘American History and its Legacy
of Diversity.’ We started with
American Indians and went right
up to the war in Vietnam. Loved
my hard-working, smart students. And I learned more than
they did. Although otherwise
retired, I’m still on the board of
directors of The Provident Bank,
NJ’s oldest bank (1839).”
My fellow Tennessean Sherman
Jones checks in from 100 miles
away: “Still working, sort of, as
a lecturer on the MBA business
school faculty at the University
of Tennessee, as an insurance
agent/financial advisor with
n 1 9 6 7 –6 9
Bankers Life Insurance and
Casualty Company and at the
usual nonprofit board and advisory committee stuff. I especially
enjoy serving on the board of
Knox Heritage, our historical
preservation nonprofit. I tried for
two years to get a charter school
approved here in Knoxville, but
east Tennessee is not very receptive to charter schools.”
And Bill Perttula has a plan:
“I took the fall semester off at
SFSU and made a 20-day trip to
Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria,
all new to me. I gave lectures
on Internet marketing at the
Romanian American University
and Valahia University, both in
Romania. I spent a few days in
Transylvania, and while teaching
I spent several nights in a hotel
next to Hotel Dracula.” Bill
planned to go back to Europe
in March, “giving a two-and-ahalf-day seminar for graduate
business students in Aix-enProvençe. After teaching the
spring semester at SFSU, I will
retire after 36 years and play
with my two grandsons.”
1969
Richard P. Gulla
287 Grove St.
Melrose, MA 02176
Bob Whitton has kept up with
several classmates in recent
months. “Mike Himowitz and
I had lunch in Baltimore in
September and did lots of
catching up. Andrea and I met
Peg and Spike Riley for brunch
in West Cape May on Labor
Day weekend. Irrepressible and
primed to become grandparents again. In November we
met Rich Pollet and his special
friend Ginny for the Amherst
game. Game was forgettable,
but weekend was very pleasant: again, much catching up.
And I speak with Mike Morrison
by phone two or three times a
year. He is deeply invested in a
humanitarian awards program.
Andrea and I enjoyed a WilliamsWestchester get-together and
lecture in Bedford/Pound Ridge
(in N.Y.) all about Andalucia
and Cervantes, which convinced
me to download and read
Don Quixote on the Kindle.
Dynamite Williams professor led
the session. Work (media and
communications consulting) is
cyclical. Consulting last year was
excellent, but now the pipeline is
back to ‘the new normal.’”
Also connecting with Mike
Morrison was Dick Peinert, who
is “still healthy and still working” as a physician and surgeon
north of Boston. Dick adds that
Mike is living on City Island in
the Bronx and is a practicing psychologist, specializing in addiction treatment. “Brief call turned
into an hour,” said Dick.
Steve Brick in California “continues to enjoy his assignment in
a civil complex trial department
of the Alameda County Superior
Court. Twenty eight years as a
trial and appellate lawyer were
great preparation for this assignment. Although the California
budget is threatening the quality
of justice as well as education
and health care, for the moment
we are getting by in our court
without serious impacts on the
timeliness or thoroughness of our
approach to cases.” Steve says
Wynne Carvill ’71 and Jon Tigar
’84 are also on the court. “My
guess is we’re the only court
outside the Northeast with three
Williams grads.”
Steve’s better half, Ann, “who
some will recall is the bride I
came back with from Christmas
vacation of our senior year,”
retired two years ago from her
legal career that consisted of
private practice, being the first
woman partner of Howard,
Rice and, for the last 19 years,
a staff attorney with the ACLU
of Northern California. “She
is thoroughly enjoying retirement and proves that there is life
beyond the law for those who
seek it.” Steve’s daughters are
also making their mark. Kate is
finishing her second year as an
analyst at the Migration Policy
Institute in DC, and daughter
Rachel is in her fourth year of
teaching first grade in the NYC
public schools.
Also extolling the achievements
of his daughters, Craig Walker
reports his younger daughter Liz
is now a Harvard graduate and a
professional dancer with the Los
Angeles Ballet, and older daughter Dana is in graduate school
at Columbia. Craig is maintaining the homestead in Stamford,
Conn., and having his co-op
renovated in New York.
Fletcher Clark, in his small
town of Lockhart, Texas, near
Austin, is “engaged in cultural
composting. I produce and host
a monthly series of presentations
by singer-songwriters at our Dr.
Eugene Clark Library in tandem
with concerts across the street at
our community Gaslight-Baker
Theatre. For many, this kind of
direct presentation from creative
artists is unfamiliar cuisine and
decidedly an acquired taste.
Last year’s inaugural season
emboldened me to book a more
robust schedule, and in spite of
my adherence to the entrepreneurial constraints voiced by the
market, I have garnered a bit of
noblesse oblige to pay honoraria
so my library guests can realize
something other than their CD
sales.” Fletch also continues as a
managing partner in Armadillo
Records, “with our latest
release being a live recording of
The Cobras made in 1979 at
Armadillo World Headquarters.”
Rob MacDougall is still at the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
in DC and at last report was
“wrapping up a guidance document on radioactive material
security now more than 300
pages, for which I earned a rare
award, though it’s financially
almost invisible to the naked
eye.” Melinda is in her third
year as an in-house attorney at
Holy Cross Hospital. Children
are busy, with Lindsay in her
last year of acupuncture school,
Catlin focusing on writing and
Ian experiencing his senior year
at Barrie, a private school in
Maryland. “We now seem to be
working harder than ever with
less down time than our advancing age requires. By the time
we can afford retirement, we
probably won’t even know we’re
retired.”
Francis Moriarty, who’s working for Radio Television Hong
Kong and reporting on the presidential election from Taiwan,
attended the alumni gathering
for Williams President Adam
Falk while he was in the Far
East. “He’s certainly impressive
and an excellent ambassador for
Williams.”
Recently retired librarian Jim
Barns in Charlottesville, Va., is
experiencing a local minireunion
of ’60s Ephs. At the local
Williams/Amherst broadcast,
Jim met Steve Bartholomew ’67
and Jim Kramer ’66, two people
Jim had never met but wrote
about for the Record some 45
years ago. Jim says they, along
with Jesse Winchester ’67, who
has had a successful career as
a songwriter and performer,
have all moved to the area and
are catching up on Williams
memories. Jim has also started
writing a blog, Around the Bend,
on www.c-ville.com, a website
about life and events in and
around Charlottesville.
Sandy Smith took advantage of
a three-month sabbatical offered
CL ASS
NOTES
by his employer, Cambridge
Associates, and made the most of
it. “Highlights included a month
at our family’s rustic lakeside
cabin in Maine, a trip to Oregon
to visit the last living first cousin
in my father’s generation at
her retreat at Camp Sherman,
and the icing on the cake was
a solo trip to New Zealand for
a week of guided fly-fishing,
which began at the Lake Rotoroa
Lodge on the South Island and
ended in Turangi on the North
Island. I returned to reality—and
work—the Monday following
Thanksgiving. Family is doing
well, as daughter Samantha ’09
is a third-year medical student
at the University of Chicago,
and son Trip is a senior at Colby
and heavily into winter training
for the men’s crew team. Sally
continues her performing and
teaching career, notably having
been hired as adjunct professor
at Queens College for the spring
semester to teach a course in her
specialty, Baroque performance.
So life is good. Hope everyone
else can say the same.”
Marty Lafferty wrote that the
second annual Content in the
Cloud Conference within the
2012 Consumer Electronics
Show, which was conducted
by the Distributed Computing
Industry Association, where he’s
CEO, was standing-room only at
the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Marty says “cloud computing
is off to an auspicious start for
another year of unprecedented
and explosive growth.” On the
volunteer service front, Marty
completed advanced piloting in
December, a key boating course
offered by U.S. Power Squadrons,
and is on deck to become executive officer of District 5 in March.
“If memory serves,” writes Jim
Sicks, “and it serves less and less
as the years pass, it’s been 11
years since I last checked in, so I
guess I’m due. A few milestones:
In 2001 my marriage of 30 years
broke up. I licked my wounds for
a while, but, as the saying goes,
it gets better. In 2003 my son Will
graduated from Williams, and his
years there gave me a chance to
reconnect with the school after
years of ambivalence about the
place. He and my daughter Cathy
are both married and, as of May,
will be living here in Philadelphia.
I have a grandson. … In 2004, I
met Katie Day, and we were married a year later. She’s fun, energetic, beautiful and smart. We live
on the campus of the Lutheran
Seminary in Philadelphia, where
she has taught for 25-plus years.
I also got two stepchildren, Julian
and Molly, in the deal—both in
college now—and a smattering of
pets. A second round of raising
adolescents took its toll, but all
is good now. In 2006 I fulfilled
a decade-long ambition and quit
the practice of law, went to South
Africa for a couple of months
with Katie and her kids, and then
came back to find a job in the
nonprofit sector. A lot less money
and a lot more satisfaction.
“My steadiest Williams connection over the years, other
than my son, has been my old
roommate Jon Moore and his
wife Barbara. We manage to get
together a few times each year,
most recently at his daughter’s
wedding in October. A trip to
Seattle included a wonderful
dinner with George Scarola and
his partner Aldo—our first get
together in about five years. I’ve
also had sporadic contact with
Fred Gramlich and Jim Asumano
over the years. Greetings to all.”
Rick Corwin met up with Julie
and Linc Merwin after Christmas,
taking his two grandsons Jacob
and Jordan to see them in their
new home in Doylestown, Pa.
Linc is still at the Buckingham
Friends’ School there, and their
younger son, Matt, is a highly
accomplished artist in woodworking. Rick discovered that
George Wardman is a trustee of
Eckerd College in St. Petersburg,
across the road from where Rick
now resides, and hoped to meet
up with him after a trip with
Beth to the Galapagos and the
Amazon River Basin in February.
Gordy Bryson and wife Liz
are “retiring from our longtime
places of employment. I leave
Hawaii Preparatory Academy
and private high school teaching after 42 years, having been
there for 34 years as principal,
department chairman of English,
and coach. We have a place
in Baltimore and will relocate
there in June. We look forward
to being near our friends and
family. I’m not looking forward
to the heat in Baltimore, but the
house we have has central air
conditioning, and I intend to
spend time in the Enoch Pratt
Free Library. I hope to teach
teachers in Baltimore, but nothing is set yet.”
Finally, in an experience
that spans the generations and
decades, 31 years to be precise,
I had the pleasure of doing
some media work with Andrew
Morris-Singer ’00, a Harvardtrained primary care physician
and the founder of Primary Care
Progress, a grassroots community effort to promote primary
care medicine and change how
it’s delivered. Andrew was a
guest on a TV program for
patients produced by your
humble scribe. The topic was
medical literacy—the ability of
patients to understand health
information and make good
decisions. A great adventure in
lifelong learning. My thanks to
those who write and keep this
space filled, and keep the news
and notes coming.
1970
Rick Foster
379 Dexter St.
Denver, CO 80220
To begin, there is some very
sad news to report. In January,
Carri and Gerry Stoltz’s son
Zach died in South Carolina at
age 26. Many from the DC area
and some from as far away as
Denver attended the memorial
service in Virginia. Paul Miller
wrote: “It was probably one of
the saddest things I have ever
been involved with. Zach was
by all accounts an exceptional
young man and incredibly close
to his parents. Gerry and Carri
were devastated yet welcoming
to all who came and unbelievably strong in their ability
to deal with everything. My
admiration for them was always
high. I don’t think it could possibly be measured now. I hope
that the affection and support of
classmates and friends will help
them in the days ahead, and
I encourage everyone to be in
touch with them.”
Ken McCurdy was the first to
respond (almost immediately,
via Blackberry) to my email
missive on Dec. 13, advising
me that he had just had dinner
with Scott Miller, Bill Loomis,
Ken Richardson, Andy Maier (all
class of ’71), Paul Isaac ’72, Dale
Riehl ’72, all former residents
of Fort Hoosac House. They
toasted the two favorite “Joes”
of Fort Hoosac, Joe (“Chubby”)
Daniels, the house man (who,
at mail time, always announced
that “checks are in” and when
asked “What’s up, Chubby?”
would mysteriously reply, “At
my age, only the windows”);
and Joe Florini, our fantastic
chef and the former proprietor
of Florini’s Italian Garden in
Adams or North Adams. Joe
Florini taught Ken how to
break an egg with one hand,
n 1 9 6 9 –7 0
Skip Kotkins ’70 (right), chairman of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber
of Commerce, met up with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn ’82 at the
chamber’s annual public officials reception Dec. 8.
one of the few things he learned
at Williams and still retains.
Ty Tuttle replied that the main
high point of an otherwise pretty
awful year for him was his
son’s June wedding in the lovely
Aveyron region of France. Ty
didn’t give details on what made
at least part of the year awful,
but I suppose it’s likely we all
have some reason for hoping
that 2012 will be a better year.
Richard Wendorf’s latest book,
Director’s Choice: The American
Museum in Britain, is to be
published in London this spring.
He reports that he has survived
the museum’s 50th anniversary
year and is looking forward to
enjoying himself a bit more in
Bath, long known as “the graveyard of ambition.” Chip Baker
wrote to say that after three years
in New Orleans he and his wife
Lynne moved to Roanoke, Va.,
where he took the job of chair
of surgery at Carilion Clinic and
professor of surgery at the new
Virginia Tech Carilion School of
Medicine. Chip says that he and
Lynne love living in Roanoke (a
lot like the Berkshires) and that a
few days before he wrote to me,
John Hitchins (who lives a half
mile away) showed up on Chip’s
doorstep. The two enjoyed catching up with each other.
Ray Kimball suffered a bad
bicycle accident last fall that
he described to Paul Miller as
follows: “I’m recovering and
not in much pain. Basically, I
did a swan dive on pavement,
known in the cyclist trade as
a ‘face plant,’ when my front
brakes grabbed and seized up.
Advice to all: When replacing
your smoke detector batteries
and contributing to the Williams
Alumni Fund annually, please
also replace and maintain your
front bicycle brakes. … The doctor says I will recover completely.
The injuries were serious, but let’s
talk about pleasant things. Doing
OK under the circumstances. I’m
trying to decide between Brad
Pitt, Dave Strathairn or Stoltz for
the plastic surgery.” I did email
Ray for an update shortly before
submitting these notes and got
an out-of-office reply, which
included the following: “I will be
out of the country through Jan.
15 and will not be answering
emails. Thank you for all your
wonderful wishes for my speedy
recovery. I’m doing fine.”
When he wrote to tell me about
Ray’s accident, Paul also said, “I
wanted you and the rest of the
class to know what an incredible asset Kevin Austin and Chris
Williamson have been to this
year’s fundraising efforts. The
best part of the exercise has been
getting to know them better. It’s
been great fun and so far very
successful.”
Chris Williamson wrote to say,
“Peggy and I are enjoying our
three granddaughters, twins 20
months and singleton 17 months.
We get to see some or all about
once a week, and so far their
parents haven’t told us we aren’t
welcome! Oldest daughter Abby
’98 finished her PhD at Harvard’s
Kennedy School last May. (She
also celebrated her twins’ first
birthdays that month!). She has
accepted a dual appointment
in political science and public
policy at Trinity, so they won’t
be moving too far away from
us. Younger daughter Sarah and
husband are still in Brookline.
She earned her MSW at BC and
is now the inaugural school
counselor at Meadowbrook. We
plan to watch them run by in
the Boston Marathon, running
for Dana Farber cancer research,
while we watch their daughter.
Son Tom is in the finals of a singing contest, but it’s not, unfortunately, American Idol. We are
in our seventh year at Applewild
School, a delightful K-8 school in
Fitchburg. Any of you wanting to
recreate the road trip to Boston
from Williamstown, stop by!
Despite the economic challenges,
we’re successfully concluding a
capital campaign and building a
much-needed new dining hall. I
always enjoy seeing Pat Bassett
when our paths cross at independent school functions, and
I am very proud that so many
Williams alumni have chosen to
make contributions as educators
or serve on education boards.
My hunch is that at least in part
that results from our appreciation of the excellent teaching we
experienced at Williams. It has
been a pleasure to reconnect
with Kevin Austin and Paul Miller
while working on the Alumni
Fund—and to talk or email with
so many classmates too. You are
an accomplished group!”
Jim Kirkland, who hasn’t
appeared in these notes for a
while, sent a long email including
more well-deserved kudos for our
longtime class secretary Jeff Krull.
Jim reported (a little late) that in
2007 he and Noreen “surprised
ourselves wandering through Ft.
Wayne while driving non-expressway from VA to IL, and so I
surprised Jeff with a call—I’d told
him at several reunions I hoped
to see his library someday. He
was available mañana and gave
us the cook’s tour. Two matters
of timing added to the pleasure:
First, the library had just finished
a four-year expansion that
doubled its size to a large city
block and made it incredibly state
of the art. Second, I was smack
dab in the middle of creating a
family history website, and his
library turned out to have one of
the five top genealogy collections
in the country. I had no idea of
either. Jeff said he’d be disappointed if any classmate coming
through town with time didn’t try
to call. We were so glad we did,
and caught him.” Jim attached
to his email a photo of Jeff standing in his library in front of the
entrance to a large art gallery.
Over the entrance was the room’s
name: “Jeffrey R. Krull Gallery.”
CL ASS
NOTES
Jim also participated in a couple
of Williams-related events last
summer. In June Rob Hershey,
headmaster of the Episcopal
School up the street from Jim,
invited him and several classmates in the area—Pat Bassett,
Gerry Stoltz, Harvey Levin Paul
Miller, Dick Ginman and others—
for a round of golf and dinner at
Alexandria’s country club, Belle
Haven. Rob humbly led off the
two threesomes with an eagle
on the first hole. Along with
available spouses, the six finished
with dinner on the clubhouse
patio overlooking No. 18. Jim
described another summer
(this one in August) Williams
event as follows: “I joined five
alumni (one a woman), from
the classes of 1982, two from
1987, 1990 and 1999, in a relay
swim from Port Jefferson, N.Y.,
to Bridgeport Conn.—15 miles
across Long Island Sound—in
the annual St. Vincent’s Medical
Foundation’s Swim Across The
Sound fundraiser. We—the Angry
Fish (though angry at no one)—
are several former swimmers for
Carl Samuelson, Williams swimming coach from 1966 to 2000.
Carl tipped me off to the group
in 2010, and with a few emails I
was welcomed. Swimming alongside a motorboat, we six rotated
15-minute swims over seven
hours. A post-race picture of my
teammates holding me up was in
the December class notes for the
Class of 1987. I knew none of
them before the race. We had a
blast, and except for making one
sharp right turn toward Maine,
provoking a frenzy of “come
back” signals from the boat, I
may have held my own enough
to be invited back.”
Don Berens wrote to say,
among other things, that in
June, he, his wife Maureen and
daughter Kate ’04 traveled with
their church choir to Bavaria,
Austria and Prague, singing in
five cathedrals and abbeys in
Salzburg, Melk, Vienna and
Prague. In August the three of
them, joined by son Tom, cruised
from Rotterdam to six Baltic
ports. In late September Don
began a 1,600-mile supported
group bicycle tour from Maine
to Florida, which ended in
mid-October in Daytona Beach.
His band of 25 bicyclists was
joined in that city by 100,000
Harley riders in town for
Biketoberfest, making for one
of the noisier bike rides Don has
done. In November Don walked
daughter Kate down the aisle at
St. Stanislaus Church in Buffalo,
N.Y., where she married Craig
Bucki. Other Williams folk in
attendance were Ken McCurdy
’70, Don’s sisters Liz Berens ’71
and Julie Berens ’75, Julie’s son
Bob George ’04 and Kate’s friend
Daniel Rooney ’06.
Having had so few replies from
the rest of you (no doubt preoccupied with writing your annual
checks to the Alumni Fund), I
am reduced to supplying the
following filler material about
myself. Julie and I took some
time off from our law practice in
October to go on a bike trip in
the Dordogne region of France.
This was our third European
bike trip, but the first not part
of a group and therefore a little
daunting. But the weather was
great, we saw very few tourists,
faced little traffic on country
roads and, most important, had
no bike breakdowns. Biking past
the literally hundreds of castles
and chateaux in the region of
France where the Hundred Years’
War was fought was a wonderful
experience. Highlights were the
Caves of Lascaux, Rocamadour,
Les Ezyies and La Rocque
Gageac. Well, that’s all, folks.
Thanks for the memories.
1971
John Chambers
10 Ashby Place
Katonah, NY 10536
Last time around we had a
farm report, a reunion retrospective and purposes, pleasures and
perils as seen by members of our
class. This time contributions
from classmates lead us to the
arts, to acts of service and a set
of milestones. Thanks, as always,
go to contributors, along with
apologies to those whose news I
mangle or misrepresent. What is
good here comes from all of you.
The Arts: Paul Lieberman tees
off first; he has gone Hollywood.
They will roll out the red carpet
for him and Heidi in October at
the premier of a film he describes
as “based on my seven-part
narrative (for the LA Times) on
the LAPD’s secretive Gangster
Squad, which in the years after
WWII had the anything-goes
job of driving Eastern-linked
mobsters—particularly Mickey
Cohen—from the supposed City
of Angels.” Well, maybe the red
carpet is not just for Paul and
Heidi, given the names in the
cast: Sean Penn as Mickey Cohen,
Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma
Stone, Nick Nolte. Paul explains,
“The project has gotten a lot of
hype, and you’ll be hearing/seeing more leading up to its release
next October. I’m a ceremonial
executive producer.” He is now
at work on the book version,
hoping to create a fund for future
greens fees.
Remember the photo of
Gordie Clapp in the last edition? Following up, he wrote he
was to “be back at the Acorn
Theatre in New York in The New
Group’s World Premiere of David
Rabe’s An Early History of Fire.
Performances start on March
21. Come on down! We had a
wonderful four-week run of This
Verse Business at Merrimack
Rep in Lowell in October. The
word is getting around, and we
hope to shop it extensively during
2013, the 50th anniversary of
Frost’s death.” Taking note of
that start-of-performances date,
and realizing that the publication
of these class notes is April, let us
hope for a long run.
David Kubie reports further
on the New York theater scene:
“Audrey and I were pleased to
welcome Kathy and Peter Wege
and Linda and Jim Tam to NYC
this December. The Tams were
coming to attend the opening on
Broadway of the show Lysistrata
Jones. Their son Jason has a
leading role in the play and was
great, as usual. When the Weges
heard that we were gathering in
New York, they decided that it
was high time for a visit themselves. We enjoyed a great few
days together highlighted by a
few shows and a tour of parts of
Brooklyn, including a great lunch
in Park Slope.”
Acts of Service: Wally Schlech
continues to be an exemplar:
“Four months of the year on ID
and Gen Med services keeps me
reasonably sharp for my trips to
Uganda and, now, Nigeria, for
teaching/research/clinical work.
… Was able to spend some time
with Mary and team at Tabiro
village in April to help with construction projects at the school
(i.e., hauling bricks!). Yearly
team visits through Navigators
are now the norm, and the
project(s) are going well—check
us out at www.ugandaventure.
com.” Wally claims to be semiretired, but just reading about
family weddings (Walter F.
IV—aka Bo—and Miss Eimear
O’Loughlin of Portmarnock,
Ireland, at Barberstown Castle,
Co. Kildare) and the exploits
of the rest of his and Mary’s
offspring left me breathless. In
between all this, Mary has fallen
n 1 9 7 0 –7 1
David Kubie ’71 (second from right) and his wife Audrey welcomed
classmates Jim Tam (left) and Peter Wege and their wives for a visit in
NYC in December. The Tams were in town from Honolulu to see their son
perform in Lysistrata Jones, which opened that week on Broadway.
in love with Celtic fiddling and
takes the fiddle along on all their
travels.
Even as these notes are written,
Bob Eyre is also doing something
good, but with typical modesty:
He took a brief surgical mission
trip to Haiti and says it “might
be more interesting to reflect on
the trip rather than just anticipate
it.” Let’s do both, and hope for
more from Bob next time.
Peter Clarke is going even farther afield, to Bhutan. “I am taking four students (and Cushing
Academy) to the Himalayas
for three weeks in search of an
enduring partnership with a
small nation (whose king graduated from the academy) that is
trying to transform itself into
a vibrant, modern, democratic
society without losing its cultural
soul, a tall order for any people.
At the heart of this journey is our
desire to help them in any way
we can to create a world-class
educational system rooted in
Buddhist principles. For a school
like Cushing, seeking to engage
students in the challenges of the
21st century, what better place
for a real-world, educational
expedition than Bhutan?” Does
it sound like Peter is channeling
Bob Gaudino?
Mark Pearson (that’s Rev.
Canon Dr. Mark Pearson in
certain circles) has been busy out
of the country the past several
months—England, France,
Canada, Spain, Estonia—teaching, preaching, playing church
organs. Mark and his wife Dr.
Mary Pearson run a holistic wellness center called New Creation
Healing Center on an eight-acre
property in southern New
Hampshire; according to Nick
Tortorello, “This entity combines
medical care, counseling, massage
therapy and Christian spirituality
in a whole-person way.”
Remember David Albert’s
update in the last class notes—his
first in 40 years? He follows up
by offering a further glimpse of
his housing and water projects and other adventures, at
shantinik@blogspot. com and
www.friendlywaterfortheworld.
com and signs off with, “Yellam
Seyalkoodum! (’Everything is
Possible,’ in Tamil).”
Milestones: Lucky 13?
According to executive director
Steve Lawson, the “Lucky 13th”
season of the Williamstown
Film Festival turned out to be a
prophetic slogan: “Nearly three
dozen guest artists, premieres
of 29 films ranging from family
fare to late-night risqué shorts,
a Bollywood seminar, a tasting
with restaurateur Danny Meyer
and a salute to cinema legend
Sidney Lumet (marred only by
that weird October blizzard)—
this year had something for
everyone.” Among ’71 attendees: Perennials Karen and John
Ackroff and Sue and Steve Brown,
Arria and Jack Sands, Jori and
Steve Latham and first-timers
Laura and Mike Foley and Mary
and John Untereker. In 2011
Williams alumni made a record
60 contributions to WFF, with 22
of these coming from our class.
Check out www.williamstownfilmfest.com for a fun slideshow
of snapshots from the season.
Landmarks: Bill Rives is
now your secretary’s favorite
classmate, thanks to his note
from Paris commending the
“spirited, agreeable style”
of these notes. So much do I
respond to flattery that I hope the
editor will include a photo of Bill
in front of Notre Dame. Of the
cathedral, Bill says, “Victor Hugo
liked it, and so do I.” He sent
another photo from a day at the
races, saying, “Degas liked it, and
so do I!” No classmates among
the horses or jockeys, but take
the hint, classmates, and send
photos, even without the flattery.
But wait, you say, Rives was in
Singapore, not Paris! Right you
are, for half of our 40 years since
graduation, “but this fall was in
France on a replacement contract
teaching at the American School
of Paris. A stimulating change of
pace.”
Mark Ruchman is traveling,
too, “to Brazil, Uruguay and
Argentina with Barbara and
Jock Kimberley ’67.” But Mark
has other milestones as well:
“Sharon’s fourth CD has just
come out and was favorably
reviewed in Fanfare Magazine,
the go-to publication for classical
music enthusiasts. Check out
www.sharonruchman.com. Julia
’02 is writing for Covert Affairs
on USA networks, and my medical practice continues to delight.”
Fifteen years of cyber-sales? I
tried to get a comment on the
success of online marketing
behemoth Amazon.com from
Jane Gardner, since she was
instrumental in their early media
campaigns around the time of
our 25th reunion, but she politely
refused to take the credit for their
success.
Retirement? Mike Rade says,
“I won a Lifetime Achievement
Award from the American
College of Surgeons. I think they
are trying to tell me that I’m
really old and it’s time to retire.”
Nice award, Mike, but you’ll
have to wait for retirement—
remember you have med school
tuition to pay for your son Matt
’04, following in old dad’s professional footsteps.
Grandchildren: A first grandchild, Tyler James Azarow, was
presented to Nick Tortorello by his
daughter Kerry Ann. Nick had
other milestones, too: “After battling prostate cancer last year and
recovering from umbilical hernia
surgery, I am trying to lose weight
and get myself a little healthier.”
What else does he do to get
healthy? “I ran for town commissioner in Upper Chichester,
Pa., last November and lost by
57 votes.” So what does it mean
CL ASS
NOTES
that Nick could get elected as our
class president but not as town
commissioner?
Annual luncheon? Joe Fitzgerald
reports, “Jim Heekin, Bob Miller
and I had a nice Christmas lunch
in NYC in late December. The
engineer’s report revealed no
structural damage to the restaurant. We sure did laugh a lot. I
think there is a 50/50 chance it
may happen again next year.”
If Joe had sent a photo, I would
have hoped to include it, because
he, too, had kind words for the
secretary.
But better than the kind words
are the laughs, the news items
and the inspiration that come
from all of you. Each time I
gather these notes, I come away
awed by our class. Please keep
the bulletins coming, especially if
we have not heard from you in
too long a time!
Respectfully submitted, John
Chambers
1972
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Jim Armstrong
600 W. 115th St., Apt. 112
New York, NY 10025
David Webster
596 Arbor Vitae Road
Winnetka, IL 60093
You will be reading these class
notes shortly before our 40th
reunion in Williamstown, June
7-10. For those of you who
are still undecided, we hereby
provide some of the most common excuses for not attending a
reunion, and rebuttals to those
excuses. We ask that you read
them in the spirit in which they
were created: in the hope that
lots of the members of the Class
of 1972 will indeed choose to
return to Williamstown for a
few days of … well, for want of
a better word, camaraderie.
1. Excuse: “None of my
friends will be there.” Response:
Even if the classmates with
whom you were closest can’t
make it, we guarantee that you
will renew a forgotten friendship or make a lasting new one.
This has happened at every one
of our previous seven reunions,
and it will happen again this
time. Trust us on this.
2. Excuse: “Frankly, I had no
love for the college when I was
there, and I have no love for the
college now.” Response: This is
a Class of 1972 reunion, not an
encounter group with the college. We attend reunions to be
with each other.
3. Excuse: “It’s too expensive. I can’t afford to come.”
Response: If money is a serious
problem, please get in touch
with Class President Harry
Kangis on a confidential basis,
explaining the situation. There
are some funds (admittedly
limited) that are available to
help classmates, particularly
those who have never been to
a reunion before. All inquiries
will be kept strictly confidential.
We very clearly hear what you
are saying and want to help if
we can.
4. Excuse: “I’ve put on a few
pounds (or lost a lot of hair,
etc.) over the years.” Response:
Oh, please. Who hasn’t? Each
one of us will be 40 years older
than we were when we graduated—and all that that implies.
5. Excuse: “It’s going to be
like a fraternity party weekend,
with lots of rah-rah pep talks
and bacchanalian binges.”
Response: Again, this is a weekend of, by and for our class.
We have some truly fascinating
classmates, and many of them
will be at the reunion. The parties are fun, not frivolous. Heck,
we’re getting a private concert
from Livingston Taylor on
Friday night. Most of all, you
will be among people who like
you and care about you, and
that’s the whole secret about
reunions.
6. Excuse: “If I show up, I’m
likely to get assigned some onerous duty or position involving
the class.” Response: Wrong. It’s
the people who don’t show up
who get stuck with such things.
7. Excuse: “I’ve never been
back and would find it difficult
to walk into some cocktail party
where everyone there knows
everyone else. I’d feel totally
left out.” Response: It sounds
silly, but reunions can be quite
magical. Yes, it may take a while
to get in the swing of things,
especially if this is your first time
back, but at noon on Sunday on
Reunion Weekend, when everyone’s packing up to head home,
it’s pretty rare to hear people say
they had a bad time or wish they
hadn’t come. On the contrary.
8. Excuse: “I won’t be able to
make up my mind about attending until the last minute, and
by then it’s always too late.”
Response: Contact reunion cochairs Carter Peterson and John
Brewer if you need an extension
of any deadline to register or
show up.
9. Excuse: “I’m worried that
somebody will put the arm on
me at one of the class functions,
when I may be emotionally vulnerable.” Response: Just say no.
10. Excuse: “I hate listening
to windbag speeches and other
boring class lore.” Response:
Harry Kangis is president of
the class, and “Brevity” and
“Focus” are his middle names.
10a. Excuse: “I don’t accept
the legitimacy of Harry B.F.
Kangis as our president; I
want proof he was born in
Massachusetts.” Response: He
has promised to release his birth
certificate at Friday’s dinner.
11. Excuse: “I can’t make
it for the entire weekend.”
Response: Talk to the reunion
co-chairs, who can come up
with a pro-rated package to
meet your needs.
12. Excuse: “It’s the same
old crowd that comes to these
things—never anybody I really
know.” Response: Actually,
there is no “same old crowd.”
Each reunion is unique and
has a fascinating blending of
classmates who have been to
(1) every reunion or (2) some
reunions or (3) no reunions. If
you are interested in helping
shape the weekend, talk with
reunion co-chairs. There is every
opportunity for anyone willing
to become involved to leave his
or her imprint on the reunion.
13. Excuse: “The annual
alumni meeting is a drag. We
don’t win trophies anymore, so
why bother?” Response: We’re
in a tricky spot concerning
trophies, because the so-called
younger classes have many more
members than we do, and older
classes can more easily obtain a
high percentage of contributors,
given their diminished ranks.
Besides, let’s face it, 1972 is a
very unusual class. We’ve never
really fit the mold, a fact for
which many of us are profoundly grateful. Bottom line:
We don’t need any trophies for
it to be a successful weekend.
14. Excuse: I understand that
the Class of 1972’s Saturday
night party typically goes on
so long that the Williamstown
police are called in to break it
up. Response: Guilty as charged.
Blame (or, rather, credit) John
Kincheloe and his band. By the
way, it’s always the younger
classes who call the police
because of the noise. (Hint:
they’re jealous.) No one has yet
n 1 9 7 1 –7 3
been arrested, and if that were
to happen, bail will be available
… probably.
15. Excuse: I’ll be washing my
hair or doing my laundry that
weekend. Response: Understood
and accepted. The Amherst
Class of ’72 reunion will likely
have vacancies, where, as an
inducement to attend, we understand they supply shampoo
and detergent to all returning
classmates. All eight of them.
16. Excuse: (Fill in the blank)
Response: Please bear in mind
that reunions exist both for
attendees to receive something—typically, fellowship and
enjoyment from being with the
unique and finite body of people
who knew you when you were
19 years old—but also to give
something. It may be hard to
imagine this, but your attendance
will make someone in the class
very happy. We guarantee this.
Unequivocally. You—you—being
around, visiting with, talking
with others will enrich their
experience and often their lives.
If you don’t come, the experience
of those who do will be the lesser
for that. Contribute your presence. The rest of us will be very
glad you did. And so will you.
And since these are class
notes, we end with some news
from and about some of our
classmates.
Congratulations to Bob Gordon
on his re-election to the New
Jersey State Senate in November.
The geography of Bob’s district
was heavily changed during reapportionment, turning his race
into what was widely acknowledged to be the most competitive
one in the state.
Dave Martin sends in this
update: “Since March 2011 I
have been working in the newest
country in the world, South
Sudan, helping the Ministry of
Finance develop procedures to
prepare a budget. The country has a long way to go to
recover from half a century of
civil war, which destroyed the
roads, schools, hospitals and the
economy. It is exciting to work
in a country where leaders are
ready to implement reforms, but
progress will be slow. I had few
visitors in other countries where
I worked (Georgia, Moldova,
Uzbekistan and Jordan), and I
am not expecting many in South
Sudan. I am writing this note in
January from snowless Vermont,
where I had hoped to crosscountry ski on the Catamount
Trail before my return to South
Sudan.”
Michael Pitcher’s son Quinn is
in his freshman year at Williams.
Michael notes that Quinn is
“third generation: I was ’72,
my brother was Class of 1971,
and our late father was Class of
1937. My son Casey is currently
a junior in high school and is
eyeing Williams as well.” He
adds that “after 30 years in the
newspaper business, I went over
to the dark side seven years ago,
as my newspaper friends tell
me. As director of communications for the Suffolk County
Legislature, I am now applying
the spin rather than removing
it.”
Ken McGraime has been at
HSBC for almost 10 years and
manages the corporate banking
team for New England out of
Boston. He writes: “Judy can’t
seem to totally retire from teaching and has taken a part-time
position teaching French in the
Lexington public school system.
Our two daughters have long
since fled the nest, but we have
two strays, Scruff and Jasper,
who never question our judgment and provide unconditional
love. My main passion in the
community is the Make-a-Wish
Foundation of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island. I’m on the
board and have served as chair.
Judy and I are currently teaming
on granting a young child’s wish,
which is incredibly fulfilling. We
enjoyed Columbus Day weekend
down in Bay Head with Janet
and Thad Russell, who are both
doing well.”
“My wife Carol and I are
chugging along in suburban
Philadelphia,” reports Chip
Young. “She has her own business designing kitchens and
baths, and I am general counsel
at Airgas Inc., a public company
that manufactures and distributes industrial and medical
gases. The last couple of years
were professionally challenging
as Airgas fought off a hostile
takeover attempt. It’s been more
fun watching our four kids, two
each from previous marriages,
grow into young adults. Son
Matt rowed and studied his way
through Harvard and after three
years in New York is applying
to business school. His brother
Brian, also a rower, is finishing
up at U Penn and aspires to be a
collegiate rowing coach. Carol’s
daughter Rachel is a psych major
at Delaware, and her sister Aly
is studying comparative religion
at a favorite haunt from long
ago, Skidmore. We enjoy the
occasional visit with Martha and
Dore Griffinger when they are
in town to see their daughter,
and we traveled south last
fall to catch up with Ann and
John Searles when they came
east for parents’ weekend at
Georgetown. Life is busy, and we
look forward to jumping off the
track long enough to enjoy the
40th this spring.”
Lastly, the Office of Donor
Relations of the College has
announced that it has established a fund in memory of Rex
Krakauer. Appropriately, it is
called the Rex Krakauer 1972
Asian Experience Fund. Its purpose is to support Asian Studies
programs, including scholarships
for students who want to travel
to Asia. Donations can be made
to the fund in memory of Rex.
Donations can also be made to
the Alumni Fund in his name
or in the name of any of our
deceased classmates.
1973
Cole Werble
2540 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Apt. 204
The “Climb High, Climb Far”
spirit keeps emerging from the
deep collective soul and sinews
of the Class of ’73. Another
amazing mountain trek highlights
the notes (for the fourth time
in a row). This time Fred Harris
reports a bike trek from deep
in Tibet to Nepal (Lhasa to
Kathmandu). Fred says the desire
for the trip long preceded his
exposure to Greylock. “For my
60th, I accomplished a goal I
have had since the eighth grade
and visited Tibet.” However,
staring at the Berkshires and the
climbing exhortations must have
had some impact on this obsession sending so many classmates
back to the mountains. These
are not soft, pampered outings.
Fred bicycled 670 miles in the
mountainous region in about
three weeks. He carried GPS
equipment that recorded an
astounding array of data. One
day near the middle of the trip,
he biked 47 miles in five-and-aquarter hours, gaining 3,294 feet
in vertical height and burning
2,827 calories. Sounds like the
regimen of a graduate of ’93 or
’03, not ’73.
Meris Delli-Bovi kept up a
frenetic pace of travel in an
extended pre-60th celebration.
As she explains, she decided
that “constant motion” was the
CL ASS
NOTES
perfect antidote to the 60 event.
Constant motion it certainly was.
At first, I had a hard time figuring out when these travels took
place. Maybe in the 37 years
since graduating from Williams?
No, it turns out in a two-month
period from the end of summer
through mid-fall. Meris started
by heading west from her home
in Colorado to “the gorgeous
wedding of my nephew Noah at
my sister Jan’s place on the water
at Whidbey Island, Wash.” She
stayed for a week with her sister
“in Coupeville, catching up,
hiking and feasting on massive
amounts of stone crab and oysters (a fantasy for Coloradans)
pulled every couple of days from
the bay.”
Then to the East Coast
for another wedding (niece
Catherine) “on Cape Cod at her
dad’s 50-acre horse farm.” Then
to the Southwest and Austin in
September “to see my ‘daughter’ Joanna, Rob and their four
kids” (ages 4-14). The eldest is a
dancer, and that allowed Meris
to experience the extravaganza
of Texas high school football
“with a halftime that made Glee
look like amateur hour. There
were literally hundreds of band
members, dancers, cheerleaders,
etc., on the field for a production that was far from the
humble offerings I grew up on
in Connecticut.” Meris tactfully
did not dare compare the Texas
show to the unique experiences
of Weston Field.
Then back to the East Coast
and NYC “in early October to
officially celebrate my 60th with
my sister Jan, who flew in from
Washington. We had a great time,
including breakfast with Bill Finn
’74, who is still working on his
Little Miss Sunshine musical.
They also got the chance to tour
the Metropolitan Museum at
“a leisurely pace” on one of its
closed days “with nary a soul in
sight.” Then back to Colorado to
drive back to the North Carolina
mountains for more celebration and the southern version of
Berkshires foliage. Meris says
she is recovering as 2012 begins
and planning to start to cut
back on work at the business
she runs, Flatirons Marketing
& Communications, “which
provides community relations,
technical writing, proposal
management/writing and editing
to engineering and environmental
firms as well as nonprofits.” She
says her enjoyment of the travel
around her “seminal birthday”
and the realization that “we are
all not getting any younger” is
leading her to think about cutting
back a bit on work. Suggesting
that getting older and acting
older are different events, Meris
follows that statement with plans
to spend next July in Venice and
study Italian for a month.
After continuing to receive
these tiring reports of adventurous athletic and travel feats
(exhausting to read if not to
experience), I was relieved to
finally come across a note about
an actual retirement.
Barbara Smith Mitchell writes
that Wylie “decided it was time
to retire as the dean of admissions from Bates after 33 years.”
Alas, retirement comes hard to
this Class of ’73. Barbara notes
that the retirement lasted “all of
a couple of weeks until he joined
the admission staff at Bowdoin
as the Distinguished Visiting
Dean of Admission.” From
emeritus to visiting dean sounds
like a nice, active inversion of the
traditional emeritus pattern. One
of the first people Wylie ran into
at Bowdoin was Gil Birney ’72,
“now Bowdoin’s rowing coach.”
Barbara notes that Wylie is “also
doing some consulting at the
Waynflete School in Portland and
putting all of his years of experience to work doing some private
college counseling. He’d love
to hear from any of you who
still have kids facing the college
admission process.”
Dave Butts went west from his
dental practice in the Virginia
suburbs of DC and visited Steve
Hobbs “in the Bay area as well as
up the Sonoma coast. We were
able to visit with his two daughters as well.” Dave also noted
the next-generation education/
career progress of his son David
’06 and Larry Shoer’s son Joseph
’06. Both recent graduates, good
Eph friends, completed PhDs in
engineering: David at MIT and
Joseph at Cornell. David started
work at Draper Labs at the start
of 2012.
Bill Eyre just had to walk the
streets of New York, where he
“literally bumped into” John
Loeffler in early December and
expressed amazement that John
looks the same as at Williams.
I can vouch for that, having
run into John at a high school
graduation six months earlier.
Bill reports that his daughters at
Williams have graduated, and
his “youngest is in college at
Princeton playing number two
on the women’s squash team.”
One classmate has discovered
the ability to enjoy mountains
by looking up at them without
scaling to the top. Linda Vipond
Heath writes, “My husband and
I took a trip to Hawaii for our
shared 70th and 60th birthday
celebrations. We didn’t scale
any major mountains but did do
some scuba diving and hiking
in the Volcano National Park.”
Linda reports, “All three children
are out of the nest; my youngest just went off to Occidental
College.” Linda also notes
(literally) that she has returned to
singing, joining “a local women’s
a cappella group. Not having
sung a cappella since my Ephlats
days, I am finding it challenging but a lot of fun. We sing in
nursing homes and at community
events in Greenwich.”
Milton Grenfell reports a
significant milestone for Antonio
Lulli Almenara, who “has finally
become an American citizen.”
Milton feigns shock “to think
I was harboring an alien in my
Bryant House suite for three
years!”
A number of classmates are
adventuring into the wilds of in
town apartment living. Chris Pitt
reports: “Dottie and I sold the
house in Milton and moved to a
condominium in the old Baker
Chocolate Mills in Dorchester,
and I started a one-year term as
president of the Massachusetts
Real Estate Bar Association.”
John Vestal has made a similar
move to a downtown apartment
in Dallas. One son, Andrew, was
married In September; another,
Charles, is to be married next
September.
At the Art Institute in
downtown Chicago, Suzanne
Folds McCullagh advanced to
become the chair and curator
of the department of prints
and drawings. Suzanne has
been in the prints department
at the Art Institute for over
35 years. The museum says
she has “acquired some of the
most significant works of art
held by the Department of
Prints and Drawings” and has
curated “dozens of exhibitions”
including one for this spring on
“Capturing the Sublime: Italian
Drawings of the Renaissance and
Baroque.”
I have another tidbit to add
to the continued success of the
Williams art mafia. My daughter
Kate Werble ’02 was featured in
The New York Times Sunday
arts section in October as one of
New York’s new leading contemporary gallerists for her gallery in
Chelsea, Kate Werble Gallery.
Several classmates weighed
n 1 9 7 3 –7 4
in on the varying reminiscences
raised in the last two issues by
Bill Cunningham and Jay Haug. In
addition to her lively account of
her birthday travels, Meris also
shared her fond memories of
Professor Stocking as “a marvelous teacher who knew how to
make the American Renaissance
come alive.” She recalled being
called in for a conference with
Stocking after a successful paper
on Thoreau so that he could
point out the “humorous undertone that ran through Walden.”
Meris points out, “I love a
teacher who would worry that a
student might miss some of the
joy in a literary masterpiece.”
Meris adds that Stocking “was a
free spirit and had a right to his
own feelings on religion. It didn’t
seem to affect his teaching of a
time when religion was a main
part of how people viewed the
world.”
Steve Hauge said he enjoyed
the sharing of memories and
opinions from different points of
view and suggested some topics
to try to stimulate more active
discourse in future class notes.
Steve and his twin brother have
combined to create a website
(www.truetheatergoer.com/) to
create a community of theater
goers and “to promote theater
on Broadway and in DC by
providing an enriching collection
of information on current shows,
topline reviews and ratings.”
Steve welcomes “reviews from
any classmates who have seen
any of the shows posted.”
Field Horne reports that a large
contingent of our class turned
out for a memorial service for
Peter Klejna’s wife of 31 years,
Margo Reid Klejna. The list of
classmates at a service in late
October: Mike Barry, Vanessa
and Chris Brown, Carrie and Tracy
Brown, Field Horne, Alice and
Sandy McGill, Dan Schwartzman,
Put Smith and Bill Teitler.
1974
Jonathan W. Fitch
5 Cedar Hill Road
Dover, MA 02030
Alas, I begin with a farewell to
our cherished classmate Ronnie
Krauss, who died of cancer in
November. Heidi Jerome, Peter
Talbert, Ed Ryan and Gates
Blodgett visited with Ronnie,
her husband Paul and sons
Eric and Brett at their home in
Irvington, N.Y., shortly before
her death. Gates writes, “We
had a relaxed time watching
football, eating great food and
telling tall tales from our days
at Williams and specifically the
endless adventures from Water
Street, where we lived during
1973-74. Ronnie was clearly
on her last legs, but her sense of
humor and wise view were fully
intact. We were all lucky to have
known her, a truly remarkable
person. Heidi was especially
helpful to Ronnie during the ups
and downs of treatment over
the past years, a great friend and
remarkable in her own right.”
Ronnie was a seven-time Emmy
Award-winning TV producer
and writer. Her creative brilliance, wit and warmth were
expressed in the many projects
she completed, including those
as head writer of Nate the Great,
a comedic mystery series for
WNET/PBS; as producer/writer
of What’s Going On?, a global
documentary series produced by
Showtime/RCN Entertainment
in cooperation with the UN; as
supervising producer/executive
story editor of Out of the Box,
a Disney Channel preschool
arts and imagination series;
and as producer/writer of
Reading Rainbow, the nationally acclaimed series hosted
by LeVar Burton. Ronnie also
wrote scripts for shows such as
Cyberchase, The Magic School
Bus, Stanley, I Spy, Dragontales,
Really Wild Animals, Sesame
Stories and many others. She collaborated with Nobel Peace Prize
recipient Elie Wiesel in creating
a video based on his Passover
Haggadah. Ronnie also authored
14 children’s books and was cocreator of the first board game
ever designed for grandparents
to play with their grandchildren,
“To Grandma’s House We
Go!” As one of the pioneering
women of ’74, Ronnie transferred from her beloved Vassar
to Williams, where she majored
in English and graduated at the
top of our class and Phi Beta
Kappa. I found a long, glowing
professional recommendation
for Ronnie on a website, which
ends with the simple statement,
“Really, you couldn’t ask for
better.” I’d say that about sums it
up. Our sympathies to Paul and
Ronnie’s sons.
The well-traveled Class of
’74 has seen the world, in part,
thanks to the junior-year trips
abroad our children have taken.
Nancy and Larry Peltz had an
amazing trip to Cameroon,
where their daughter Haley,
a senior at Hamilton, was
studying. Larry writes: “It is
quite an amazing country, very
long in the north-south axis
and so contains many different ecosystems. We first went
to Kribi, on the ocean, where
people stop you on the beach
offering to take their boats out
for fish and shrimp for your dinner on the sand. The accommodations were spartan but quite
reasonable for such a beautiful
place. You just have to get there.
From there, we took a bus to
Douala, where we got a plane
to Maroua in the extreme north.
Mainly Islamic, the city has a
much more low-key feel than
the other major cities, Douala
and Yaounde, the capital. We
constructed a tour with a young
guy we met at the airport and
hoped for the best. This turned
out to be mostly a good idea,
as renting a car and driving to
the mountains on your own is
almost impossible—at least for
me at this stage. I had been in
Cameroon in 1982 and at that
time there were no paved roads
in the entire country. Now you
just need a professional driver to
navigate them. The landscape in
the extreme north is extremely
rugged, and our planned threeday hike through villages was
shortened to returning to our
hotel for dinner. However, our
guide and friends we met were
quite supportive and funny about
our limited conditioning. The
greatest thrill was getting around
the country with Haley, whose
ease and skillfulness with the
people were great accompaniments to my half-assed French.
We finished in Yaounde, hosted
and feted by Haley’s family, professor and friends. It was a real
eye opener seeing middle class
homes without running water.
We also went to a soccer game
that ended in a tie but eliminated
Cameroon from the Africa Cup
tournament. In the ensuing
riots, six people were killed. The
disappointment of their team’s
inability to score apparently
goes quite deep.” Larry’s note
also mentioned a minireunion in
Cambridge. “Nan Elliot ’73 was
visiting from Alaska, and we had
a great visit. A bonus was getting
to hang out with David Dryer ’72
and Martha Bedell at their beautiful Cambridge house where Nan
was staying. And I even got to
see photos of that handsome
John Dryer and his beautiful
girls.” Larry is a therapist in
NYC and is working on a book
on the subject of mindfulness
and addiction.
CL ASS
NOTES
Here’s some news from two of
the nearly 100 lawyers (yes, that
is correct) in the Class of ’74.
Joyce Gorman writes, “I am still
a capital markets partner with
Ashurst LLP, a London-based
global law firm, in its DC office
and often traveling to NY and
elsewhere representing Wall
Street clients, which has been
a challenge in the financial
markets and with the uncertainty
of changing regulations. It has
been very interesting to be with
a global firm, though, to witness
first-hand the worldwide financial
issues that we read about in the
paper. My husband Joe Fanone
(Georgetown ’71, JD ’74) has
been named managing partner
of Ballard Spahr’s DC office.
Our son Peter Fanone graduated
from Georgetown Prep in June
and is a freshman at Georgetown
University. He released his first
album, which is available on
iTunes and at amazon.com (just
search for his name), is very
involved in acting and has been
inducted into the Chimes a cappella group. Stepson Michael
Fanone and his wife Hsin-yi gave
birth to a baby girl on Christmas
Eve several hours after leaving our annual Gorman family
Christmas party (the timing could
not have been more perfect!), and
stepdaughter Kathleen Fanone is
living in Baltimore and working
at Johns Hopkins hospital. So
everyone is busy and productive
and starting to make plans for
2012!” And from Minneapolis,
Peter Reilly checks in saying, “I
still practice PI law at Schwebel,
Goetz & Sieben, and Patsy is still
the senior VP of government programs for Blue Cross Blue Shield
of MN. … Our daughter Sarah
(Bowdoin ’06) has been awarded
a Forte Fellowship to obtain her
MBA at the Carlson School of
Business here at the University
of MN. The Forte Foundation
is sponsored by many major
national corporations, including
PIMCO, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil and
Goldman Sachs and has as its
goal the promotion of women in
MBA programs. Needless to say
we are very proud of Sarah for
achieving this honor. Patsy and
I are also celebrating our 30th
wedding anniversary with a trip
to Germany this summer and will
be visiting Williamstown this fall
as I am a national board member
of the American Board of Trial
Advocates, which is holding its
fall meeting in Boston.”
Thanks go to Jeff Elliott for
once again organizing the
Annual Class of ’74 Holiday
Lunch, which took place at the
new home of the Williams Club
in NYC. As the historian of
the event, Jeff reports that the
turnout was the largest ever. That
is a good thing, and we hope
that next year (on the eve of
our 40th reunion!), many more
will gather with us in NYC.
Those present this year from
our number were: Tom Cohen,
Lusyd Doolittle, Phil DiMauro,
Fran Doran, Tom Douglas, Jim
Edwards, Audrey and Jeff Elliott,
Bill Finn, Tom Hut, myself and
wife Deb, Jeff Johnson, Jerry
Kapp, Bob Kaus, Matty Levine,
Carol and Rich Levy, Jenny and
Dave Maraghy, Skip March, Chuck
Mitchell, Janet Keyes O’Connell,
“Grace (x2) Paine Terzian,” Bob
Rothman, Bruce Sheehan, Tom
Slattery, Shellie and Rick Unger,
Iris Wolisnky and Betsy Howard
from Williams. Some tidbits from
the good cheer of this excellent
annual tradition: Rick Unger is
energized by a transition in his
legal career; he has moved from
his solo practice to the large
national firm, Duane Morris,
where he began his career (and
stayed as partner for a number
of years) and he is now acting
as special counsel for business
development. Jeff Johnson is back
to work in NYC as executive VP/
general manager of CramerKrasselt, the second largest
independent marketing and
advertising agency in the country.
Tom Cohen, another consummate
New Yorker, is enjoying work
as an investor in media and new
technologies. It was good to
meet first-time attendee Tom Hut,
an accomplished architect, who
has worked, for instance, with
the Guggenheim Museum on
projects in NYC (in Soho and on
the Frank Lloyd Wright project
uptown) and on the design and
construction of the Guggenheim
Museum in Bilbao. Grace times
two? Grace’s daughter Gracie,
a UVA undergrad, was in NYC
for an internship with Saturday
Night Live: Flaming hair,
winning smile, and Southern
charm—well, Grace’s daughter.
Deb and I ran into Grace later
at a production of Follies (by
Stephen Sondheim ’50) that Bill
had recommended. Richard Story
could not make our lunch, but
Dave Maraghy wrote that they
were able to enjoy lunch together
the following day.
Julie Scandora is picking up the
pieces following a devastating
fire in her home in the Seattle
area. She says, “I took it all
pretty well. Really, what can one
do but move on? So I’ve been
having a wonderful (usually) and
frustrating (once in a while) time
redesigning and reconstructing
my house. Meanwhile I continue
to edit book manuscripts for
a local publisher and love the
variety, the challenges and helping the many good authors that
come my way. As for my watercolors, the fire destroyed almost
all of my artwork, and I must
rebuild my inventory. I haven’t
even had time to get art supplies.
My published books went the
same way—all gone—as well as
the illustrations I had done for
my next children’s book. So I
have a lot of starting over to do
this year.
My family is doing well. My
son and oldest daughter and her
family live nearby, and I get to
see them often, which is especially good since two grandsons
are part of the mix. All in all, life
is good, balanced with time for
friends, family, outdoors, intellectual activity, creative endeavors
and uninterrupted peace.”
1975
Julia Berens
22 Sperry Lane
Lansing, NY 14882
As I write this, Upstate New
York is experiencing the winter
that wasn’t; 53 degrees during
the first week in January means
a lot less salt on one’s car and no
possibility of local cross-country
skiing. Breaking news is that I
have just agreed to climb back
into the saddle (and out of retirement) to teach the senior class
in Lansing, N.Y., for the entire
second semester while a teacher
is on maternity leave.
Becoming China’s Bitch
and Nine More Catastrophes
We Must Avoid Right Now is
the (admittedly) provocative
title of Peter Kiernan’s newly
released book examining “why
we are frozen as a nation, and
10 problems we must have the
courage to face.” Peter’s intended
audience is neither Republicans
nor Democrats but Independents,
“the largest and fastest growing
political segment.” Somewhat
less jarring is the title of K.K.
DuVivier’s book The Renewable
Energy Reader, a sourcebook for
U.S. renewable energy law. Jeff
Thaler ’74 is using the book as
a text for his renewable energy
class at the University of Maine.
K.K.’s daughter was married in
November, and her son received
n 1 9 7 4 –7 6
an NSF grant for grad work
on solar panels at UC Santa
Barbara. K.K. and fellow geo
majors Mike Wilson and Ben Duke
try to see Professor Bud Wobus
whenever he is in Denver.
Two classmates spent January
in Williamstown as Winter Study
instructors. Will Parish taught
“Environmental Education:
What, How and Why?” Will’s
wife Julie won an award for her
fundraising efforts on behalf
of the National Parks in San
Francisco. Chan Lowe co-taught
“Editorial Cartooning and the
Art of Propaganda” with E.J.
Johnson ’59, who addressed
the art history side while Chan
taught students how to draw and
communicate. Last fall, Chan
was inducted into the Oklahoma
Cartoonists Hall of Fame in
recognition of nine years he spent
working for Oklahoma newspapers and his work as a Florida
journalist.
After five and a half months,
Chuck Chokel reports that he has
recovered from his 2011 bike
injury. He and Naira alternate
between their New Hampshire
and Arizona homes with plenty
of domestic and international
travel as well as triathlons to fill
in the gaps.
Dede and Tony Brown traveled
to New Hampshire to welcome Tony’s third grandchild,
Thatcher, born Dec. 3. Hermien
and Phil Less love living in Rhode
Island and celebrated their first
year back in New England since
1975. Bobby Kittredge is stateside
after two and a half years in
France. His wife found the
perfect job in Sacramento, and
Bobby is “better suited to English
and optimists” and is still changing diapers. He recommends
watching the 20-minute lectures
in the EphNotes emails, which
are helping him “stop flunking
out of Williams in my dreams.”
Margaret Stuhr checked in from
Chicago, where she and husband
Tim Quinn ’77 celebrated the
marriage of their daughter Katie
Quinn ’08 to Bryan Eckelmann
’09 in July. Janean Abbott and
husband Tracy Slack came from
Oregon to join the festivities,
which sounded like a massive
Ephfest with alumni from the
’70s and ’80s as well as current
students including Margaret and
Tim’s son Andy ’13.
Always a source of ’75 news,
Anton Bestebreurtje watched the
Williams/Amherst game with
Bob (Milt) Morin, Gene Frogale,
Lucy and Bob Beck and Larry
Patent ’74. Anton provided this
report: “Milt has retired from
his administrative position at
St. Elizabeth’s but maintains
his private psychology practice.
Gene opened a sideline for their
lumber business that caters to
custom builders and is always
nice enough to offer Redskins
tickets to Milt and Anton. Lucy
continues in an internal medicine
practice. Apparently Bob felt
that dealing with preemies as a
neonatologist wasn’t enough of a
challenge, so he’s about to get an
online MBA from UMass. Larry
is in private practice after retiring
from the U.S. government.”
Sam Bronfman, living in
Barcelona for the school year,
reports that his Spanish is
improving slowly and that he is
becoming a fan of international
“football.” Bonnie Harris had a
fabulous holiday in France to celebrate her husband Larry’s 60th
birthday. I guess after 30-plus
years in Sydney, every day
doesn’t seem like a holiday in
the Land of Oz. Amy and Allan
Ruchman took an online course
through Princeton on “The Art
of Engineering” (greatest hits of
buildings and bridges over the
last 150 years), and Allan continues to sing with the Greenwich
Choral Society. He reports that
Tully Moss is alive and well
and visited Connecticut before
returning to the Philippines,
where he is doing management
consulting and teaching management education courses for
various companies.
Polly Smith and her family rang
in the New Year with Liz Titus,
who looks forward to attending
the ordination of Barnaby Feder
’72 into the Unitarian ministry
in 2012. Liz writes, “Thanks
to an enduring friendship with
Professor Roger Bolton, I had
the opportunity to write a book
review that will be in the Journal
of Regional Science.” Liz is
fortunate to have the inspiration
of her parents’ “vim, vigor and
60 years of marriage!”
Ned Reade spent a week last
summer working at an orphanage in Haiti and found the
experience to be transformative. Bottled water was readily
available, but electricity and
other “necessities” were spotty,
if available at all. It sounds as if
Ned believes that a jolt to one’s
perspective can be a good thing.
My request for news elicited a
lengthy response from Gene Falk,
who has decided after 10 years of
working with mothers2mothers,
the last seven of them in Cape
Town, to step down as m2m’s
CEO and return to the States
in 2012. Ten years ago, after
visiting his college roommate
Mitch Besser ’76, who had just
launched the very first Mentor
Mother program in Cape Town,
Gene was hooked. He writes,
“One mother at a time, the
Mentor Mothers battle stigma
and discrimination, confounding
expectations of what it means to
be a woman living with HIV and
becoming important role models
for personal and economic
empowerment.” Kudos to Gene
for his tireless work for one of
the most successful grassroots
programs on the planet whose
aim is to improve people’s lives.
The fall included two noteworthy experiences for me. The first
was meeting and “chillin’” with
Bill Murray (of SNL fame), clad
in his pink pants, at the CornellHarvard football game. Unless
someone can introduce me to Sir
Paul, I have probably maxed out
as far as celeb encounters go. The
second and far more worthwhile
and enjoyable experience was
spending an October afternoon
with Sage F classmate Akua Lezli
White at her house in Corning,
N.Y. Lezli is wheelchair-bound
due to transverse myelitis, but
there is nothing “bound” about
Lezli’s spirit, energy and humor. I
brought my 40-year-old copy of
What’s What (with all our high
school senior pictures), and we
laughed and reminisced about
many of you. We both learned
things about Williams from
1971-75 that neither of us had
known before.
Just a reminder that what you
see as your ho-hum existence is
very likely of great interest to
your classmates—so please send
along a report of how 2012 is
shaping up for you!
1976
Jane Ray Kell
4 Spring Lake Place NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
Hello, everyone. I have sad
news to report this time. George
Powell Jr. passed away on Nov.
12 in Tampa, Fla., where he
lived for 28 years and worked
as an economic development
manager at Boone, Young &
Associates and as a program
director at Central City Family
YMCA. He is survived by his
mother Leonarda Powell and
daughter Garvey Powell. The
funeral was held in Tampa,
and the burial at Laurel Grove
CL ASS
NOTES
Cemetery in George’s hometown
of Savannah, Ga.
I heard from Don Firke in
October, just after sending in
the last edition of notes. Don
is upper school head at the
Potomac School in McLean,
Va., and is enjoying his position
very much. “Great school, great
colleagues,” he writes. “Feels like
I’ve found a home. My kids are
in college. My son will graduate
from Wesleyan in May with a
degree in English and government. He thinks he might like to
work in new media (he blogged
and tweeted for the Department
of Education last summer),
but he may go into teaching.
Time will tell. My daughter is a
sophomore at Swarthmore, and
she thinks she’s interested in science. She’s taking a lot of biology
classes and is enthusiastic about
the subject. I think the closest I came to a science class at
Williams was ‘History of Science’
with Donald deB. Beaver, but
she really likes it. My wife Lisa
continues her web design business, but she is taking advantage
of our move to diversify a little.
We have been able to make an
art studio for her, and she has
opened up a little shop on Etsy
to sell some of her artwork.”
Glad things are going so well for
you, Don!
Susan and George Evans spent
their sixth winter in Florida after
an October trip to Europe, where
they visited Normandy, Brittany,
Paris, Amsterdam and the
English Cotswolds. Son George
’04 is a second-year associate at
Goodwin Proctor in NYC, and
younger son Tim ’06 is the production manager at the Brooklyn
Brew Shop in Brooklyn, N.Y.
George Sr. has launched a business, OnDeckBioTech, with his
two sons and a nephew to provide an online marketplace for
small pharmaceutical and biotech
companies. Susan and George
had a bittersweet Christmas as it
was the first since her mother’s
death in January 2011, but they
are doing well and continue to
enjoy living in Bradenton, Fla.
“My father, C. Gorham “Doc”
Phillips ’43, died on Dec. 8
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
John Bell ’76 (left) visited classmate Masaharu Kohno, who is Japan’s
ambassador to Italy, on trip to Rome in November.
after 90 years of wonderfully
full life,” writes Tacey Phillips
Carroll. “He is the main reason
I went to Williams, although
he was an impossible act to
follow. At Williams he was
president of Gargoyle Society,
chairman-secretary of Phi Beta
Kappa, editor-in-chief of the
Record and associate editor of
the Purple Cow in addition to
being a JA and Tyng Scholar and
who knows what else! As one
of his good friends, Malcolm S.
(McGurk) MacGruer ’43, wrote to
me: ‘We will all miss dear Doc,
leader, friend, advisor, example
setter, humorist, classmate.
Without his advice and counsel
my books could never have been
written and my sense of humor
kept active.’ Ditto, McGurk!”
Susan and Tacey are not the
only classmates who have lost
parents this year. My mother,
who had been ill for several
months, died unexpectedly on
Dec. 13, and Susan Collings lost
her mother on Nov. 30. Despite
the sad news, Susan also had
happy news: Her niece Lindsey
Vandergrift was recruited for the
Williams women’s soccer team
and got the “early decision nod”
that she will be a member of the
Class of 2016. “My daughter
and other nieces and nephews
have covered a ton of great
schools—Swarthmore, Yale,
Dartmouth, Middlebury—but
Lindsey is the first to choose my
alma mater, so Williamstown
will be seeing more of me at
women’s soccer home games
starting next fall!” Susan was
planning a trip to Beijing and
Shanghai at the end of January,
“a super bargain trip on a
Groupon” and preparing for The
Art Connection’s signature event
on March 24, “Art Bingo,” in
Boston.
Ellen O’Donnell reports that she
has been living in the DC area
for the past two decades, working as a technical writer/editor
in the medical field. “For the
past 12 years, I’ve been with the
National Institutes of Health’s
center for alternative and
complementary medicine, a fascinating window into the world’s
healing traditions. I spent a
year in the Library of Congress’
Office of Strategic Initiatives,
working on the preservation
of cultural treasures in digital/
digitized forms. Just moved into
a great house in Silver Spring,
Md., and am busy getting up
my art and music studio. Hope
to retire from the government
in four years, moving on to new
adventures. Enjoy hearing from
Williams folks.”
DC Dugdale writes that his
daughter Emily ’14 was involved
in the Williams Record’s reporting of the campus events of the
fall, including the hate crime that
occurred. “It was great to see her
passion for working on reporting
things accurately.” Emily enjoyed
a Winter Study journalism course
and was “trying to arrange a
study abroad program for her
junior year. It gives me nostalgia
for Winter Study, when we could
study at ‘half speed’ surrounded
by a great environment and our
friends!” DC’s younger daughter
will be entering college next year.
Deb ’77 and John Hoover
enjoyed having their family home
for Christmas in Ohio. Catherine
’09 is working at Mass General
for a clinical trial team after
spending two years at Worcester
n 1976
1976 classmates Sandy and Kristi Bragg (far left and fourth from right,
respectively) celebrated their son’s October wedding in Vermont with
Ephs from the Classes of 1969 through 2012.
Academy teaching biology and
chemistry. Jack ’15 lives in Sage
D and is studying Arabic and
economics while rowing for the
JV crew team and serving on the
Williamstown fire brigade. John
is U.S. CEO for Export Now
Inc., a startup based in Akron,
Ohio. The company helps U.S.
consumer product manufacturers
export and sell items in China
on Taobao Mall, the largest B2C
e-commerce site. Deb is president of the Burton D. Morgan
Foundation, which supports
entrepreneurship in Northeastern
Ohio. She also is on the advisory
board for the Norman Rockwell
Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.,
and is taking classes toward
her PhD in art history at Case
Western University. John and
Deb planned to spend Masters
weekend in Georgia with Barney
Ireland ’77, Bill Goodell ’77 and
Chris Vogelsang ’77 and their
significant others.
Deb Nelson was looking
forward to a weekend in Boston
of “Frozen Fenway hockey,
Prince Pizza, Lenny Clarke
comedy and Patriots football!
Vinny McLoughlin will be in town
along with Gus Nilson, his son
Matt and wife Cheryl. Other
participants will include Paul
Nelson, Steve Castraberti, Patti
and Mike Capone ’75, and rumor
has it there may be an Al Skene
’77 sighting as well! Should be a
great time!”
“In mid-October 2011 I elected
to retire early at the ripe old
age of 58 from People’s United
Bank after almost 221⁄2 years as a
portfolio manager in their wealth
management and trust department,” writes Alex Rosten. “Of
course my wife Susana gave me
her blessing, albeit with some
reservations. I am now a ‘stayat-home’ investor, glued to the
computer screen watching the
stock market and CNBC and
Bloomberg TV. Dark suits and
business casual attire have been
replaced with sweat pants and
Williams sweatshirts. It’s been
wonderful thus far.”
Alex, Susana and daughter
Amy, a high school junior, went
to Williamstown in January for a
basketball game and dinner with
Alex’s twin brother Mike Rosten
’75, his wife Margie, Sunny and
Steve Piltch ’77, and Pat and Tom
Carey ’77. Alex’s oldest daughter
Jessica ’08 and boyfriend Tyler
Auer ’07 drove over from Boston
and were joined by Jamie Rosten
’13 and Matt ’12 and Ali Piltch
’14. The weekend included a surprise visit from Harry and Connie
Sheehy, both Class of ’75, who
drove down from Dartmouth
College. “Seventeen people representing nine different Williams
classes broke bread that night at
Hobson’s Choice,” writes Alex.
“It was a lovely evening and a
testament to long-term college
friendships. I hope my kids will
do the same with some of their
Williams friends when they are
old and wrinkled.”
“After two years living in
South Bend, Ind., Rick ’77 and
I have returned to the Boston
area,” writes Chris Woodring
Siegrist. “We are happy to be
‘home’ on the East Coast near
family and friends. Rick is back
to doing what he loves, teaching
and working on two startup
companies. As I have in the past,
I am working with him on the
startups as director of finance
and all-around detail person. I
am very lucky to be able to manage my work schedule so that I
can also play lots of tennis! Rick
is teaching at Harvard School of
Public Health and working part
time as chief innovation officer
for Press Ganey Associates, a
patient satisfaction survey and
performance improvement
company. So we are very busy
but also have lots of flexibility
in our schedules. Our children
are grown. Tracey, 28, is living
nearby and working as a senior
data analyst for Press Ganey (no,
Rick did not get her the job).
Ryan, 25, is back in school doing
an MBA at UNC.” Chris and
Rick missed our reunion due to a
flight cancellation in South Bend,
but they plan to attend Rick’s
reunion this year.
“2011 was a year chock full of
wonderful Williams connections,
and that beat went on right into
the New Year for our family!”
writes Ellin Goetz, who visited
with Cappy Hill and Kent Kildahl
at Vassar last spring and “really,
really loved sleeping in those
presidential digs.” Ellin and husband Mike Watkins ’75 “finagled”
a Vermont summer dinner with
Theresa and Paul Shiels ’76,
who are proud new grandparents, and the “always elusive”
Mark Sinclair ’75, his wife Boo
and their two sons. Ellin and
Mike’s three kids, two of whom
attend Williams and the third,
Hamilton, also joined them. Also
during the summer, Ellin and
Mike celebrated the Cornell hotel
school graduation of Marcia and
Bruce Humphrey’s ’75 youngest
daughter Emily at their home in
Norwell, Mass. They also barbecued on Labor Day with Harry
and Connie Sheehey, both ’75, at
their “splendid new spread” in
Hanover, N.H. “I am stunned by
how quickly green has overtaken
purple in their world!” writes
Ellin.
The end of the year brought
a reunion with Mark and Jan
Goldman Carter, who joined Ellin
and Mike for “a sunset beer or
two together at the newly renovated Beach Bar” at Mike’s business, the Naples Beach Hotel.
“That Beach Bar scene continued
to rock on into the New Year,
with Vin McLoughlin ’76 sporting
soft pastel cashmere sweaters in
his attempt to fit into the local
scene, along with Andy ‘the Bear’
and Suzanne Peterson, both ’75,
from Colorado, and their savvy
daughters Betsy and Katie ’08.
Some stories were told during
CL ASS
NOTES
that eve of our New Year about
times at Williams that sent the
Peterson and Watkins kids howling into the night, aghast at our
Boomer generation! Who knew
that climbing dorm walls was an
extracurricular activity back in
the day? Just goes to show that
some selective rule breaking can
be really, really fun, and here’s to
more of it in 2012!”
Finally, I am told that we had
a great turnout for the Class of
1976 fall tailgate in October.
Among those present were Deb
and Paul Nelson, Chris Oates,
Jody Hale Norton, Ray and Karen
Bliss, Peter and Joanie Shainman
Zegras, Chris and Rick Siegrist
’77, Steve Castraberti, Liza Fraser,
Steve Hein, Dan Yeadon and Vinny
McLoughlin. If you haven’t yet
seen the photos, check them out
on our class Facebook page.
Well that’s it for this edition
of class notes. I hope you will
write me with your news in the
spring so I can continue to keep
everyone up to date. Until then,
best wishes for a great start to the
New Year!
1977
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Daiva (Garbus) Gasperetti
401 East 74th St. #5C
New York, NY 10021
Dear classmates, I would like
to take a moment to remind you
that our 35th reunion will be here
before we know it! The dates are
June 7-10, and I hope you will
make it back to Williamstown for
a fun weekend of good company,
a broad range of activities plus
several hearty repasts and libations to suit all. If you have rarely
(or never) attended a reunion, this
is the year to come back, expand
your circle of Williams friends
and enjoy all that the Purple
Valley has to offer. Why not call
a fellow classmate and book
your trip together? If you’d like
to be involved in any of the planning, please contact our Class
President Patty May Thomsson at
p.thomsson@comcast.net, or find
her on Facebook. Register for the
reunion online today!
Now for the news. We are
honored to boast two classmates
as presidents of institutions of
higher education: Fred Lawrence
and Clayton Spencer.
A lawyer with civil rights
expertise, Fred Lawrence has been
met with accolades as the new
president of Brandeis University.
According to an article in The
Jewish Daily Forward, “To many
students and faculty, Lawrence
has practically achieved rock star
status.” Formerly a dean of The
George Washington University
Law School, he became president
in January 2011. According to
the article, Fred is not planning to lead a building boom;
rather, he will focus primarily on
improving programs and building
relationships on campus and
abroad. “He is well aware that
he is leading a university that
has a unique history. Founded
in 1948, Brandeis describes
itself as the only nonsectarian
Jewish-sponsored university in
the country.” In tune with the
school’s heritage as well as its
diversity, one of his plans is to
expand the university’s programs
in India. According to Fred: “The
genius of this place is it’s both
an open nonsectarian institution
and a school that has deep roots
in the Jewish community. … I do
not see that as a paradox. … You
always embrace your strengths.”
The Bates College Board of
Trustees “unanimously and
enthusiastically agreed that
Clayton Spencer is the best
possible choice to lead Bates
at this key time in the college’s
history. She is a true national
leader in higher education, and
she understands Bates in a very
personal way, endorsing its innovative approach to the academic
curriculum and its unpretentious ambition for excellence
in all aspects of the liberal arts
experience in the 21st century.”
Currently, Clayton is VP for
policy at Harvard University and
will become the eighth president
of Bates on July 1. A graduate of
Yale Law School, Clayton served
at the national level as chief education counsel in the U.S. Senate,
working for the late Sen. Edward
M. Kennedy. For the past 15
years Clayton has worked with
four Harvard presidents to shape
key initiatives. She is widely
regarded as an extraordinarily
collaborative and effective leader
in higher education. In Clayton’s
words, “I am honored and
humbled to be asked to serve
as the next president of Bates
College. It is such a privilege to
be invited to join this very special
community—on campus and
beyond—and to imagine our
work together as we write the
next chapter in the life of this
remarkable institution.”
Bruce Orkin, MD, chief of
the division of colon and rectal
surgery, was appointed vice
chair of academic affairs in the
Department of Surgery at Tufts
Medical Center. Bruce and his
wife Ethel are now enjoying
their third year in Boston, having
moved there after 20 years in
DC. Last summer they drove
from Boston to Chicago to visit
their son Daniel, who recently
graduated from Brandeis. They
made a stop in Williamstown,
Ethel’s first after hearing about
it for 30 years. It was a gorgeous
day in the Berkshires, and even
Ethel, a graduate of UCLA, had
to admit that Williams is a stunningly beautiful place. Of course,
she didn’t have to deal with the
long winters or that fifth season
between winter and spring—sleet.
Deb DePorter Hoover is looking forward to our reunion
and the opportunity to catch
up with classmates. She was in
Williamstown last fall, visiting
son Jack ’15, a freshman living
in Sage D. He is very happy and
volunteers with the Williamstown
Fire Department. Those of you
living in the Northeast will
remember the enormous freak
snowstorm that hit late last
October. As luck would have
it, Parents’ Weekend took place
at the same time. According to
Deb, “We had the full Berkshire
experience during our visit!”
Daughter Catherine ’09 is living
in Boston and works at Mass
General. While in Williamstown
Deb enjoyed seeing Martha
Pritchard, whose daughter Emma
’15 is a freshman as well.
All is well with Rich Remmer.
He has been working with a
local “Friends Group” to help
the state of New York preserve
the Connetquot River State Park
Preserve. The projects include
the restoration of an 18th
century grist mill that is perhaps
the only surviving horizontal
grist mill located east of the
Mississippi and the refurbishing of the historic 19th century
trout hatchery, along with the
design and construction of a new
environmental education center.
Daughter Meredith is in her third
year at NYU Medical School and
loving it. Son Max is a project
manager with a large construction firm that specializes in NYC
waterfront projects. Last summer
Rich and his wife Kathie enjoyed
dinner with Chris Vogelsang and
his fiancée Karen. “She is a truly
wonderful lady. I can still visualize that classic Vogelsang smile
when he introduced us!” Rich
extends an invitation to any classmates visiting Abaco, Bahamas,
n 1 9 7 6 –7 8
in April to stop by and say hello.
The bonefish are always biting!
Sending a “short report, big
news,” Ed Bacher wrote to say
that he was laid off in January of
last year then offered a new job
with Google in June. So after 10
years in New Hampshire he was
on his way to California. Enjoy
the Google amenities, Ed!
Steven White continues to
publish. His most recent work
is an ecocritical study, Arando el
aire: la ecología en la poesía y la
música de Nicaragua (Plowing
the Air: Ecology in the Poetry
and Music of Nicaragua).
The Nicaraguan Ministry of
Education is distributing the
book to public high schools
and universities throughout the
country.
A brief note from Tim Hester
announced that he has been
elected to serve a second fouryear term as the chair of the management committee of Covington
& Burling. “Covington is a
firm of about 800 lawyers with
offices in DC, New York, San
Francisco, Silicon Valley, San
Diego, London, Brussels and
Beijing—so this position is endless entertainment!”
Sending season’s greetings from
Pennsylvania, Rick Bartlett wrote
that he continues to work as an
OB/GYN physician as well as
an instructor at his hospital’s
residency program, where 1,000
babies a year are delivered. He
and wife Valerie have three
children, Henry, Lincoln and
Emily. Last May Lincoln married
Jaime Miller. Ed and Art Wilk, an
oral surgeon in Guilford, Conn.,
remain in contact. Art and wife
Nancy have two daughters, Ellen
’07 and Nancy.
Jim Ford finds that “our children continue to help us stay in
touch with classmates.” Last fall
Jim and his wife toured a bit of
Washington before visiting their
daughter for Parents’ Weekend
at Whitman College. In Seattle
they enjoyed a great evening and
dinner with Jane Lester and her
family. Later, while waiting in the
airport for their flight home, they
ran into Mary Burton Nelp! Small
world.
In December, Rich Spicer played
in six harpsichord performances
for the Candlelight Christmas
Stroll at Strawbery Banke
Museum in Portsmouth, N.H.
He also managed to pass the
qualifying exams for his PhD in
early December, “confirming that
you can indeed fool some of the
people some of the time!”
Joel Scheiman wrote to share
some practical advice from
Newsweek for those of us interested in maintaining stellar cognitive functioning as we age: learn
a second language. Joel recently
lunched with Newton Davis
’12, who was in Tokyo doing
a Winter Study project on the
Brazilian community in Japan.
So that’s all for now. Remember
to sign up for Reunion Weekend!
1978
Jeff “J” DeLisle
538 Bloomingrove Drive
Rensselaer, NY 12144
It’s a bit early for spring break,
but the dockside sun in Naples,
Fla., under which I compose
this column, has me channeling all the youth, impetuosity
and unbidled optimism of those
midterm two-week road trips
of yore, c. 1976-78. By now my
significant other of nearly four
years, Julie Zelman, has heard all
the Jocko-Smitty-Rex-Larry-Tex
stories a dozen times. Still, she
smiles as I recount vignettes from
the 28-hours-stop-only-for-gas
trips from frigid Williamstown
to the doorsteps of Jocko Rainey’s
parents, where, amazingly, we are
welcome in spite of the previous
year’s antics. We were rowdy and
looking for mischief before the
first Bud can was cracked, and
what with the powerful thirst we
worked up in the Naples heat,
well, that’s the stuff from which
Legends are Made.
This is my first vacation as an
empty nester, though my beagle
Clyde might object to the use
of that term to describe our
situation. Mallory, my youngest
daughter, has left for school at
SUNY Morrisville, majoring in
office management. She aspires to
be a secretary, which is to say, the
Real Boss. Her Russian biosister
Olesya has her own apartment
and is waitressing and sitting for
a handicapped child. My middle
son, Derek, graduates this spring
from Columbia, with a combined
degree in mathematics and
computer science. My daughter
Phoebe, Virginia Tech ’09, works
in human resources at Celerity,
a consulting firm in Arlington,
Va. My oldest son, Dewey, has
earned a master’s degree in
applied behavioral analysis and
is about to sit for his licensing
exam. He works for the New
England Center for Children—
the world’s leading center for
autism—as a residence manager
and, now, recruiter.
Yes! Yes! Yes! After months
of excruciating anticipation,
Kate Stone Lombardi’s book
The Mama’s Boy Myth (Avery/
Penguin) hit the shelves on March
15. Kate writes, “The basic
theme is in the subtitle: ‘Why
Keeping Our Sons Close Makes
Them Stronger.’” You can read
an excerpt on www.mamasboymyth.com and look for it at your
local bookstore or download it
for your Kindle.
Gordon Hardy and Alice Dunn’s
older daughter, Molly, came back
East after five years in Vancouver,
B.C. She has enrolled in the
Cambridge School of Culinary
Arts in the professional chefs program. She is already a “helluva
chef.” (I think this is a rather
strong remark for a Unitarian
minister.) The younger, Laura, is a
sophomore at Hofstra University.
Gordon nearly advised her to follow in his footsteps to be an Am
Civ major, then, as quickly as his
mouth opened, he stopped himself. He expects she will major in
psychology.
John Gilbert had described
himself as “happily retired” from
the practice of environmental
engineering, having sold his business, GeoInsight Inc., to his staff
three years ago. But, wait! He has
embarked on a new endeavor,
working with leaders of for-profit
and nonprofit businesses on
strategic operations assessments
and realignments. John finds it
fascinating that in spite of the
diversity of clients, the core issues
they are facing are the same. John
volunteers as chairman of the
New Hampshire Water Council,
the Governor’s Commission on
Water Sustainability and the
New Hampshire Center for
Nonprofits. John’s two oldest
children are now college graduates, and, to his great delight,
both are employed. His daughter
Emily graduated from Franklin
& Marshall in 2008, and Allison
from Pratt Institute in May
2011. His son Matt is a junior
at St. Lawrence University and
planned to spend spring semester
in Kenya. John gets together with
Pete Tuttle, who is still on the
faculty at St. Paul’s School. Both
of Pete’s sons are in graduate
school, one in hydrogeology and
the other in veterinary school.
Jim Little took his family hiking
at Big Bend National Park in
West Texas. The big news is that
his daughter Amy, a junior at UT
Southwestern Medical School,
is engaged to Nate Jones, who
has just completed his divinity
training at Duke. The two met
CL ASS
NOTES
as Duke undergrads. Ever the
responsible father, Jim checked
Nate’s sports credentials and
found them to be solid. (Big
Duke sports fan, was its football
equipment manager.) He has
given his blessing to the union.
Jim’s younger daughter
Sarah is a first-year at UT
Southwestern, and, so far, so
good.
Jim and Cathy continue to be
well. He likes his work at the
VA, where the residents push
him, but make no mistake, they
can’t get anything by the old
man—not a “pimp” question
on rounds nor a forehand smash
on the tennis court. His Little
League team made it all the way
to the league championship,
only to fall in the last game. Jim
also noted he is “about halfway
through my stent” as deacon of
his Presbyterian Church. (When
I first saw this I thought it was
a typo, but maybe not.) Cathy
divides her time between being
a practicing pediatrician and
serving on the board of El Buen
Samaritano, which helps out
immigrant families in Austin.
Jim Norton gave an update
from Santa Fe, N.M. He
completed an eight-year stint as
director of the Environmental
Protection Division for New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
He is now teaching biology
and physics at the Gonzales
Community School. His wife
Katie (sister of Todd Jebb) is
also a teacher, in the Santa
Fe Public Schools. They have
two kids in college: Molly, a
senior at the University of New
Mexico; and Jebb, a sophomore
at Middlebury. Jim still plays
hockey every Sunday (along with
John Bessone) for the Santa Fe
Old Timers Hockey Club, which
he founded 12 years ago.
Bill Schultze, chair of the
management department at
University of Utah, has seen
enrollments up and a rise in
his department’s ranking to
number 16 nationally. Bill is
bullish on new approaches to
entrepreneurship, particularly
The Foundry, which has received
a nice bit of attention in the
press. Essentially a community
service, the Foundry takes a new
approach to teach students how
to rigorously develop, validate
and test business ideas. They
don’t charge fees, or take equity,
or give them any money. In the
past 18 months, the students
have worked on 114 business
ideas, market tested 69 business concepts, incorporated
and launched 53 companies,
of which 43 are active and 22
revenue-positive. Total sales
(for all companies) exceeds $8
million, and 75 (and counting)
jobs have been created. One of
the companies that came out
of Bill’s five-week MBA class
last fall, ipadenclosures.com,
makes kiosks for ipads. The
company was recently chosen as
the sole provider of kiosks for
Macworld! Bill exults, “They’re
knocking it out of the park.”
The Foundry has already gone
international. Recently some
of Bill’s kids went to Armenia,
where they ran a Foundry bootcamp for women entrepreneurs,
and they are already up and running. Another group is headed
to Ghana in the spring. Another
half-dozen universities have
established Foundry programs.
Bill was in Denver and had
Thanksgiving with Richard and
Maggie Luck, among other folks.
The Lucks are doing terrific and
spent most of last summer leading hikes in Rocky Mountain
National Park.
Susan Beebe is still working as
an art instructor in Rockland,
Maine. If the fancy strikes, you
can take one of her workshops
at the height of the summer season up there—Aug. 3-9—where
she will give a class on en plein
air oil painting. Check her out at
coastalmaineartworkshops.com.
Glenn Shannon and his wife
Lori joined newlyweds Miranda
Heller and Mark Salkind
for brunch in San Francisco
and then went to see David
Mamet’s play Race, featuring Kevin O’Rourke in the role
of Charles Strickland. Glenn
notes a number of his friends
described Kevin’s performance
as superb: Starting as a rich,
white, arrogant and completely
unsympathetic figure, by the
play’s end he was still rich and
white but emotionally shaken
and somewhat sympathetic. At
the show they ran into Anna
Waring, and afterward they went
with Kevin to meet up with Edith
Thurber and their sons Charlie
and Peter.
Well, the column is done, and
I think I’ve earned a beer and
the right to indulge my sweet
reverie. Ah, those spring breaks!
If the moral and educational
development of a Williams
undergraduate’s four years can
be likened to a kind of Pilgrim’s
Progress, those Naples trips
didn’t quite fit that kind of journey. No, they were more like our
own Canterbury Tales—by turns
funny, ribald, even shocking
and not to be discussed in polite
company. Too bad—um, I mean,
thank goodness—no one ever
wrote them down.
1979
Barbara H. Sanders
3 Stratford Road
White Plains, NY 10603
Well, it was a very pleasant
and welcome surprise to hear
from Peter Sachs: “It’s been a
really long time (since about
1979) since I wrote. I have
been wonderfully married for
28 years. Hilary and I have an
amazing 21-year-old son, who is
a computer science and physics
major in his junior year at the
University of Chicago. Hilary
and I spent 24 years in Cleveland
raising Jacob and working—neuroscience research at Case School
of Medicine (Hilary) and radiology department at University
Hospitals (Peter). Two years ago
we left the suburban Cleveland
life and moved to Denver. We are
both working harder than ever,
Peter as section chief of thoracic
imaging/vice chair of informatics,
and Hilary in a vibrant and busy
neuroscience lab working on MS
research, both at the University
of Colorado, Denver. We live in
an old schoolhouse in the city
and are reveling in the outdoor
lifestyle here. Three-hundred days
of sunshine and easy access to the
mountains makes every weekend
seem like a vacation!”
Donna Staton and her new
husband Richard Tedlow are
enjoying life in Los Altos Hills,
Calif., since he has taken a job
at Apple. Donna is devoting her
time to many global health projects, including work in Liberia.
She visited with Martha Constable
in Westport, Conn., and both
enjoyed the chance to catch up
on each others’ lives.
Brad White sends greetings
from the “green hills of Africa,
in Bomet Kenya. My original
plan was to be able to retire from
orthopaedics (after 22 years) in
2011. Well, that time has passed,
and since that momentous occasion I have been mixing things
up a bit. This winter I did a onemonth stint at Tenwek Hospital,
a mission hospital just west of the
Great Rift Valley. Unfortunately,
in 2007 cheap bikes flooded the
Kenyan market, and since then
the number and severity of road
traffic accidents has skyrocketed—a common problem
n 1 9 7 8 –7 9
1979 classmates (from left) Lisa Russell O’Shea, Bruce McElvein and
Dorea Ferris caught up at a holiday party in December for the D.C.
Williams regional association.
throughout the developing world.
Maybe someone in our class (or
reading this) is a public health
guru who can work on this issue?
Anyone know a good neurosurgeon who wants to travel?”
Bill Couch writes from his home
base in Baltimore but has spent
considerable time in Dallas and
Richmond on various projects.
“I am working with IBM, both
Will and Chan are home with
us (post-college) and applying to
various military services. They
are still works in progress, and as
a parent I worry but am proud
that they want to make that
commitment. Can’t judge otherwise since I spent 14 months in
Baghdad worrying them and the
rest of the Couch clan!”
Jas Dembinski writes that he
rode a bicycle from Paris to Brest
to Paris (1,200 kilometers, or
750 miles) in under 90 hours
this past August—along with
4,000-plus other cyclists who
participated in an event that’s
been a part of bicycling culture
since 1891. If there are any other
alumni who have ever ridden
“Paris-Brest-Paris,” he would
love to hear from you.
Clint Willis has been “surfing
a bunch in Maine (cold) and
down in Costa Rica (warm). I
have a writing business, and my
wife Jennifer teaches yoga and
makes pottery. Our sons Abner
and Harper have formed a band
by the name of ‘Two Lights,’
derived from twin lighthouses
near Cape Elizabeth, Maine,
where they grew up. The band,
based in NYC, will be on tour
this year.”
We received some upbeat
news from Ken Hollingsworth:
“As you know, my dad (Bud)
had the Reading High football
field named after him. At the
October ceremony, Mark Eckert,
Stan Parese and Bill McCalpin
all surprised Don Rice and me
by showing up to see my dad.
It was an awesome effort by
all of them to be there, and my
dad was so appreciative. I later
asked my dad where he would
like to go to watch a college
football game. He said that he
had always wanted to go to
Notre Dame to see live action on
the gridiron, so Don, my sons
Scott and Eric, my dad and I all
went to Chicago to stay with
John Svoboda, Jill Simon ’80 and
their family for a weekend in
the weekend, Boda showed us
all around Chicago. I think that
maybe he should have been the
mayor of Chicago! What an
absolute thrill it was, and I will
never forget how much fun we
had. My dad said that it was one
of the best weekends of his life!
Needless to say, Jill and Boda
were the consummate hosts.”
Ken added, “Last but not
hardly least, I had a brief visit
with Phil Shuman, who was in
New Hampshire to cover a presidential primary for FOX News.
It was fun to see him in action!”
For those of you residing in the
LA area, hopefully you have seen
Phil, who is the weekend anchor
on KTTV. Several months ago he
did a live interview with Dr. Troy
Elander ’81, ophthalmologist,
medical expert and president
of the LA County Medical
Association.” Phil has included a
beautiful picture which includes
Troy, his wife Diane (Grimes)
Elander ’83 and himself.
AlIan Macdonald continues
to teach family medicine to
residents and medical students.
“However, after six very good
years teaching in Florence, S.C.,
I have taken a position in the
Greenville Family Medicine
Residency Program in the
beautiful upstate South Carolina
area. Greenville Hospital has
just started a new medical
school—the only new med
school accredited in 2011—and
our residency is proud to be part
of this new effort! I teach ‘womb
to tomb’ family medicine with
special interests in maternity
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Outside magazine ranked Mark Tercek ’79 ninth on its list of 25 most
influential people in the “world outside.” Tercek is CEO of the Nature
Conservancy and has been credited with transforming the world's
biggest conservation organization into a more global, sustainable
enterprise.
November. ‘Boda’ took us to
the Notre Dame game Saturday
afternoon, where we also met
up with Greg McAleenan (and
made obnoxious phone calls
to Kid Collins, Mark Eckert and
John Dell’Erario). Being at Notre
Dame and standing in front of
‘Touchdown Jesus’ was a surreal,
out-of-body experience for all of
us. We then went to the Chicago
Bears game Sunday afternoon
and then came home for a great
dinner that night, which also
included spending quality time
with two of the Svoboda children, Sam and Lucy. Throughout
care and children’s health. Our
kids are all growing up. Our
oldest is married to a wonderful
young woman. He is head of
graduate school web development at Clemson University, his
first job out of college, and she is
pursuing a master’s degree there.
Our middle son just received his
bachelor’s degree in history, and
we are very proud of him! My
wife continues to home school
our youngest, who has many
challenges in life but who is very
brave and extremely determined.
We are now in the ‘waiting-forgrandkids’ stage. Seems like only
CL ASS
NOTES
yesterday we were all very young
adults, with marriage and children way off in the future!”
Bill Webster dropped a line,
saying that “’the wife’ (Diane
Hughes) and I shared a house in
Williamstown with Pat Strong
and her husband John Owens
for the freshman drop off as well
as for Parents Weekend. Pat, her
daughter Jessica and I squeezed
in a day at the U.S. Open, while
Pat extended her stay on the
East Coast. If Pat casually asks
you if you’d like to play her in
tennis, beware! In November I
had lunch in New York at the
Williams Club with Tom Mierswa
and Clinton Loftman, and both
are doing well. The next day
I meandered my way back to
Billsville for homecoming (it
was a good excuse to descend
on my son David ’15 yet again).
Despite the loss to Amherst, it
was a great day. Pete and Laurie
Thomsen hosted a wonderful
dinner at their Williamstown
home, where I saw Long Ellis and
his wife Catherine Buckley Ellis
’78, Kristen Johanson, Lydia and
Mario Chiappetti, Tom ’78 and
Betsy Balderston, Jim Trapp and
others. Looking to the south, I
heard from Ken Gilbert, husband
of Donna (Smith) Gilbert. Donna’s
life has really gone to the dogs.
She is now president of the
Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of
America!”
In NYC, radiologist Mimi
David was honored by the Bronx
County Medical Society with
a “Peer to Peer Excellence in
Medicine Recognition Award.”
As director of women’s imaging
at Jacobi Medical Center and
assistant professor of radiology
at Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, she was also honored
at a gala as one of the medical
center’s “Precious Jewels,” a
distinguished group of clinicians
and caregivers whose brilliance,
dedication and commitment to
healing are instrumental in its
mission to serve the needs of its
patients and community. Mimi
says that her daughter Hannah
Gray ’07 and Rowena Ashan ’07
changed the world at Williams.
“Together these women from
totally different backgrounds
were instrumental in introducing
kosher/halal dining options at the
college—an incredible Williams
story! We are headed off to
Bangladesh, as Hannah is participating in Rowena’s wedding!”
We received a note and picture
from Lisa Russell O’Shea—“I
had a wonderful time with
Bruce McElvein and Dorea Ferris.
Phil Shuman ’79 (left), weekend anchor of KTTV in LA, interviewed
ophthalmologist and president of the L.A. County Medical Association
Troy Elander ’81 last year. Also pictured is Diane (Grimes) Elander ’83.
We all saw one another at the
holiday party sponsored by the
Williams alumni association
of DC. It was great to see both
and to catch up on their lives. I
still live in Baltimore but commute daily to DC, where I am
senior director of development
at the Association of American
Colleges & Universities. It is the
national curriculum think-tank
advocating for all college students across the nation. Our own
president John Chandler headed
the organization after he retired
from Williams. Both of my kids
have graduated from college.
I’m still seeing lots of good blues
music in the area and hope to get
back to New Orleans for Jazz &
Heritage Festival this spring—
any ’79ers headed there?”
It’s always nice to read what
others are up to. But if you
haven’t written in a while (or at
all), we want to hear from you,
too! My contact info is above, so
send your news soon. Until
next time, take care.
1980
Laura Pitts Smith
1828 Old Yellowstone Trail S.
Emigrant, MT 59027
As the January sun shines down
in Montana, we are painting
the new siding on the chicken
coop that a poultry crazed bear
destroyed last fall. No mittens,
no coats, certainly no freezing
temperatures. By the time this
is published, the remainder of
this astonishingly warm winter
may have ended differently for
us all. At present, however, we’re
scouring shaded canyons for
enough snow to support skis and
watching shaggy livestock bask
in balmy temperatures.
As usual, impressive accomplishments are lingering in our
midst. Susan von Moschzisker
Morse published The Habit,
which Nina Girvitz ’77 describes
as “so sly and funny and painful
and everything a good book
should be.” Kate Schwartz spent
her birthday in Philadelphia with
Susie. The pre-Halloween ice
storm there dropped a branch in
the driveway, extending her visit.
Kate spent a good part of a day
“laughing out loud like a lunatic
(lolll),” reading Susie’s book.
Julia Talcott let me know that
Wendy Jacob was awarded the
Maud Morgan Prize for 2011,
which “honors a Massachusetts
woman artist who demonstrates
significant vision, creativity and
contributions to contemporary
art in the Commonwealth.”
Check out Wendy’s new installations in the MFA when you’re in
Boston.
Bruce Kneuer masterminded
and completed a daylong,
12-peak run through the Belknap
Range last August. Beyond
the physical prowess, the race
reflected years of conscientious
trail maintenance.
Anyone enjoyed a Joia? I can’t
locate one in Montana, but
you might have better luck in
the upper Midwest, where Bob
Safford is successfully marketing this organic soft drink. This
is according to Bill Wickwire,
who is enjoying an annual (13th
or 14th) pilgrimage to Aspen
to ski with Bob. Bill learned to
kiteboard last fall in the Yucatan
n 1 9 7 9 –8 0
1980 classmates Mary Ann Sondrini Taggart (left) and Linda Hansell
spent 10 days together while visiting Taggart’s daughter in Copenhagen,
Denmark, in October.
and continues his work with the
National Ski Patrol, despite knee
surgery in October. He claims to
be a dermatologist, but I’m not
sure when he has time to work.
For the second time since graduation, Paul Tratnyek returned to
campus to give two seminars. It
was a nostalgic drive in, retracing the route from his ski team
training days. Paul states, “The
chemistry talk was about my
current, main area of research:
‘Reactivity of Iron Nanoparticles:
Spectroscopy, Electrochemistry,
Kinetics and Environmental
Implications.’ It was presented in
the (renovated but) same hall we
all took large chemistry classes
in.” Well, I certainly wasn’t part
of the “we” there, but I remember well the Friday lunches at the
Log, sponsored by the Center
for Environmental Studies,
which is where Paul gave the
second lecture, with a friendlier
title, “From Green Chemistry
to Emerging Contaminants:
Are We Getting Any Better At
Engineering New Materials That
Are Environmentally Safe?” Paul
says Larry Kaplan, Ray Chang
and Anne Skinner remain as
faculty, and the current chair is
Jay Thoman ’82. It’s still 10 years
away, but Paul is wondering if
one of his daughters might be
interested in Williams.
David Beardsley tipped me off
on Fred Thys, who was too busy
covering the New Hampshire
primary for NPR to correspond
directly. Exciting times for Fred!
Tim Sager is trying to start
a charter school just north of
Philadelphia. It is a fascinating endeavor based on the
premise that smaller enrollment
numbers can be better for 7th- to
12th-graders, particularly in light
of the fact that online curriculum can provide the variety of
options that were formerly only
available in larger schools. Key
components include Internetbased instruction, small group
discussions, individualized learning plans and flexible schedules.
Tim’s son is a freshman at
RISD, and his daughter was just
accepted at Trinity.
Tim was impressed with
Bert Snow’s company Mussy
Lane software, which created
online software for Middlebury
Interactive and is turning heads
in the online curriculum world.
Tim says, “Bert used a gaming
platform to create the software,
which includes perfect renderings of streets in Paris and other
places. Students develop an
avatar and they walk the streets
of France, talking to people on
the street, going into restaurants,
etc.”
Mary Ann Sondrini Taggart
and Linda Hansell traveled to
Copenhagen to visit Mary Ann’s
daughter, who was studying
abroad from Davidson College.
Mary Ann’s son was to graduate
from high school in January and
was preparing to study abroad
in New Zealand. She and her
husband are excited about the
first three months alone in 20
years.
Ann Oberrender Noyes and
Nick ’79 are also anticipating
the empty nest. Their youngest, Eliza, was accepted ED to
Williams and plans to play ice
hockey. Their older sons are
settled in at the University of
Richmond and Dickinson.
James Meigs and Julia Talcott,
still in Newton, Mass., are
sending their twins off next fall,
leaving their nest empty, too.
Julia claims it was a crazy fall,
visiting colleges with two very
different kids. She reports, “I see
it as the bookend to the craziness
that begins by having two babies
at once. Isabel found out she
was accepted to Reed College in
Portland, where she will be able
to bond with James’ relatives
when not ‘studying like her life
depended on it’ (sic Fiske Guide
to Colleges). Stoddard’s college
will be revealed in the next few
months. Stod rowed at the Head
of the Charles last year and will
continue to row wherever he
goes.” Julia saw Bert Snow and
wife Leigh at the HOC, watching
their son Eric row for Vassar, and
rumor had it Beth Geismar was
there with her club team from
Ashland, Ore. James is still at
Mass General doing research in
the area of diabetes. He’s been
golfing with Phil (Guido) Adams
and fishing with Nick Noyes
’79. Julia teaches printmaking
workshops in her studio. Their
oldest, Ramsey, is on a Fulbright
scholarship in Germany after
graduating from Colby. They are
hoping to visit him in April.
Ruth Wells was waiting up (for
a long time, as this rendition of
her words is cropped!) for her
son to return safely from a NJ
Nets-Miami Heat game and
filled me in on all sorts of people.
She reports, “This past spring I
was on a college tour with my
younger son, Lyndy, and we
stayed with Carrie Brown Wick
and family. Carrie is exactly the
same, working as a biotech consultant, living in Hillsborough,
and while we were there her
youngest, Catherine, was getting
college acceptances. She is spending this academic year in Europe
to pursue her passion of equestrian vaulting (basically gymnastics on horseback) and will go to
Bates next fall. Her middle son,
John, is at Trinity, and her oldest,
Will, just finished a stint in the
Army with, I believe, two tours in
Iraq and is now back in school.
Our last night there Carrie had
a fun dinner party that included
Anne ’81 and Greg Avis as well
as Cora Yang and Suzanne Kluss
Noe and their spouses. Everyone
looked great, and all are leading
interesting lives. Janet Allaire’s
son Mike graduated from the
Air Force Academy last spring
and is in Texas for the year
getting trained in some special
intelligence that will keep us all
CL ASS
NOTES
safer. Her daughter Lauren is a
junior at Middlebury, and I had
thought only a star ice hockey
player, but Ann Oberender Noyes
sent us an update last fall that she
was the NESCAC field hockey
player of the year (or something
like that). Never knew Janet
had such athletic genes; maybe
her husband Marc helped. They
have their dental practice in
Portsmouth, N.H., and travel
to many Middlebury sporting
events.” Ruth continues, “In
late September I had lunch with
Brooks Tanner. He is living in
Manhattan and very proud that
his daughter has made it into
first grade and is thriving at her
school. I also saw Rick Walters at
a Williams alumni meet-and-greet
with President Falk. He seems
happy, has two children, lives in
NJ and works at Merrill Lynch
aka Bank of America. We went
into NYC and had dinner with
Missy McMahon and her husband
Jon Kramer. Missy looks exactly
the same, although she has finally
started to wear drugstore reading
glasses if the print is too small.
Their oldest, Tommy, graduated
from Colgate and has been working in NY, contemplating applying to law school. Younger son
Matt is a senior at Northwestern
and has a job lined up in Chicago
after graduation, no small feat
these days. My sons and I had
dinner at Elizabeth Laurent’s
home with her family. She is
doing well, married to Larry
Dame and has twins Edward and
Rebecca, soon to be 16. Elizabeth
is curator of Girard College in
Philadelphia as well as an active
volunteer and board member for
several Philadelphia institutions.”
Ruth concludes, “For me, I am
still a self-employed architect
but have had little (paid) work
the past year or two due to the
economy. I am in the process
of trying to assess how to do
more of the creative problemsolving aspect of architectural,
development, master-planning
and design work on a consultant
basis both for private clients as
well as nonprofits. I just finished
a two-term stint on the board of
Princeton Academy of the Sacred
Heart, and I chaired the buildings
and grounds committee, which
during my tenure built a gym
and library, completed a facilities
audit, did a master plan and
started work with architects on
a build-out of the master plan. I
have been volunteering weekly at
the area food bank for about four
years. … My oldest son, Patrick,
is a freshman at Colorado
Wendy Jacob ’80, recipient of the 2011 Maud Morgan Prize from the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), poses with Joseph Thompson ’81,
director of MASS MoCA, on one of her two installations at the MFA.
College. Younger son Lyndy is a
senior at Princeton Day School
and will hopefully be looked
upon with favor by an admission office for his creative wit,
intellectual ability and academic
potential despite the fact that he
hates the busywork that would
have pushed his transcript to the
4.0 needed for any college these
days.”
Gus Nuzzolese reports, “Pat
Nuzz got into a bunch of colleges, so now we start road tripping. Our three girls were home
for Santa, and it was wild fun. I
got a panini griddle, so I spend
a lot of time making hot paninis
with whole-wheat flatbread,
heavily oiled sundried tomatoes,
smoked turkey, pepperoni, pesto
and provolone … then nappy
time. Mike Curran got married to
Lucy, so they have six kids, and
it’s heavenly. We plan on seeing
a lax game with a total of our 10
kids, enough for one team!”
Betty Keller lives in Vermont
with her husband Jonathan
Lynch. She’s been home with
kids for 14 years, volunteering
in media for social change and
active in seeking universal health
care for Vermont residents. Their
youngest is a junior in high
school, so she’s thinking about
professional pursuits. The oldest
graduated from Tufts, and the
middle one is a freshman at the
University of Vermont. Jonathan
works in alternative energy systems. They were hoping to make
it to Italy for a bike trip in April.
Chip Oudin “spent much of
2011 traveling overseas, helping Anadarko develop a West
African oilfield, but as the year
wore on, I realized that there
were parts of me that were
wearing out.” He had a full
hip replacement in November.
Ed Bousa better watch out, as
Chip claims there is now “more
titanium in my golf swing.”
Chip and his wife Julie remain in
the Woodlands, with daughter
Jeanie ’08 living in Houston and
working for Wood Mackenzie
and daughter Jessica performing
as a violinist with the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra. Chip is
hoping to travel more in 2012, as
the airport metal detectors will be
more entertaining.
Kathleen Kelliher had another
Williams alum stay with her in
the fall. Ali Tozier ’09 helped out
while applying for law school.
She worked for HERA, a charity
that helps trafficked women
start new businesses. Kathleen
has been in touch with Jean
Dexheimer Dudex (Smith ’79
exchange), whose daughter will
start at Smith next September.
Rebecca Webber’s life will get
slightly less busy next year as half
her brood takes off for college.
Daughter Lucy was accepted at
Bowdoin (where the ski coaches
will allow her to compete in both
XC and Nordic), and stepdaughter Alana will be off to Boston
College. Rebecca broke a long
series of Bowdoin grads in her
family when she chose Williams,
so maybe Lucy’s decision will
return her some chance of inheritance. One of Rebecca’s cases this
year involved a government fraud
case, the Department of Justice,
the FBI and the illegal sales of an
epilepsy drug, resulting in $26
million in penalties plus criminal
charges. There is balance in her
life, however, as she tracks down
n 1 9 8 0 –8 1
owners of loose Holsteins on
her runs, shoots a gun well and
navigates snow conditions transporting her skiers to the far-flung
corners of Maine. As she puts it,
“It’s a liberal arts existence.”
Jim Holmes and Jean Dugan
Maritz shared some time and
perhaps some tears on the sidelines this past fall as their boys
competed together in the state
championship football game. Jim
reports, “A Williams connection
was made on every offensive
play as Jean’s son Jack hiked the
ball to Davey.” Davey earned
All-State honors as quarterback,
but that final game ended in a
heartbreaking loss in the final
seconds. Jim’s daughter Katie ’13
left her duties as JA in Williams A
to watch her brother.
Michele Corbeil is still hoping
to sell her home and move to
Boston. Her daughter had a
spinal fusion for scoliosis over the
winter, which Michele expected
would involve a long recovery
period that, along with her bag
business, would keep her busy.
The Cart family sold their Ohio
home and are official residents
of the Florida Keys. All fishing
visitors are welcome. Son James
’05 and wife Ashley ’05 had a
daughter, Courtland, in August.
Ben’s company is busy now that
oil and gas are in the news again.
I heard Williams students
recently described as “hearty
souls who work hard and play
hard.” Nothing new about that!
Keep on working and playing,
and, like Chip, replacing the
parts that break. Here’s wishing
titanium worked everywhere.
1981
Alexis Yoshi Belash
1466 Canton Ave.
Milton, MA 02186
I am sitting here surrounded by
dragons, pussy willows and red
banners. Kuala Lumpur is getting
ready to celebrate the Chinese
New Year, the auspicious year of
the dragon. With a population
made up of large numbers of
Muslims, Hindus and Christians,
Malaysians celebrate the holidays
of all three traditions. It makes
for many short weeks and a lot
of eating. As a full participant
I find that I have to go to the
gym five days a week and coach
middle school rugby just to keep
in shape.
Kathy McCleary submits a
(somewhat) shameless plug
for her second novel, A Simple
Thing, due out in July from
HarperCollins. “I’m very proud
of it, hope people buy it in droves
and chat it up on every possible
form of social media, and dream
that Clint Eastwood will buy
movie rights and decide to direct
and produce (there is a plum
role for an elderly man in the
book). When I’m not at work
on my third novel, which will be
published in 2013, I’m teaching
writing at American University
and riding the roller coaster of
college admissions (or gap year?)
with my eldest daughter, Gracie,
as well as the roller coaster of
ninth grade with my youngest,
Emma.”
Valerie Colville writes: “I have
reached my first anniversary as
a small business owner/entrepreneur. CC Solutions specializes
in supporting the administrative
requirements associated with U.S.
government-financed loans both
internationally and within the
U.S. We developed and own a
web-based application to streamline the myriad U.S. government
documentation process and
obligations. We are fortunate to
have won transactions in Mexico,
West Africa and Mongolia, as
well as domestically in Arizona,
so we are off to a good start.”
Valerie saw Nevill Smythe and
his family over New Year’s,
when Amelia celebrated her 16th
birthday. They are all well and
fun as always.
My predecessor Kyle Hodgkins
sends greetings from southern
Ohio, “where we continue
our quest to raise a healthy
and happy free-range teenager
[with] organic food, clean water,
fresh air and a set of car keys.”
In March they embarked on
a spring break driving tour of
colleges.
Eric Widing wrote from
Uruguay, where he and his family
were “hanging out with Vico
(Victor Zerbino ’79, Eric’s JA)
and his family … spending New
Year’s Eve with 25 of his cousins
at a traditional Uruguayan
BBQ.”
Tim Williams was in New York
in January and called former
suitemate Jonathan David. “It
turned out that Jon’s daughter
Elmina was having her bat mitzvah that weekend, so I stayed
for the event. The ceremony was
magnificent, capped by Elmina
giving a truly remarkable and
beautifully delivered speech
about Moses and individuals
working for the betterment of
society. After the ceremony,
we enjoyed catching up and
reminiscing about Williams and
other old friends.”
Marc Tayer had a wonderful family trip to Italy (Amalfi
Coast, Rome, Umbria, Tuscany,
Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice)
late in the summer. He attended
the Williams vs. Amherst game
again at Yogi’s Sports Bar in
Cardiff-by-the-Sea (north county
San Diego). This year the room
was segregated. An ex-boss,
Jim Bunker’s grandson, was the
running back star of Amherst,
and Ken Quinn’s ’79 son was still
at Amherst on the coaching staff
after graduating last year, so Ken
was apparently ambivalent for
one last year.
Old roommate Bill (Bolo)
Reynolds sends greetings from
Vermont, where it was 16 below
zero one day and supposed to
rain the next. He wrote, “This
past November Matthew St.
Onge, Steve Jenks and I traveled
to the Outer Banks (Beaufort,
N.C.) to fly fish for false albacore in the waters off of Cape
Lookout. Some fish were caught,
beers were drained and fish
stories told. Despite high winds
and driving rains, Capt. St. Onge
managed to keep the ship afloat,
and no one got impaled by a
wayward cast.”
Bill is still a lawyer in the
Vermont attorney general’s office,
where he has transitioned from
criminal prosecution to labor
and employment matters, which
mostly involves representing the
state before the Vermont Labor
Relations Board and Vermont
Human Rights Commission and
arguing cases before the Vermont
Supreme Court. Most of his cases
involve wayward employees,
including corrupt cops and sexual
harassers.
Shawn Burdick paid his final
tuition bill to UVM for daughter
Amanda; too bad son Ted starts
college in the fall. He is excited
to have two graduations coming
up this spring. In addition to his
full-time job teaching high school
physics in Williamstown, he
taught a semester of introductory astronomy to non-majors at
MCLA. The day before school
began, his principal convinced
him to pick up an extra course at
the high school this year.
High school classmate Susan
Rogers Moehlmann is helping
me plan our 35th high school
reunion. We have to coordinate
conference calls between three
continents! She is “a volunteer
guide at the Royal Academy in
London. My art history courses
at Williams have prepared me
CL ASS
NOTES
for just about anything, until
now. For the first time, I’ll be
doing tours of an exhibition that
includes iPad drawings! David
Hockney, now in his mid-70s, has
been fascinated by the iPad technology (for sketching nature, it
is like using watercolors without
needing to bring the water).”
Another old high school classmate, Anne Ricketson Avis, was
named chair of KQED’s board of
directors. (Public radio and TV in
San Francisco and San Jose.)
Mike Hulver, who has spent
much of his professional career
in Saudi Arabia, introduced his
second daughter, Ann Marie, to
Williams. “She enjoyed the setting and thought the school was
nice, but, alas, the lure of the big
city is upon her as she fell in love
with Boston. She was accepted at
Northeastern University. … I was
also able to run in the Williams
alumni cross-country race at
Mount Greylock High School,
aka The Aluminum Bowl. Great
attendance by alumni, though
most were from post-2000 classes
and therefore I had little chance
of finishing in the top quarter of
the pack! … I had a nice time
catching up with my geology professor and thesis advisor Markes
Johnson.”
Martin Kohout news: “The
lovely and talented Heather Catto
Kohout and I had kind of a roller
coaster ride in 2011. On the positive side, we welcomed our first
10 residents to Madroño Ranch:
A Center for Writing, Art and
the Environment, our place near
Medina in the Central Texas Hill
Country; we successfully went
into business selling meat from
our herd of grass-fed bison; and
we hosted a series of ethical hunting and fishing ‘schools’ at the
ranch that proved to be a great
success, drawing mentions in
The New York Times and Texas
Monthly.
“We’ve had our share of sorrow, too. Heather’s father, Henry
E. Catto Jr. ’52, died at his San
Antonio home on Dec. 18 following a long illness. A number
of Williams grads attended the
memorial service in San Antonio
on Jan. 7: the two of us, our
daughter Elizabeth ’08, Heather’s
sister Isa Catto Shaw ’87, plus Bob
Geniesse ’51, Jim Hayne ’56, Tom
Geniesse ’86 and Walter Hayne
’90. It was a beautiful service and
an apt farewell to a charming,
elegant, good man.”
Ann Maine: “Our oldest son
graduated from Middlebury
College in May. I took a road trip
with him as far as Nevada (he
Ephs participating in a charity bike ride in Colorado in July included
(from left) Jim Christian ’82, John Pike ’81, Marc Johnson ’81, Dan
Friesen ’81, Sean Bradley ’81 and Derek Johnson ’81.
continued to California for a job
putting radio collars on American
Martins). We had a great time
hiking at Arches National Park.
… We also spent a few days at
Great Basin National Park in
Nevada, where we stayed at
Silver Jack’s Inn and LectroLux
Cafe in Baker (pop. about 30). …
We had to plan our trip around
floods, fires and heavy snow. …
I finally saw burrowing owls.
… A local archeologist gave us
directions to a box canyon with
petroglyphs; we had a beautiful,
quiet, sunset hike there.”
Ann continues, “Beth-Anne
Flynn was here in Chicago in
May to attend the high school
graduation of our third son,
Kevin. … Despite the rain delays
and the continual rain it was
wonderful to see all who made it
to reunion. For the second time
in 23 years, there were a few
weeks when all four boys were
gone. … Gordon and I visited
friends in Montana and did a lot
of hiking there and some rafting,
which was great fun.
“I’m running for re-election to
the Lake County (Ill.) board. …
I’ve been president of the Forest
Preserve District for the past
two years. We’ve been buying
land (prices are excellent with
little development action—one
silver lining to the downturned
economy). We oversee about
29,000 acres in 60 different
locations. Come on out, and I’ll
take you to the fen, the marl,
the kettle moraines, the kames.
Don’t know what they are? You
need to learn Midwestern glacier
geology!”
Alison Gregg Corcoran continues
to commute from Massachusetts
to her Toronto job with Sears
Canada.
Tom Rizzo was featured in an
article about rowing in Florida
Doctor (ask him about “bottled
violence”). He also rowed
in England with others from
Williams in July and then in
Boston in October with his son
at the Head of the Charles. He is
down to one child left at home,
with three in college/grad school/
post-high school activities.
Charlie Lafave spent two
months last spring trekking at
high altitude in Bhutan and
Nepal, getting 1,000 feet or
so above Everest Base Camp.
“Trekking a long way in freezing temps at 18,000 feet with
a 35-pound pack. The clarity
of the air is spectacular at that
elevation, and I was blessed with
an incredibly clear day to capture
the moment.”
Chris Gootkind tells us, “In
October my wife Barbara and
I spent a great week cycling in
Provençe, France, with Anne and
husband Greg Avis ’80, Chip Foley
’80 and wife Laurel Rice, and
two other couples. We enjoyed
great riding, wonderful food and
fabulous wine. Riding up and
down Mount Ventoux was one
of the highlights. We also made
our annual trek to Long Island
to celebrate New Year’s at Jamie
Parles’ house, along with … Mark
Aseltine, Bill Lohrer ’80 and Mark
Gennaro ’79. Jamie got married
in October. Many Ephs were in
attendance; unfortunately, Barb
and I missed it, as it coincided
with our long-ago-planned
France trip.” Chris saw several
Ephs at Jamie’s “bachelor party,”
including Mark Aseltine, Bill
n 1 9 8 1 -8 2
Lohrer, Dan Katz ’79, Bill Sprague
’80, Jeff Seymour ’79, Warren
Feldman ’80 and Joe Flaherty ’80.
Malathi Jayawickrama and
Calvin Schnure are still living in
Bethesda, Md. Malathi is an
economist at the World Bank,
working in agriculture. After
11 years working on Africa, she
joined the Europe and Central
Asia region and regularly visits
Montenegro and Macedonia to
assist them with two projects on
agriculture and EU accession.
After several years at the Federal
Reserve, JPMorgan Chase and
Freddie Mac, Calvin joined the
National Association for Real
Estate Investment Trusts in DC
in April, and he loves his work
and his bike ride to and from
work. Malathi writes, “Our two
kids, Nilan, 21, and Melissa, 19,
are both at Princeton. Nilan is a
senior; he runs track and sings
in an a cappella group, while
Melissa is a sophomore and in
two dance groups. They love
Princeton.” Malathi sees Erika
Jorgensen regularly, as Erika also
works on Macedonia and is very
much into “green growth.” She’s
also in touch with Sean Bradley,
who also works at the World
Bank.
The award for brief and intriguing note: Nick Lyle and Jean
Whitesavage installed 20 panels
of their ironwork for MTA at
the Elder Avenue Station on the
Pelham Line in the Bronx.
Troy Elander tells us: “Our
oldest daughter Samantha is
a freshman at Wake Forest in
North Carolina. Diane ’83 and
I have a high school junior and
fifth-grader left at home. … I am
serving as the president of the LA
County Medical Association. In
these times of health care reform
it is especially interesting. I still
have my busy ophthalmology
practice, but at night I am often
downtown at meetings.” When
he wrote Troy had just had dinner with four congressmen to discuss approaches for Washington
regarding health care issues.
Tad Read reports: “Nancy
Shapero, husband Bill and I spent
Nan’s January birthday together
enjoying dinner and the first episode of season two of Downton
Abbey. Any Eph not familiar
with this addictive period British
melodrama airing on Masterpiece
Theatre should throw all caution
to the wind and plunge in.”
Old entrymate Todd Tucker is
working four hours south of me
in Singapore.
Kira (Mary Tom) Higgs sent: “I’m
amazed to see from a distance
how much Williams has changed
and thrilled with the school’s
direction. Life on the other coast,
specifically in the Rose City, is
wonderful. I’m just back from
Hawaii, the key to surviving the
low-hanging gray of the PNW.
Most of my consulting in the last
four years centers on education
reform. It’s not a niche I targeted;
it found me, and I’m glad it did.
Uphill work and very satisfying.
Monthly dinners with Margaret
Olney are always a joy. She’s
practicing law in Portland when
she’s not visiting Carnegie Hall to
see her son perform.”
Sharon Gosselin McCormick
lives in Durham, Conn. In 2002
she founded Sharon McCormick
Design, a national interior design
firm. Five of her projects will
be published in a coffee table
book titled Ava Living: The Best
Western Interior Design, published in China and distributed
in Asia and Europe. She is now
planning to go global.
Kevin Weist is working for the
cable channel AMC as executive producer of “a thing called
‘Story Notes.’ It’s like pop-up
trivia over their primetime
movies. Finally found a use
for all the movie trivia rattling
around in my head! My lovely
wife Katharine (Bowers) is back
in the fashion world, designing
for a company fittingly called
Catherines. She and I have been
up to Williamstown more often
than usual because our daughter
Madison is Class of ’15. One of
her classmates is Tatum Barnes,
son of Dave Barnes and Lizzie
Halsted ’80. We’ve convinced
our kids that their getting into
Williams was all part of a ploy
so we could spend more time
together.”
By the time you read this, Kevin
will probably have re-lived some
old college-ness by playing in the
semi-annual Williams Trivia contest on a team with Dave Barnes,
Will Hahn, Charlie Singer ’82,
Mitch Katz ’79, Wayne Wilkins ’79
and Bruce Leddy ’83. “We play as
‘Geezers on Stun.’”
Mary Tokar carried the flag
for ’81 at a dinner in London
organized by John Botts ’62 to
allow London-based alums to
meet Collette Chilton, the chief
investment officer for Williams’
endowment.
Rachel Duffy took up running
last summer after a more than
30-year hiatus. “I started running
this summer to honor a running
friend of mine who died suddenly
in June and to spend time with
his wife. I ran my first 5K in
Waterbury, Vt., in October and
hope to run a little bit more than
that in the Burlington Marathon
(just a leg of course) in May. I
can’t believe I like running, but
I do.”
1982
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Will Layman
8507 Garfield St.
Bethesda, MD 20817
Kolleen Rask
55 Pine Hill Road
Southborough, MA 01772
You hold in your hands the
latest edition of Lavender Bovine,
the smallest-circulation quarterly
poetry journal published in the
Western Hemisphere. To those
who say that poetry, the oldest
form of literature, is no longer
relevant to the lives of 21st
century Americans, the editors
of Lavender Bovine simply say,
“Duh.”
We aspire to neither relevance
nor popularity but only to a
delicate poignancy that The New
York Times described as “something other than idiocy, though
it’s hard to say what.” Exactly.
This quarter’s journal ranges
from haiku to Ginsberg-ian free
verse. Enjoy.
Georgia Tech Haiku by Will
Foster
“The Sam Nunn School of
International Affairs
is my future home.”
Song of My Week (excerpts) by
Jay Hellmuth
1.
I celebrate and sing myself
and what I assume shall you
as every atom of my Sundays
is listed for you here—
“Watching the morning news
reading the Sunday NY Times
Saturday Wall Street Journal
Monday’s papers after 11 p.m.
online.”
And the multitude of sports
Does occupy my beard and
my soul, which are inseparable
“during the appropriate
seasons:
NFL—Jets and Cowboys
English Premier League
MLB—Mets
NHL—RangersStarsCoyotes
and tennis
and le Tour de France
and Formula One
and 24 heures du Mans.”
7.
A child said, What do you do
CL ASS
NOTES
on Saturday?
How could I answer him?
And then I realized—
“I allow myself a guilty
pleasure—a fast food lunch”
27.
I take part, I see the whole
“I read 41 books this year.
Ben Kane
(a trilogy about ancient Rome)
More about the financial crisis,
The Swerve by Stephen
Greenblatt
about Lucretius’ De Rerum
Natura
which I started to read
in Latin in high school
and finished in college.
“I saw 53 new movies in 2012
The best: the Swedish
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
trilogy.
Action-packed spectaculars
in the theater and
the rest from Redbox.”
43.
O movement! O earth and
boots!
I tramp a perpetual journey
to friend and place
This year, “to Williamstown
for the swimmers’
and divers’ reunion
(for we are all one big family);
To Milwaukee and Chicago
for baseball stadiums/games
To Long Island to drive my
folks’
second car to Sanibel”
A Florida island
that is so unlike New Jersey.
49.
And as to you, Death,
you do not alarm me.
For though we are over 50
“and the term ‘bucket list’
keeps coming up in discussions,
I have done all but six
(numbers 2, 5, 14, 23, 27)
of the Parade magazine
list of 32.”
52.
The spotted hawk swoops and
steals “my list of everyone’s
birthdays,
so get on Facebook! It is a great
reminder
(ladies, you do not have to
put in the year).
For my tea and hot chocolate,
I have been using a mug
that I had since high school.
I was hand-washing it when
it broke.
A loss of an old friend.”
Missing it one place
I search another
It stops somewhere
Waiting for us all.
When Virginia drew us
By Marian Helms Hewitt
When Virginia drew us,
“We, my husband Bill
and daughter Diana,—
for two days and one half
did go to Colonial
Williamsburg:
“To a 10-year-old studying
that period of American
history, it was great,
“Did we go to that other
Williams College,
the one that married Mary?
“No, but maybe we will:
in seven years
when Diana is,
visiting colleges.”
The License Plate
by chuck warshaver
so much depends
upon
“my amherst friend’s
vanity plate
’lord jeffs’ it
said
so i ordered an
’ephman’ plate
thinking we could
photograph
our two arizona cars
hahaha
but arizona thought
’ephman’
mean f*&%-man
(really)
that is how crazy it is
here.”
Techno Slam Poem
by Anthony “AJ” Moore
“OMG today, as I was texting
my high school daughter to come
downstairs for dinner, I had a
flash of insight. My wife was
reading her new Kindle Fire and
our sixth-grader was checking
her homework on her schoolissue MacBook when I tripped
over the cord charging my HTC
EVO 4G smartphone, my head
struck a Nintendo DSi game lying
on the carpet, and I blacked out.
“Which is why I’ve got this
guy Vladimir from Ukraine who
lives on a mattress in the garage
providing 24-hour IT support.
Whenever one of the family yells,
‘Dad! The Internet’s down …’
Vladimir bangs on our wi-fi with
a wrench and everything’s fixed.
“Speaking of my trade, not long
ago I was sitting in my cubicle
on the third floor of Building G
at Yahoo! with moving boxes all
around. They were about to put
me in Building B, which means
during my two years at the company (and in the San Francisco
Bay Area) I’ve been housed in
A, B, D and G. It’s what they do
in Silicon Valley to remind you
nothing’s permanent.
“I finally attended, after
30 years procrastination, a
Williams Octet reunion concert
at homecoming. They even gave
me a ‘solo,’ reading ‘the news’
during ‘I Got Rhythm’ (whadda
surprise), and believe it or not I
included a 30-year-old joke that
killed: the one about changing
Winter Study to Winter Ski,
Drink and Sex Party. Clearly
things haven’t changed much at
the alma mater.”
My Three Sons
by Bill Beres
“My son Ryan, Hamilton ’13
completed a six-month
immersion
He was kind enough to
show me the ways
in Beijing and Shanghai
We made an exhilarating
four-hour trek on the
Great Wall
My sons Gabe, 8, and
Max, 5, keep Dad moving
at full speed between
football and Lego.”
Bécassine
by Annabelle Cone
“A French comics heroine from
the early 20th century
Bécassine
I started 10 years ago writing
an article about her
Bécassine
Submitted to a British journal
(European Comic Art)
I had to change all the quotation marks to the British system,
which uses single quotes. That’s
my punishment.
Bécassine
Now, I hope to start on another
comics-themed project, with a
much needed visit to the national
comics library in
Angoulême
I’m heading to France again
with Dartmouth students
Lyon and then Toulouse
A side trip to the city of kings
and comics shouldn’t be too
difficult.”
A Farmhouse in Southwest
Michigan
by Michele Gazzolo
“I just finished a year
of arduous renovation
on a farmhouse
in southwest Michigan
and am sorely tempted
to get a few chickens
to prance around
And maybe a few bonsai-sized
cattle.
When not contemplating
my imaginary barnyard
or persimmon orchard
I am writing, blogging at
girlwalksin.wordpress.com,
and eavesdropping on
my daughter’s happy chatter
in the carpool.”
Thanksgiving Limerick
by Karen Keitel
To the Macy’s parade in
Manhattan
n 1 9 8 2 –8 3
Dave Park ’83 (third from right) celebrated his 50th birthday in the fall
with a Seattle Harbor cruise with classmates and friends.
Did my family go where we
sat in
with the “Occupy” folks
and saw Broadway stage jokes
With my daughters at Williams
and Ob’rlin.
On the Frontier
by Jim Leonard
“All is good out here on the
frontier
We herd cattle, throw pots,
milk goats,
and roast green chiles,
which makes for a messy
homestead
and a ‘Leonard’ smell.
Story ’84 and I celebrated
25 years this summer with
a trip to Colorado
We’ll likely mark the 30th
anniversary of our first date:
the Black and White party
at Williams where both our
daughters will be.”
We must inform you that
one of the editors of Lavender
Bovine, Lorraine Driscoll, reports
that she is reading a new book by
a Bovine favorite, Tricia Hellman.
A New Song, published under the
name “Sarah Isaias,” is a book
with interfaith themes wrapped
in a tense thriller. Recommended
by the editors of this journal.
Finally, join us all at the next
big literary event: our 30-year
reunion this June, where we all
but guarantee you will see the
best minds of your generation,
starving, hysterical, naked. Well
… at least hysterical.
SENDNEWS!
our class secretary is waiting to
Yhear from you! Send news to
your secretary at the address at the
top of your class notes column.
1983
Bea Fuller
404 Old Country Road
Severna Park, MD 21146
Happy 2012 to all, as we have
turned the page on another year
and the days are getting longer
again in North America—thank
goodness! I started the New
Year grateful for my family,
my friends and my health and
hope all of the same to all of
you. Turning 50 certainly makes
those simple things all the more
important. For me, winter days
and evenings are spent either in
a tropical venue of a chlorinated
pool for swim meets, the fetid,
angst-ridden gyms within 90
miles of Annapolis for wrestling
matches or in dusty old gyms for
basketball games, all to watch
my boys in their winter physical
pursuits. Of course, I love every
minute.
Maryam Elahi continues to
direct the International Women’s
Program at the Open Society
(Soros) Foundations. She was in
Nepal meeting with groups that
the program supports in rural
areas of the country. She was
headed to Kenya in February and
looked forward to connecting
with some classmates along the
way.
Don Carlson “started a new law
firm last fall—one completely
dedicated to entrepreneurs,
growth companies and the
investors who love them. We’re
taking space in Silicon Alley (just
north of Union Square in NYC)
and already hitting our stride
with a run of VC financings. The
model is pretty unique, as every
lawyer is an expert in a field
relevant to startups, and many
work virtually and on flexible
schedules with no overhead. It’s a
great way for people to get back
into the profession after a few
years out raising families—and
I’m proud to say we already have
four Williams alums in our stable
of a dozen lawyers (ranging from
’72 to ’96). Are there any great
’83 lawyers out there looking for
a novel, rewarding way to practice? Our Latin motto is Nunc
Exceedium Gulielmensianae
(loosely, ‘You can never have too
many Ephs’). I get to see Gordon
Renneisen whenever I’m out on
the West Coast, and my daughter
Katie and I had the honor of
taking part in his son Gabriel’s
bar mitzvah. Katie and Gabriel
were born just a few days apart,
so naturally they were betrothed
to one another at birth by their
happy dads. The plan seems to
be working surprisingly well.”
Musician Andy Schlosser
reflects, “I spent about four
months in France last year, acting as sales manager for Fender
France until we found a full-time
sales manager. I spent major time
in Paris, traveled all over France
and visited about 60 French
music stores with our sales reps.
At least my French language
skills are even better than they
were, and I ate and drank some
killer food and wine. Not a bad
job, although I had to walk every
day in order not to gain a ton of
weight. My son Evan is taking
some time off from William &
Mary, and my daughter Maddy
is a senior at Granby High
School and is getting ready for
college next year.”
Diane Elander ran into Nancy
Simms at parent orientation at
Wake Forest, where their kids
are both freshmen! Samantha
and Robert have become friends
and are enjoying the South.
Diane writes, “I spoke with Ellie
Gartner Kerr, who shared exciting
news: her daughter is coming
west next year for college. USC
for lacrosse; that means I’ll get to
see her and more of Ellie. What a
great New Year’s gift!”
Melanie-Anne Taylor writes,
“My daughter Kate ’14 plays
rugby and can’t get enough of
Williams! I’ve never seen her
happier; it melts my heart. I
am counting down the months
to turning 50 this summer,
and I am hoping to launch my
first waste-to-energy project in
Jamaica before my birthday! My
company is building a 300-tonsper-day capacity energy plant
CL ASS
NOTES
that will convert waste tires and
biomass (by way of gasification,
a totally green and environmentally friendly process), into 12
megawatts of electrical power to
light 41,500 Jamaican homes!
This will be a big year for me
and for us!”
When she wrote, Jona Meer’s
two older boys were home from
college, “already eating us out of
house and home. Our 11-yearold, while happy to have his big
brothers around, wonders how
he could go from ‘crown prince’
to ‘punk’ in a matter of days.
Rascal (our 15-month-old rescue
dog) is just happy to have two
extra sets of hands around to
rub his belly. I had the brilliant
idea to pull the trigger on longdelayed knee surgery just before
Christmas, rendering me pretty
useless for many of the aroundthe-house responsibilities over
the holidays. (Maybe not such a
bad idea after all!)”
Aytac Apadin writes, “Michael
Brownrigg, aka Boney, and I went
up to Seattle early December
to hook up with Spanky (Dave
Park), play golf and go to dinner.
Spanky must not be working too
much, as he is playing too well!
I also stayed up there to watch
Dave’s boy Phillip play … on the
top-ranked team as goalie.”
Sarah Weyerhaeuser shares:
“Our youngest is an Eph—Class
of ’15. She played soccer on the
squad this year, and the team
made it to the Elite 8. Our oldest
just graduated from Williams last
June. One of her best buddies on
campus was Eli Bronfman ’11,
son of Matt Bronfman ’82 and
Fiona Woods ’81, and now our
youngest is palling around with
his little sister Gabby ’15.”
Tim Curran was “heading to
Cleveland on Christmas Day
with the family for four days
there and then back to MSP.
Had some email correspondence
with Sage D’ers Fred Nathan and
Amy Wilbur, who had seen Bobby
Robinowitz. No Sage D reunion
yet on the books, however. Mike
Nock is my info source for all
things Apple.” I have a vivid
memory of Mike being one of
the “early adapters,” buying
his own Mac computer back in
1982 and teaching himself how
to use it.
Deborah Bowers Kenealy
writes, “Our daughter Diana,
16, a junior in high school, just
returned from a study semester
abroad in Paris. She had a fantastic time, learned lots of French,
lived with a French family and
joined a local swim team. Our
son Andrew completed his first
semester at Dartmouth and is
very happy. He is a member of
the crew team and rowed at the
Head of the Charles, which was
lots of fun. My husband Ed and
I and our two kids did a trip of
a lifetime this past August to
South Africa and Zimbabwe
which included Victoria Falls,
many safari drives and canoeing
with hippos and crocodiles! And
we enjoyed the company of Kim
McCarthy McEntee and her lovely
family over the New Year’s
weekend.”
Jeanne Rougas James writes,
“Here in Colorado we are indeed
hoping for snowmeggedon—or
something vaguely resembling
that! It’s been a good year for
those of us in the ’61 vintage, I
believe. … I’m approaching my
ninth anniversary as a finance
manager for Deloitte Consulting,
and midway through the summer
a business trip to NYC gave me
the opportunity to enjoy a boisterous dinner with Richard Mass
and Rob Burge. In October my
husband Scott and I brought our
bikes to Napa for a week, and
we had a great time visiting and
cooking with Peter Graffagnino
and his wife Nancy. They are
enjoying their retirement in the
most admirable way possible
(exotic travel!), despite Richard’s
comments to the contrary! In
November I celebrated my FiveOh-No in New Orleans, and if
any classmates are looking for
a fabulous domestic vacation
destination, I highly recommend
it. The food, music, architecture
and hospitality are not to be
missed. And for history buffs, the
WWII museum there is superb—
the unexpected bonus was mentally retrieving a few tidbits from
Prof. Robert G.L. Waite’s history
class! In December Cathlene
Banker, Scott and I surprised
Richard Mass on his momentous
birthday in New York—the highlight of the evening was Cathlene
presenting him with a Batman
cake to commemorate the attack
on his neck by a bat while he
was trying to enjoy a cocktail
on Block Island. … During that
same weekend, Scott and I had
dinner with Amy Withington,
son Aidan and her parents,
Robin and Ted Withington ’53.
… Other adventures for us this
year included a ski weekend in
Telluride, mountain biking in
Crested Butte during the peak of
wildflower season and a weeklong trip to Grand Teton and
Yellowstone National Parks. One
of the highlights for us was a
97-mile bike ride in Yellowstone,
complete with an on-road buffalo encounter!”
Lis Bischoff-Ormsbee, our
fearless class agent leader,
thanks everyone who gave to the
Alumni Fund. “In the last class
update there were a number of
mentions of ’83ers having freshmen this year that they dropped
off on the Williams campus in
the fall. Well, my son Michael ’13
was likely greeting some of them.
He is a JA this year and is really
loving the experience and getting
to know these amazing freshmen.
My parents Marigold and Robert
Bischoff ’52 have come to all the
reunions and minireunions that
happen on campus. They love to
see Michael when they are there
(if he can make time in the midst
of studies, JA, etc.). Williams
means so much that they almost
were planning to miss our second
child’s graduation this spring
to attend one of these reunions.
Thank heavens they did not end
up being on the same weekend! I
would love to see anyone who is
swinging through the Rochester
area!”
Jamie Spencer “went to a
very nice event earlier this fall
to celebrate the publication of
Bruce Irving’s book New England
Icons. As I was approaching
the entrance of the Cambridge
Historical Society, where the
event was taking place, I happened to look over at the guy
walking next to me and realized
it was Drew Helene! Haven’t
seen Drew in years and didn’t
realize he was living on the Cape,
so it was fun to get caught up.
Also saw Jennifer Catlin (briefly)
and enjoyed seeing Bruce’s wife
Debbie and their two girls, who
seemed very grown up. Bruce
seemed to be enjoying himself,
though we only chatted for a
short time, since he was so busy
signing books! He had a great
turnout, and the book looks terrific. … I celebrated my 50th with
a great family trip to England in
June/July, staying mostly in the
Cotswolds with a brief stop in
London. Had a blast, as our kids
are really at a great age for traveling. Sophie’s 9, and Tom is 13.
Still living in Winchester (outside
of Boston), where I often run into
Mark Pine and Margen Kelsey,
whose daughter is in my son’s
class at the local middle school.
Hoping to catch up soon with
Marc Sopher. It’s been too many
years of just exchanging holiday
cards, so am trying to make the
drive up to NH to see him after
the New Year.”
n 1 9 8 3 –8 4
Marianne O’Connor wistfully
wrote: “Richard Mass threw
himself a ‘surprise’ 50th birthday
party in NYC in early December.
While I had to miss the event due
to a previously scheduled trip to
Mexico, I heard that attendees
from our class included John/
Carolyn Kowalik, Alice Albright,
Liz Cole, Rob Burge and Mike
Smith. Sadly, Richard’s birthday
roast wasn’t videotaped and
uploaded to YouTube for the rest
of us to enjoy.”
George Liddle “exchanged
emails … with Marc Sopher;
almost made it to Octet reunion
concert but family stuff intervened. I did just receive the CD
recording and today listened to
Lyman Casey working his magic
with Love Potion #9. … My
oldest (Caroline) is a high school
freshman, and the boys (William
and Allie) are in seventh and
sixth grades. I’m still working
at HP.”
Jessie Lenagh-Glue noted,
“In June we planned a family
Christmas at my sister’s in Utah,
with siblings coming from Alaska
(my brother), Netherlands (my
eldest sister) and New Zealand
(us). We felt it would be a good
idea to spend Christmas with my
father, Tom Lenagh ’41 as, at 93,
he was beginning to show the
years (though not as much as one
would expect). Unfortunately,
Dad died on Dec. 8, so the family
gathering has been one of memorializing as much as celebration.
Not to mention that Utah is
having the driest and warmest December on record, so the
skiing has been limited (although
being an Easterner by ski tradition, I have to say I thought the
skiing was pretty damn great).
2011 was a good year for us in
that we finally (after four and a
half years on the market) sold
the big farm in New Jersey and
are now (almost) rid of property
in the U.S. I decided that turning
50 was a good excuse to start
something new and went back to
university to study law, 28 years
after taking the LSATs. As both
the U.S. and N.Z. systems are
based on common law, should
we ever decide to return to the
U.S., my midlife crisis will not be
for naught! I started out thinking
that I was going to focus on
energy and land-use law but am
now veering in the direction of
medical and emerging technology law. Don’t think I will go the
practicing lawyer route. I cannot
imagine being the lowly junior
clerk at my age but am thinking of either consulting work
(again, but this time with a legal
emphasis) or perhaps academic
research. Whatever I do choose,
it has been gratifying to recharge
the gray cells and realize that
exam hell applies whether you
are 15 or 50! Next year will be
strange. My daughter, my husband and I will all be affiliated
with the University of Otago.
As always I would welcome any
classmates who wish to visit the
most beautiful place on the earth
to get in touch should they be in
the South Island.”
Dave Lipscomb writes, “Deb
and I are back in the DC area
after five years in Jersey—though
finding a house (we’re renting for
now) has proven more difficult
this time around. Trying to guess
the future needs of a 4-yearold and a 6-year-old tends to
complicate house hunting, we’ve
learned.”
Laura Kaiser notes, “It’s fun to
see everyone’s kids growing up in
the holiday letters. Jenny Weeks’
girls are 9 and 13 and looking
more like her all the time! I’m
scheduled to leave for Zambia
soon for a short stint helping an
AIDS-related NGO create some
training modules.”
Until next time… I hope everyone stays healthy and balanced
as we head full steam into 2012.
Only 14 months until our 30th
reunion!
1984
Sean M. Crotty
31 Carriage House Lane
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Carrie Bradley Neves
1009 County Route 3
Halcott Center, NY 12430
Greetings fellow Ephpersons! A
new day is upon us. A new year
is upon us. For all of those who
made New Year’s resolutions this
year, I got a head start. A very
energetic dog named Taz (indeed,
named by my 11-year-old
daughter because he reminded
her of the Tasmanian devil the
instant we brought him home
from the kennel) and two stairs
did what all my years of football,
hockey, lacrosse and rugby could
not—they combined to blow
out my right quad tendon. I of
course fell down—cried like a
baby— and called my roommate
Tom Graham, who is once again
back at the Cleveland Clinic
doing wonderful things there
(which he told me not to talk
about in the class notes; always
a private and humble man, I will
respect those wishes. However, I
will say that you all can Google
him up, should you wish to
learn of some of his most recent
actions). When I called him, he
first told me to “Stop crying, you
big baby” (not really, but I am
taking poetic license once again
… so shoot me). The second
thing he told me was that I was
going to be “mending” for about
three months, following my
surgery. Three months. At first
I thought, no way I can’t be out
of the cockpit for three months.
Then it dawned on me: Home
for Christmas (never happens).
Home for New Year’s (never
happens). Home for my daughter’s birthday in February (never
happens). Get to rent an electrical chair that moves my legs up
automatically as I perch myself
in front of about a thousand
football games in the months of
December and January (never,
ever happens). Hmm, why didn’t
that dog trip me years ago?
In any event, it got me thinking that since I was down for the
count for a few months, it might
be a good time to change my diet
and take some pounds off and
see if I couldn’t make an overhaul of my lifestyle. I went on
a three-day juice fast—not bad
actually—and now am eating
an anti-inflammatory diet called
“The Abascal Way.” For those in
a similar “rotund” condition as
myself, you might take a gander.
I have lost about 15 pounds so
far and feel much better and on
my way to better health. Thanks,
Tom, for helping to guide me—
and for getting me to stop crying.
It was with great joy that I got
a wonderful email from Steve
Zlotowski, who writes: “Sean: A
bit delayed response, but I was
away when your mailing went
out. … During the first week
of May I meandered 270 miles
on bike through Connemara,
Ireland. The trip ended in
Westport, County Mayo, and
afforded the chance to spend
Saturday night at Matt Malloy’s,
which is one of Ireland’s more
famous pubs—both from its
namesake flute player (of the
Chieftains) and its ongoing
vibrant live music scene and the
unannounced famous visitors
such as Sting, Bono, the prime
minister, etc. Well, the place was
overflowing. … I felt a moment
of destiny upon me. I … asked
what the protocol is if you want
to sing. ‘Just stand up and start
singing.’ As I stood up, during
CL ASS
NOTES
a break between songs, the
room started to quiet, and I half
shouted: ‘I’m an American on my
first trip to Ireland.’ With this,
there was a loud cheer and then
the room went quiet. So I continued, ‘My first love was a girl
named Katie, she was Irish and
she was beautiful, and she introduced me to the music of your
country.’ … I finished by saying,
‘So if you’ll humor me, I’d like
to sing a song that I’m sure you
all know better than I. With that,
I launched into ‘Navvy Boots’
… the song that had spared
me from chugging at my first
Williams rugby beer practice,
when I knew not a single rugby
song yet was beckoned as Blake
Martin started chanting: ‘We call
on all people wearing visors to
sing us a song.’ … Perhaps it was
the moment, perhaps the energy
in the room, perhaps the pints of
Guinness, but it went off magically, and I’m not sure I’ve ever
sounded better. Partway through,
the bodhran began to gently
drum, then the guitar to strum,
then the crowd to join in at the
end of the chorus, and when on
one refrain I hit the trademark
falsetto note the whole room
roared. … As I scanned the
enthusiastic and happy faces, I
knew that for that moment I was
taken in as an Irishman.”
I have decided to at some
point take my son Ryan to Matt
Malloy’s pub for some singing
and pints just because of Steve’s
notes, which I’m happy to share
in their entirety. Steve, you
should start collecting from the
Irish tourist board starting today.
Good on ya, Yank.
Speaking of travels, Jim
Neumann gave us an update on
his work and rambles: “Thanks
for the December notes in
People. Was fun to learn about
all the folks who are involved in
variations of sustainable economies. In the last month or so I
connected with two ’84ers whom
I hadn’t seen in a long time. In
November, Bill Pelosky surprised
me at my local church—imagine
me whispering to my daughter
in the pew, ‘I think I know that
guy, from Williams … maybe
… no, couldn’t be.’ Bill was
there in his new role as director
of development for El Hogar,
a small nonprofit that provides education for boys and
girls in Honduras. Bill lives in
Winchester, Mass. (next-door to
Lexington, my coordinates), and
we made plans to get together
again in the new year. Then during my trip to San Francisco for
Doris Beyer ’84 (left) and Jacqueline Mitchell ’86 gathered with friends
for an “all-American Thanksgiving feast” at the Castle in Tarrytown, N.Y.
an Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change authors meeting, I spent a day with Jeff Mills
and family. He has a great home
in a very cool neighborhood of
the city (his wife Elizabeth grew
up in SF), two terrific kids and a
new dog. The only disappointing
part of the visit was realizing,
with all SF has to offer, Jeff will
never move back to the East
Coast! My work with developing
countries on adapting to climate
change continues apace—just
returned from Macedonia, in
January I am off to Madagascar,
then in the spring to Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia. Down
the road I am looking into more
work on the African continent,
including a new assignment with
UNDP, and in October the IPCC
meetings are in Buenos Aires, so
if anyone needs some miles…”
If you, like Jim, are planning a
stop in Africa, heads up for Joel
Hellman; it seems no one is working in Sheboygan these days!
Joel reports: “I have moved
from Delhi to Nairobi, where I
have a new job overseeing the
World Bank’s work in what we
call ‘fragile and conflict affected
states,’ and what the rest of the
world calls ‘really screwed-up
countries.’ I hope to reassure
some of our classmates that their
hard-earned tax dollars on development assistance are being used
reasonably well. And I promise
to steer more good people to
the Center for Development
Economics at Williams.” Joel,
now that I know you are in
Nairobi, I may bug you the next
time I’m on a layover. We normally stay at the Stanley, where
I head to the bar and sit in the
booth where Hemingway sat and
wrote—well, mostly drank, but
maybe wrote—and try and let
the inner muse take over while
I continue to write the great
American novel.
Ned Buttner writes: “Barb
Close got married in June, and
many of the Williams clan were
there. Paul Peppis will be the
incoming chair of the English
department at the University of
Oregon this year. Tom Malarkey
is enjoying his job as well
and is playing summer league
Ultimate in the Bay Area after
recovering from an injury that
kept him out of winter league;
his wife Nicole just completed
a film about an NIH research
team (NIHGR) working on
rare disorders. Marya and Tony
Rose continue their legal work
in Indianapolis and have been
traveling around the country
attending Phish concerts. We all
visited Barb’s healing center in
East Hampton, which is lovely,
and also her husband, Courtney,
took us out on his lobster boat.
After the wedding they took
their honeymoon in Italy. Some
highlights so far this year for
myself include the birth of our
third child, Mika. Also, I was
awarded my black belt in karate
this spring. Work-wise, I am
still spending most of my time
in the lab doing neurogenetics
research. Lots of grant writing
and preparation of manuscripts.
However I also started seeing
patients on the neurology service
this summer. I saw Chris and
Marian Williams, both ’82, in LA
when I went there for a scientific
conference; they were in good
spirits.” Thanks for the updates,
Ned, and keep them rolling in.
Finally, it is not often that I
n 1 9 8 4 –8 5
find myself at a loss for words.
However, hearing of the untimely
death of Scott Corngold, and then
reading the outpouring of love
and sympathy from some of our
classmates on Scott’s Facebook
page following his death, I’m
still searching for what to say.
So I’ll begin by letting our fellow
classmates speak to you in their
own words.
Phillip Holmes writes: “I am
stunned by the news of Scott’s
passing. He was one of my college roommates, one of the small
group of friends who helped
me so much my first year, and I
cannot believe that he is gone.
He was passionate, hilarious,
quirky—and he energized everyone around him. He should not
be gone. My deepest condolences
to all who knew him.”
Bob Hollister writes: “RIP
Rabbi Scott Corngold, my college
roommate, civil disobedience
partner in crime, Mont Blanc
hiking companion and friend.
The world has lost a brilliant, compassionate teacher.
Too young, my friend, far too
young.”
Richard Dodds writes: “The
lump in my chest still returns to
a tight sadness when I think of
Scott not being here anymore.
Scott was such a quirky, wonderful suitemate at Williams. He had
a way of looking down at the
ground while you were talking
to him, and I soon learned that
he was listening and processing during those times. Then
he would put his hand to his
head or chop it up and down in
the air as he replied (and with
me at least, there was a certain
amount of eye-rolling when I
wasn’t getting his point). On one
occasion, while visiting NYC,
another suitemate of mine, John
Springer, and I accompanied
Scott to a children’s fair at his
synagogue. As we watched Scott
walk through the crowd, we saw
Rabbi Corngold derive such joy
from his young congregants.
It was a wonderful window to
look through into another side
of Scott that we had never seen
before. I will miss you, Scott.”
Beth Grossman writes: “We
were friends since we were 18,
college freshmen at Williams.
He said to me: ‘You’re Jewish
and from California and went
to public school—so am I. We
are going to be kindred spirits.’
And we were. He brought me
lunch every day when I was
pregnant and on bed rest for
weeks. Thirteen years later he
bat mitvah’d that same daughter.
I had a new snow globe, from
someplace I am sure he had
never been, for his collection that
I brought him that Saturday. He
was my kindred spirit, and my
heart breaks…”
I did not know Scott as well
as many of you did, but I do
remember his energy and smile.
There was always some “action”
around him, and that is how I
will remember our friend and
classmate. I have been dealing
with some loss within my own
family recently and have been
reading a lot, as I tend to do
when life ebbs away from me
for a while. During such times,
I know it will turn and flow
back to me on the incoming
tide, bringing with it new people
and experiences to fill some of
the holes left by those who have
passed on. Eventually, I turned to
Thoreau, an old favorite of mine,
and found what I was looking
for in the final paragraph of the
second chapter of Walden. A fly
fisherman since I was a young
boy, the words have always
struck me deeply—even as a
young man—somehow warning
me to not squander a good day
of fishing, whether 10 years old
or 70. I’ll share them with you
now as I’m thinking of Scott and
the other classmates who have
passed up into the starry path
before him. “Time is but the
stream I go a-fishing in. I drink
at it, but while I drink, I see the
sandy bottom and detect how
shallow it is. Its thin current
slides away, but eternity remains.
I should drink deeper; I should
fish the sky, whose bottom is
pebbled with the stars.” When I
wrote the pages in the yearbook
to our classmates who had
passed, I told of the Sioux belief
that when we leave this earth we
become a point of light in the
night sky, and that together we
all form a starry path. While I fly
across the globe and look up into
the clear night’s sky, I now will of
course also think of Scott as part
of that starry path and remember
that wildly wonderful energy of
his and his quirky smile.
1985
Wendy Webster Coakley
271 Pittsfield Road
Lenox, MA 01240
Mike Coakley and I rang in the
New Year with a jolly group of
Middlebury alums, including Ted
Thomas’s older brother Jack. As
simpatico as grads of our two
great schools tend to be, we were
delighted to discover another
Eph at the party: Joel Friedman
’57, whose son Dave was Jack
Thomas’ hockey co-captain at
Midd in 1983.
Betsy Crill Robertson welcomed
2012 in grand style by cheering
daughter Kaya as she marched in
the Tournament of Roses parade
with the Mercer Island (Wash.)
High School band. The kids had
to practice their parade formations on the runway at nearby
Boeing Field, since the streets
in suburban Seattle aren’t wide
enough to replicate Pasadena’s
broad avenues!
Many of you entered the New
Year with new professional
pursuits. Shannon McKeen joined
the Keenan Flagler School of
Business at the University of
North Carolina as its dean of
global corporate relations. The
daily 90-mile commute each way
from Winston-Salem to Chapel
Hill has been offset by travel to
Brazil, India and other far-flung
destinations.
After several years on the
professional poker circuit (who
knew?), Jeff Calkins switched
gears and is now with AXA
Advisors in midtown Manhattan.
When he wrote me, he was in
the process of building out a
team, seeking career changers like
himself.
“Being a financial advisor is not
for everyone, but for the right
person it’s great: You have the
challenges and rewards of running your own business but have
the corporate backing and benefits,” Jeff noted. “I’ve said many
times that I wish I had found
this career at 27 rather than 47. I
hope to make a recruiting trip to
the Purple Valley sometime soon,
and it will be interesting to be sitting on the other side of the table
in the OCC.”
I also heard from Bill and
Susan Knapp McClements about
their new positions. Bill is senior
VP of corporate operations at
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals in
Cambridge, Mass. Merrimack is
developing several promising cancer drugs, and Bill is really enjoying the mission and the people.
And after many years working on
a volunteer, part-time basis in the
nonprofit sector, Susan has joined
ACCESS, a Boston-based leader
in helping young people chart an
affordable path to and through
a post-secondary education. “I
feel very fortunate to be working
with an amazing group of people,
including some fellow Ephs,” she
wrote.
CL ASS
NOTES
That’s not all the excitement in
the McClements household these
days: “We entered this fall with
some real trepidation. In addition
to two new jobs, all three of our
kids are high school seniors. We
were anticipating a holiday break
filled with application writing,
lots of nagging and grumpy
teenagers. Happily all three are
done with the process. Annie
and Becky are members of the
Williams Class of 2016, and Will
is deciding between Elmhurst
College and New England
College. We couldn’t be happier
for them.”
Julie Meer Harnick sent in news
that her daughter Jocelyn, like
young Will McClements, started
2012 with the happy choice
between two early acceptances:
the College of Charleston and
University of Delaware. And this
from David Gow: “I hope my
fellow classmates will forgive
me, but my third son will be
attending Amherst next year. We
will have three in college (tuition
is not my friend) and two still at
home.”
David is now deep in the world
of sports talk radio, with a local
station in Houston, 1560 The
Game, and a national network,
Yahoo Sports Radio.
Our era’s contributions to the
Williams Art Mafia continue
to make their mark: I spotted
Michael Govan in the February
issues of Vanity Fair and Town
and Country, photographed at
the Art & Film Gala at the LA
County Museum of Art—where
Michael is director—and at Art
Basel Miami Beach. The same
edition of T&C also featured
Thayer Tolles ’87, a curator at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
in a story about the Met’s new
American wing, which opened
in January after 10 years in the
making.
January in an election year
means caucus season in Iowa, so
I reached out to Rachel Stauffer
afterward to see how she fared.
As a registered Democrat, she
didn’t get inundated with candidate mail and robocalls this election cycle but has been very busy
nonetheless with the construction
of a new house in Des Moines
with her husband, Jim Lawson.
“The move was awful but
well worth it, as we love our
new home,” said Rachel, who
continues to enjoy her work at
Aviva Investors. She and Jim are
both active in the community on
nonprofit boards and with their
church, and will be celebrating
their 10th anniversary in 2012.
My deadline was too close to
the New Hampshire primary to
get a report from John Gregg.
A longtime reporter on Capitol
Hill, he’s now political editor for
Valley News in West Lebanon,
N.H., so no doubt got a lot of
face time with the candidates.
I laughed out loud while reading this missive from Anne Melvin
about her mid-life crisis-averting
adventure with husband Dan
Sullivan ’82: “After 15 years of
not having a vacation alone, Dan
and I finally found time to take
a week together joining Lizard
Head Cycling Guides White
Rock tour of Utah for a 350-mile,
25,000-foot climbing, weeklong
road biking extravaganza in the
most deserted (and beautiful) part
of Utah with 11 other slightly
‘off’ souls. I say ‘off’ because, the
week before, in telling a group
of girlfriends over dinner about
trying to get in 100 miles on my
bike each weekend in preparation for this vacation, one of the
slightly puzzled women said to
me ‘Um, Anne, we don’t take
vacations that we have to train
for. That doesn’t sound like fun.’
All the other women nodded in
agreement to murmurs of ‘swizzle
sticks,’ ‘beaches’ and ‘cabana
boys.’” So, why did she do it? In
Mel’s words, “Let’s face it: We’ve
been at this thing for 26 years
now since graduation, and I can
tell you down to the minute what
I’m doing each morning between
5:48 a.m. when my alarm rings
and 7:06 a.m. when I leave the
house to catch the train to work.
I need to shake things up a little.
What I am far too insecure to do
in my job (namely, try something
different and get a new one), I
am bold to do on a bike.” Anne
also passed along the news that
Alec Brackenridge won’t tell her
what he’s doing at his company,
Equity Residential, but that he’s
more than happy to share that
his wife Heidi Knight Brackenridge
’86—Anne’s former Mills House
suitemate—teaches part-time at
the Epiphany School in Boston
and teaches yoga in Natick.
“Since I’ve gotten into yoga in the
last few years, I’m going to go try
her class and see if I can’t make
her break into peals of giggles
in front of the other adults just
by my looking at her funny,”
declared Mel, “which, if you’ve
taken yoga at all, you’ll know is
very non-yogi (especially during
shivasana) and, if you know
Heidi, you’ll know is also very
likely to occur.”
Chris Varrone celebrated his first
full year in business at Riverview
Consulting, focused on renewable energy. His daughters both
starred as Sgt. Sarah Brown
in their schools’ respective
productions of Guys and Dolls;
Emilia is a senior at Choate,
and Elise is a fifth grader in the
local Irvington, N.Y., school.
Meanwhile, his equally talented
son Espen, a high school sophomore, toured Belgium with his
band over the holiday break.
Finally, thanks to Class
President Peter Orphanos for graciously hosting the 1985 tailgate
at homecoming. Classmates at
the game included John Gregg
and his wife Mary, Jeanette
Hazelton Fairhurst (who was
up for a women’s ice hockey
reunion), Phil and Mary Nealon
Lusardi with their pre-schooler
Grace and older daughter Jackie
’14 in tow (“They may challenge
for the greatest offspring age
spread,” observed Orph), Ted
Thomas, Mike Coakley and Mike
deWindt, who may challenge
for longest distance traveled to
Homecoming in a single day,
having flown from and back to
Cleveland to see the Lord Jeffs
beat the Ephs, 31-18. Talk about
alumni devotion.
Also dropping by the presidential spread were Jay Thoman
’82, Liz Gallun Krieg ’83, Debbie
Bernheimer Harris ’86 (in town
to play hockey with Jeanette and
visit daughter Addie ’15) and former swim coach Carl Samuelson
and his wife Nancy.
“While work keeps me busy,
I try to keep in touch with Rob
Kirkpatick and John Peloso as
often as possible,” Peter said.
May the rest of you also enjoy
many classmate connections in
the months ahead … and write
to me about them, of course!
1986
J.P. Conlan
Tulane D-2
San Juan, PR 00927
At the conclusion of his first
Hundred Days, Class President
Mark Braude reports that he
“was up in Williamstown for
homecoming this fall, and saw
Richard Miller and Ken Richardson
perform in the Octet alumni
concert on Saturday night. My
son, an aspiring a capella singer,
joined me and absolutely loved
the performance. In a sign of how
much things have changed, upon
getting home he immediately
pulled up videos of the current
Octet on YouTube.”
n 1 9 8 5 –8 6
Mark’ can’t help but stay
connected. In August Mark
ran into Martha Nikitas Stone
and her family on a flight from
Chicago to Jackson, Wyo., and
in December, at the end of a
week’s ski trip in Big Sky, Mont.,
Mark came to the realization at
the lunch table that the one other
New Yorker in his daughter’s
ski class was the daughter of
Alexandra Shapiro.
In contrast to Mark’s successful
ski vacation in Big Sky, former
Class President Steve Troyer was
suffering from a lack of snowfall
in the Sierras. December wasn’t
a total loss for Steve, as he ran
into Marty Collins at a couple
of holiday parties. “Marty and
his family are doing quite well,”
Steve reports. Marty is running
corporate development at what
Steve calls “a pretty well-funded
green energy startup called
Bloom Energy, where he’s been
for a few years now.”
Class VP Tim Faselt answered
my call for information for the
class notes within seconds of me
posting to the class listserv. He
informs me, in an email timestamped Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011,
at 3:55 p.m. that he was out of
the office. Thanks, Tim, for the
update. I hope these notes don’t
get you in trouble with your
boss.
In a hilarious post that I,
alas, had to edit, Debbie Semel
Goldenring reported what she
learned from an engaging email
exchange with her Eph-gal pals:
“All seems well with Martha
Nikitas Stone! From what I can
see from her holiday card she
and her family have recently
returned from Stockholm—real
jet-setters these Stones are.
Martha is aiming to have a new
holiday card from a different
destination every year—so far no
repeats! Ellenore Knight Baker,
while entertaining guests this
year for the holidays, has tried
her hand at crafting! Please send
all orders to her for personalized
snuggies; she and her adorable
children Cate and Graham are
helping keep Ellie in a festive
mood! Carolyn Walker Niles,
celebrating her first holidays in
Seattle where she and her family
have recently relocated, sent a
great holiday card—her daughter
Grace looks so much like she
did/does I had to do a double
take on the photos, requiring a
search for the ol’ reading glasses
(so sad). Kathy Kirmayer has
been trying her hand at cooking, after a 47-year hiatus. She
decided to be an over-achiever:
her first attempt was to make a
Brussels sprout dish! Not even
dunking one in chocolate could
help! Madeline Hughes Hiakala
is busying herself with her four
grown children and workiing
full time doing the lawyering
thing in Alabama. Maryellen
Mahoney Bissell’s house in
Medfield is party central! She
and husband Brad were the hosts
to an impromptu holiday party
visited by the always elusive
Brian “Hoofa” Nixon ’87 and his
family.”
Debbie also reports that Sue
Klein has moved back from the
Czech Republic and is living in
the Atlanta area, where she and
her kids seem to be adjusting
to the American way. Welcome
back, Sue!
Still living abroad in Valencia
is Laura Gatzkiewicz, resident
director of the Rutgers University
in Spain program. Laura writes,
“Every year brings me two
new batches of college students
coming for all kinds of reasons.
Some come to party, some come
to improve their Spanish, some
come for adventure. In the end
they end up doing all of the those
things and growing more than
they realize. My own two children are also growing fast. Julia
is in her last year of high school
and is applying to fine arts programs here in Spain, while Paco
is finishing up primary school
and eager to move on to the
challenges of secondary school.
Both of them are wonderful company and just all-around great
kids. I would like to take all the
credit for this, but I sometimes
think they’re that way despite my
parenting!”
Laura hopes that this summer
trip to Cape Cod to visit her
parents will be the first leg of
a road trip “out West” to the
Berkshires.
Soon after he completed his
work on the class book and
joined us at our glorious class
reunion with only minor injuries
to his offspring, Jeff Lilly left to
begin a new life in Jordan, where
he’s working “on a USAIDfunded project that assists
political parties to develop and
municipalities to govern more
in concert with the needs of
citizens—boilerplate democracy
work. It’s a tough region for this
and one that is going through
dramatic changes as we speak
and violent convulsions. Jordan
has been stable, and we hope it
is able to address grievances in
[a] peaceful way. It’s a fascinating country, just about 70
years old and a mix of Bedouin
and Palestinian and urbanized
Jordanians. Few resources, little
rain but a highly educated elite
that serves the rest of the Middle
East as doctors, engineers, etc.”
Jeff’s boys are “in third grade,
learning Arabic faster than their
parents and scrambling over
Roman ruins whenever they get
the chance.”
Jeff has seen John Austin ’87,
who is head of King’s Academy,
the Deerfied-in-the-desert boarding school started by Jordan’s
King Abdullah five years ago.
Shelley Ball writes that she’s
“still living in Berkeley, Calif.,
and loving my school job, which
gives me two weeks off in late
December.” Shelly got to see
Libby Hoffman and her daughter
Anna for a quick breakfast in
Manchester, N.H., over winter
break, as her family headed from
Boston to northern Vermont for
a family reunion.
Bill Hughson married Monica
Lee in 2005, and is raising two
wonderful little girls: Sophia, 5,
and Tessa, 3. In 2009 Bill moved
to Chicago with his family
from San Francisco to take a
job with DeVry: “It has been a
very interesting (read: challenging!) time,” writes Bill, “to
begin a career in private sector
higher education, but DeVry has
proven to be a great organization with exceptional commitment to our students.” Bill’s
responsible for six institutions,
including American University
of the Caribbean School of
Medicine, Ross University School
of Medicine, Ross University
School of Veterinary Medicine,
Chamberlain College of
Nursing, Carrington College and
Carrington College of California
(the latter two of which focus
on allied health professional
education).”
One of the many things Sarah
Vandervoort Morgan gives thanks
for this year “is the reconnection
with people who matter to me
at our 25th reunion and, yes,
friending them on Facebook!”
She just joined the Williams
LinkedIn group, too, which she
describes as “long overdue!”
Sarah enjoyed a balmy Christmas
with her husband Christian’s
parents in St. Petersburg, Fla.,
where it was all college prep this
holiday season: the number-one
gift of the year was a foosball
table, a thoughtful investment
in the future that allows her son
Dylan eight years to practice
and Elena nine years to practice
before they are tested for real in
CL ASS
NOTES
the Purple Valley, where Debbie
Semel Goldenring’s son Jake,
Debbie Bernhiemer Harris’ daughter Addie, Lisa Jayne Sippel’s
daughter Mahaney, and Rich
Miller’s daughter Lauren, all class
of ’15, have finished their first
semester at Williams.
Also enjoying a balmy
Christmas was Elizabeth
Szatkowski, who, on Christmas
Day, emailed me: “The kids and
I are in Puerto Rico right now.
We came with some friends from
Portland and are staying near
Yabucoa. I know it is a long
shot but I was wondering if you
happen to know what time the
ferry leaves for Culebra? I do not
have wifi here so am not able to
access current information. The
kids and I are hoping to go out
for the day tomorrow. I thought
I’d ask you since you live here
and might have something like
the ferry schedule to Culebra
memorized.”
After I forwarded Elizabeth the
ferry schedule, Elizabeth shared
some news worthy of congratulations: “One actual piece of
information is that I was elected
as the Region 1 repesentative to
the Statewide Homeless Council
which advises the governor on
how to end and prevent homelessness. In 2011, we at PROP
(People’s Regional Opportunity
Program) and Youth Alternatives
Ingraham unified our missions to
form The Opportunity Alliance.
Our new organization serves
children, youth, adults and
seniors; individuals, families and
communities throughout Maine.”
Tenor extraordinaire, Richard
Miller reports that Carl Leafstedt
flew into NYC the end of
October to attend the opening night of Wagner’s Seigfried
with him and Professor Kenneth
Roberts.
Taking time out from her
Christmas vacation in New
Orleans with her husband and
three children, Elizabeth (“EBeth”)
Skorcz Anthony writes, “My
husband Pete Anthony ’85 and
I, along with our buddies Ted
Harshberger ’85 and Sharon
Novey ’87, went to the Williamsorganized tour of the ‘ASCO:
Elite of the Obscure’ exhibit at
the LA County Museum of Art
in November. The exhibit was
co-curated by LACMA and the
Williams College Museum of Art.
It was a great evening of art and
conversation.”
Catching up with the Anthonys
at the ASCO event was Andrea
Smith, who reports that CEO
and director of LACMA Michael
Govan ’85 gave the opening
remarks. Since reunion, Andrea
traveled from time zone to time
zone to see classmates. In July
Andrea visited her “former
freshman roommate, Robin
Lorsch Wildfang, and her adorable
daughter Leah in Cambridge,
Mass.” Robin was back stateside
from Denmark, where she lives
and teaches classics year round.
Back home in LA, Andrea
caught up with Richard Georgi ’87
for coffee at the Getty Museum:
“Richard is doing well, still
running Grove Investors Fund
and adoring his three gorgeous
children.” Andrea then took a
business trip with her brother-inlaw to Puerto Rico to scout out
pubs, during which time she had
the foresight to give me a call
and experience some of the local
criollo fare.
In October Andrea attended
the art opening of the Ed Moses
and Gwyn Murill show at Ernie
Wolfe’s ’73 gallery. Chris Williams
’83, his wife Marian Williams
’83, David Garfield Roland ’85
and Daniel Blatt ’85 all attended.
Ernie made his famous big game
chili—this time it included boar
and deer in the mix, and was,
of course, extremely delicious.
(Vegetarians may not have
agreed.)
At the end of October Andrea
and Brendan Glynn ventured to
Brooklyn to watch Paul Boocock
read an original piece. Brendan
is at The City of NY Housing
Authority “doing very important
and rewarding work,” helping
people in their living situations.
“Not only was Paul’s work
funny, accomplished and thoughtprovoking,” writes Andrea, “but
his performance easily made it
the best piece of the night.” Then
there was a “first time ever”
ride on the Staten Island Ferry
to have lunch and catch up with
“the fabulous Winnie Martin”
(one of Andrea’s Fayerweather
freshman floormates). Winnie is
still busy working as an attorney
for Legal Services NYC. Andrea
and Winnie lunched at a Spanish
tapas restaurant and saw the
Richmond County Ball Park,
the training grounds for the
New York Yankees. Andrea also
caught up with Abby Solomon
’93, who returned to NYC,
where she is busy producing
theater, and Scott “Buzz” Koenig,
who is teaching production at
NYU and producing his own
projects.
According to Andrea, autumn
was a very busy season for
Williams alumni in LA. First
there was the Williams/Amherst
football game and then the
monthly Ephs-in-Entertainment
dinner run by Daniel Blatt ’85.
Phil Walsh ’85, Lisa Mazzote ’86,
Charlie Sena ’79, Zeke Nicholson
’11, Susan Lai ’01 and Chris
Zerwas ’02 were among those in
attendance.
On Dec. 1 there was the
NESCAC Holiday Mixer, which
included numerous alumni from
the 11 colleges. Dan Blatt ’85 was
in attendance with his classmate
Phil Walsh ’85, along with Peter
McEntegart ’91, Smith Glover ’00,
Ron Moskovitz ’94, Andy Lee ’93,
Genevieve Sperling ’04 and newer
Williams alumni Michelle NoyerGranacki, Lucas Bruton, Alex Cruz
and Rebecca Alschuler, all class
of 2011.
Topping the year off in LA was
the annual Christmas luncheon
organized by Bill Wishard ’64
on Dec. 22 at the LA Athletic
Club. Andrew Doyle ’98, CEO
of Break Media, was the guest
speaker. “Andy spoke about his
personal journey of pursuing a
writing career and how he took a
year to write a book about Irish
boxers, and how it eventually
lead him to his work in the new
media business,” writes Andrea.
“He was extremely inspiring
to the newer alumni in relating how the experiences of his
Williams education have helped
him to pursue his goals.” LA
Alumni President Jacqui Davis
’87 hosted the event, and Andrea
and Laura Kaiser ’83 assisted
at the luncheon. Jeff Bader ’85,
Howie March ’83, Martin Hilton
’89, Felix Grossman ’56, Betsy
Rosenblatt ’95 and Julia Karoly
’03 were some of the alumni in
attendance as well as undergrads
Marissa Robertson, Paula Moren,
David Michael, Laura Wann,
Adrian Castro, Oriana McGee,
Grant Torres, Lisa Gluckstein,
Elana Teitelbaum and Taylor
French, returning from Williams
on their Christmas break. Some
of these students spoke about
their current Williams experience: “It was enlightening for us
‘older’ alumni,” writes Andrea,
“to hear their experiences and
to re-connect us with the Purple
Valley.”
Pam Mersereau Dickinson
explains her truancy from
reunion, writing that “between
her daughter’s high school
graduation and the riots in
Greece,” she couldn’t make it to
Williamstown in mid-June. Pam
nonetheless got up to the Purple
Valley over the summer to play
the Taconic Classic.
n 1 9 8 6 –8 7
In addition to drawing Debbie
Bernheimer Harris and her
daughter Addie Harris ’15 in the
first round, Pam met up with Lisa
Jayne Sippel, who played with
her mom Betsy, widow of Dave
Jayne ’58, and Martha Amidon.
Lindsay Brown missed reunion
because the St. Andrew’s School
boys’ varsity boat, which he
coaches and in which his son
Forrest was rowing, was competing at the High School Nationals.
St. Andrew’s chance to enter
the finals literally evaporated.
Having weighed the shell the
day before after practice on
an overcast day, the boys from
St. Andrew’s found themselves
eight ounces underweight in the
semi-finals, as two pounds of
water steamed off the shell in
the scorching heat. St. Andrew’s
showing at the Henley Royal
Regatta showed their true mettle
as they finished second in the
Princess Elizabeth Cup, beating
the defending champions, Eton.
The Alumni Office reports that
they do not have an address for
Sally Khalaf, who moved back
to Kuwait from Jordan several
years ago. If you have any news
about Sally or her whereabouts,
please pass it on.
Blessings of peace, health and
happiness to you and yours in
the New Year.
1987
25th
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Greg Keller
2810 College Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Rob Wieman
11 Jarell Farms Drive
Newark, DE 19711
“The mountains, the mountains, we greet them with a
song…”
In addition to re-learning
the lyrics of the college song in
advance of our 25th reunion,
our classmates headed to their
favorite peaks in December.
David Attisani and family could
be found skiing and boarding
at Okemo in Vermont over the
holidays, and at least one more
trip to Stowe was in the works.
David is a trial lawyer in Boston
at Choate, Hall & Stewart,
where he’s marking his 20th
year on the job. “It seems that I
woke up one morning and a few
decades had passed,” he writes.
In that vein, David is still getting
used to having a teen-aged
daughter (Clayre, 15), who along
with siblings Chris, 12, and Ellie,
8, is looking forward to another
family trip to the Purple Valley
in June.
Jim Reichheld reports from
nearby Concord that life is
“wicked good.” His family took
a ski trip in New Hampshire
with Keith Goldfeld and clan. Jim
helps shuttle his kids to various
sports and activities, coaches
youth hockey and soccer and
plays in an adult hockey league a
few nights a week. In his remaining waking hours he manages
a gastroenterology practice in
Lowell (“a good place to gastroenterologog”). Jim adds that
his wife Julia (Beasley) Reichheld
’89 is “loving life” as a literacy
specialist in Needham.
Craig Breon has moved from
the Monterey Coast to an
elevation of 6,200 feet in South
Lake Tahoe for a new job. He’s
now the climate change project
director for the Sierra Nevada
Alliance, which “means I’ll be
working on land use and natural
resource planning throughout
the Sierra Nevada of California
and Nevada.” Craig did not
mention skiing, perhaps because
this has been one of the driest
winters in decades for the Sierra
region. However, he is pleased
that his new home is within
walking distance of the crystal
clear lake.
Craig is also near enough
to Reno to catch part of Paul
Rardin’s 2012 guest conducting
tour. Paul has relocated from
Ann Arbor to his hometown of
Philadelphia and is in his first
year of teaching choral music
at Temple University. This
spring he’s looking forward
to guest conducting engagements in Orlando, Providence,
Fort Wayne and Reno (aka
“the Biggest Little City in the
World”). These events are typically with high school honors
choirs, and Paul’s come to the
realization that he could be conducting some of our classmates’
kids.
Monica Fennell will be making
a temporary move this summer
from Indianapolis to Bangkok,
where she will be serving as
a Rotary Peace Fellow. While
she’s excited about the opportunity, she’s disappointed that
the timing will keep her from
attending our class festivities in
June. “There’s only one 25th
reunion,” she writes.
A Google search reveals that
Monica was previously on the
Greencastle, Ind., school board,
though I hesitate to report that,
since Maureen (Ford) Miller
asked me to clarify details from
the fall 2011 notes. Moe is
currently serving as president of
the Somers, N.Y., school board,
not the one in Williamstown—a
statement that slipped through
our thorough fact-checking process. In addition, she writes, “I
have two kids, not three, unless
you’re counting Rob” (Miller,
not Wieman, that is.) Moe sees
Sue Christenson regularly and
was looking forward to a spring
trip to the Baltimore/DC area,
where she was to watch her boys
play lacrosse and ideally have
lunch with Li Gwatkin.
Ethan Balk posted the following 140 characters to the
Class of 1987 Facebook page
on Jan. 7: “Sarabeth’s, Central
Park, Islamic art, Burghers of
Calais, Temple of Dendur, Le
Pain Quotidien, Simon Doonan,
30 Rock, Off for drinks, then
WD-50.—with Sheila Dacey.” I
wouldn’t normally report on this
type of message but did enjoy
the reminder of how much fun
a winter weekend in Manhattan
can be.
Of course, what’s appealing
to us old fogeys is not always
that interesting to our kids. In
December Anne Noel (Jones)
Dawson joined her sister-in-law
Mandy (Dawson) Murphy ’89 and
family to visit the new Islamic
art wing at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in NYC.
“Clearly we have hit the years
where our 12- and 13-year-old
daughters are not so interested
in museums and not afraid to
show it,” she emails. “We shall
see how it goes on future family
trips where we try to provide
some educational aspect to family travel.” On the home front,
Alec Dawson and son William,
10, cheered the N.Y. Giants
improbable run through the
playoffs and Super Bowl.
Kate Pugh is surrounded by
Giants and Patriots fans since
she continues to live in the
Boston area, after joining the
faculty of Columbia University’s
information and knowledge
strategy master’s program in
August. She’ll begin teaching her
second course, called “Networks
and Collaboration,” with
Larry Prusak, “a well-known
knowledge management author
and thought-leader.” Kate also
worked with Larry in 2011 on a
project involving knowledge networks and international health
for the Bill and Melinda Gates
CL ASS
NOTES
Foundation. She adds, “I’m still
engaged to Peter Van Walsum ’85
and spent some wonderful (cold)
holidays in Quebec with his
kids Saskia, 15, Johan, 13, and
Clarice, 8.”
Everyone who emailed this
round mentioned our 25th
reunion and their plans for June.
For those of you who are still on
the fence about coming, Jordan
Hampton, our class organizer
extraordinaire, sent in one more
plug for the big weekend. It
will be fun, and I may figure
out the second line of The
Mountains song before then. In
the meantime, courtesy of Moe
Ford, “May all your troubles
last as long as your New Year’s
resolutions.”
1988
Britta Bjornlund
7504 Honeywell Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
Carolyn O’Brien
241 Huron Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Greetings Class of ’88. As
January cold takes its toll on us,
many of us are reminiscing about
Winter Study in the Purple Valley
of Williamstown.
Mary Miller was not only
reminiscing. She hosted a Winter
Study group at her ranch in
Arizona! Current Williams
undergraduates studying the
U.S./Mexico border region spent
a day in January working on
a grassland restoration project
on her ranch as volunteers.
This sounds far more ambitious
than the winter “studies” we
participated in, which included
less academics and more social
endeavors.
Brian Kornfield was also thinking about Winter Study, what
with his older son home from
Georgetown for many weeks.
He says it’s “just too darn long
to have older teens hanging
around your house with nothing
to do.” Brian is still working
for a nonprofit in finance. He
spent Christmas weekend in
New Paltz, N.Y., hiking, skating
and relaxing. He writes, “I even
rented figure skates and pulled
off a Hamill-camel or two without ending up in the hospital!”
That is something we’d like to
see—next time please videotape!
Laura Gasiorowski was teaching
a “Winter Intersession” class
at her law school alma mater,
Tulane. She
Ephs in the D.C. office of Morrison & Foerster welcomed Suz Mac
Cormac ’88 (second from left) when she visited from the San Francisco
office. Also pictured (from left): Tom Eldert ’97, Mike Fransella ’98,
Alexandra Steinberg Barrage ’97, Andrew Smith ’87 and Nick Spiliotes ’77.
explained that she led a weeklong practical skills workshop on
criminal practice. She was happy
to be back in the amazing city of
New Orleans among old friends
and colleagues and fresh-faced,
impossibly young law students.
Tracy Heilman was excited
about the first real snow in
Illinois. She attended a glam
party hosted by Kate Kennedy
where she also caught up with
Katherine Wolf.
Cindy Craig Johnson and family
took a break from sunny, balmy
Florida over the winter break to
visit Utah for skiing. She reports
that despite the complaints of
lack of snow out west, it was terrific by Florida standards.
Nils Christoffersen took part in
a different kind of “winter sport”
while visiting the Bay Area. He
ran into Andy Harris and family
playing tennis in Marin County
and called on Kurt Oeler to take
his son and nephew surfing in
Pacifica. Nils also caught up with
Britta Bjornlund, Nicole Melcher
and Amy Searight, all government types, in the late fall in
DC. Where the heck was Brad
Roegge, they asked.
Mark Huffman is also enjoying California winters, having
moved there from the Northeast.
He’s also enjoying a new baby:
William Albert Coker Huffman,
born Oct. 10, 2011, joining big
brother Asher. Mark writes, “I
thought I was too old for this,
but it turns out I’m not.” Late
nights with a colicky newborn
are one thing, but can he pull off
a Hamill-camel or two on figure
skates, we ask? Congratulations
Mark and family!
Ashok Ashta has also relocated,
for three months anyway, to
Toyko. He writes that he traveled to Singapore, Shanghai and
Bangkok. He planned to be back
in Delhi soon.
Alicia Bjornson spent 10 days in
Cuba, studying conservation and
cultural heritage preservation in
tropical climates as a member
of the American Institute for
Conservation. She said it was a
great experience, and her beautiful photos have not had us wanting to visit too. Unfortunately we
cannot get visas!
Andy Harris’ visit to NYC
sparked a minireunion of the
infamous “Sunday Night Beer
League,” which was rightly held
on a Sunday night in the fall.
Ray George, Dekker Buckley, Jim
Elliott, Jonny Hollenberg, Ajata
(AJ) Mediratta ’87 and Dave Tager
’87 were all in attendance. Ray
also saw Ulysses Sherman in New
York, visiting on business.
Perhaps next time they can visit
Robert (Pooch) Pucciariello’s band
Sora An, which plays frequently
in NYC. Rob and wife Maria are
still living next to the Flatiron
Building in New York, and he
saw Tim Bock when Williams
President Adam Falk spoke at
Credit Suisse. Rob reports that
Eric Hanson is moving to San
Francisco to book Yoshi’s, a
legendary jazz club.
Also in New York, Vicki
Fuqua saw Jeanne Cloppse and
Katherine Wolf at a party hosted
by Claire Marx. Claire and Sally
Laroche and families visited
Vicki for New Year’s Eve. Jody
Abzug reported seeing Tim Bock,
Catherine Eaton Coakley, Lewis
n 1 9 8 7 –9 0
and Carrie Collins, and Brooks
Foehl at Williams Homecoming
in November. She says, “Chatting
with classmates was much more
fulfilling than watching the
game.” Given the score, that is
not surprising. She also met Lisa
Buxbaum Burke with her new
husband in his first visit to the
Purple Valley.
That is all the news, my fellow
Ephs. Keep warm, and keep on
keeping on. Peace.
1989
David Bar Katz
138 Watts St., Apt. 4
New York, NY 10013
Shannon Penick Pryor
3630 Prospect St., NW
Graham Dougal writes, “Spend
most of the time delivering the
kids to their various activities with occasional breaks for
work or sleep. Did take older
daughter on Williams alumni trip
to Nepal earlier this year—very
interesting in a ‘Dorothy, we’re
not in Kansas anymore’ kind of
way—but had a great time and
would love to go back for some
trekking.”
From Nancy (Titus) Johnson,
“In August my family moved to
Tbilisi, Georgia, in between the
Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
It’s a beautiful capital surrounded
by mountains. My husband is
teaching sciences and high-level
math classes at the secondary
level, while I am teaching fifth
grade. We just missed teaching
our own children. Forrest is in
sixth grade and Autumn is in
eighth grade. The youngest two
girls are in second and kindergarten. Being able to speak Russian
is much more useful here than in
China.”
From Dominick Grillo, “Can’t
say it’s juicy or gossipy, but I
and my house came through
Hurricane Irene OK earlier this
year.”
Susan Sullivan writes, “I am still
working at the Bank of America
despite layoffs and protests. I
am supporting our International
Wealth Management business
and, as you can imagine, the
hours are crazy. Tomorrow I am
getting up at 4 in the morning to
be in the office for a telepresence
conference call with Asia and
the U.K. starting at 6 a.m. My
big news this year is that I have
moved to a new townhome on
the water in Hingham, Mass.
Hingham is a quaint colonial
town, and the shipyard where
I live is the perfect blend of the
traditional and the up-andcoming. The popular hangout is
Wahlburgers, a restaurant owned
by Mark Wahlberg’s brother.”
From John Berger, “It looks like
I’ve settled in to St. Augustine,
Fla., for a while, as Sarah and I
have been able to take advantage
of the housing bust and bought
our first place since I left Wall
Street for the nonprofit world.
I’m still traveling a lot for Made
By Survivors and will be in
India several times this year. I’m
thinking of doing a short trek in
Nepal this spring as a fundraiser.
If anyone wants to test the effects
of beer at high altitude, let me
know.”
As many of you know, David
Gaillard died over the winter in an
avalanche. Seth Burns wrote the
following, which I’d like to share
with the class: “It is with great
sadness that I learned of David
Gaillard’s passing. My thoughts
and prayers go out to his family
for such a tragic loss. I met Dave
freshman year, as we both lived
in Williams A. I will always
remember moments with Dave
at Williams: eating late night at
the Snack Bar, joking around the
freshman entry, rowing on Lake
Onota, stressing out over school
work, going on runs through
the Berkshires… A few years out
of Williams I lived for a bit in
Dillon, Mont., and spent many
weekends sleeping on Dave’s
couch in Bozeman. Always kind
and helpful, Dave had definitely found his calling and was
clearly in his element doing the
important work of protecting the
greater Yellowstone ecosystem. I
remember having many conversations with Dave about his work
and was always impressed with
his intelligent and selfless way of
discussing the issues of protecting
the environment. Dave had a way
of working his understated sense
of humor into conversations that
I will always remember. It was
that year (living in Montana)
that I read the book Zen and the
Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
by Robert M. Pirsig. As the
novel’s narrative meanders
through Beartooth Pass and
into Yellowstone National Park,
Pirsig’s discussion of goodness
is similar to how Dave lived his
life. Dave moved to Bozeman
to pursue work and a life that
he believed in. Always purposeful, intelligent, selfless and kind,
Dave was an uncommonly good
person, and we are all blessed
to have him enrich our lives.
Although Dave is longer with
us, his impact on the world will
always remain.”
1990
Katie Brennan
2018 Rosilla Place
Los Angeles, CA 90046
I’ve just realized that the class
notes only come out three times
a year! I’ve been thinking all
along it was four and worrying
I’d bitten off more than I could
chew, but three times a year does
feel manageable. Lots of news
this time! So great to hear from
so many of you, and thanks to
everyone who sent in updates.
Read on and see what your
classmates are up to!
Congratulations to Doug
Barnaby, proud father of triplets!
On the side, he’s also an emergency physician in Huntington,
N.Y., and we’ll forgive the
brevity of his message “Yep,
triplets—it’s a blast, and they
definitely keep me on my toes.”
Tina Lieu wrote from
Cambridge, where she and
family welcomed Ellen Miharu
Tomioka, who was born June
10. “We’ve been so busy between
the baby and Henry, 3, that not
much else has been happening. I do get to see Gretchen
Swanz Herault every few months
though. I’m still working at Basis
Technology, although now in the
marketing department.”
Lots of educators from our
class continue to write in. So
great to see the Williams legacy
passed on in so many ways! Amy
Whritenour Ando is a professor of
environmental economics at the
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. “My grad class has
about 20 students from many
parts of campus (engineers and
urban planners as well as economists). … My undergrad class
has 180 students. It is designed
to be accessible even to students
who don’t know anything about
economics. I feel like it’s part
of educating the general public
about some basic important principles of environmental problems
and policies.” Amy is “still married to the same great guy,” and
the main source of change is the
kids, now ages 9 and 13, who
keep getting bigger and developing new interests.
Bob McCarthy is the humanities department chair at the Key
School in Annapolis, teaching European and American
CL ASS
NOTES
civilization—“a combination
of English, history, philosophy,
economics, etc. It’s been great
for me. I have good students and
a lot of freedom to teach what
and how I think best.” He had a
chance to get back to Oxford last
spring and stayed in the college,
which was fun and especially
exciting for his son.
Nathaniel McVey-Finney has
been teaching for more than two
decades at public, charter (very
briefly) and private/independent
schools as well as coaching cross
country at several schools including, recently, The Bullis School in
Potomac, Md., and The Madeira
School in McLean, Va. Nate
also has a 5-year-old son in the
second year of preschool.
Kristin Moomaw Harder also
started teaching right out of
Williams and promptly met
future husband Adam at Choate
Rosemary Hall. She’s been teaching ever since, most recently at
The Rivers School near Boston.
Kristin teaches math, and Adam
both math and Spanish. When
they had children, they were
eager for them to be bilingual,
and this year have had the
great fortune (and thoughtful
employers) of being awarded
concurrent sabbaticals. They
have taken one-year appointments at School Year Abroad
Spain, an immersion program for
U.S. high school students. So the
Harder family is having a grand
adventure, centered in Zaragoza
(midway between Madrid
and Barcelona), with jaunts
to Burgos, Leon, the Asturian
coast as well as Portugal and
Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands!
Kristin is finally catching up
to Adam in Spanish (no more
secret Dad-kid conversations?!)
and enjoying a reduced teaching
load for the year. “Our children
(Keagan, 5, and Keira, 8) are
attending a Spanish school. They
have adjusted well to both the
language and the culture (and
they have learned a lot about the
Catholic religion). After just a
few months, they are completely
fluent.” Wishing the Harder family a few more months of delight
in Spain before they return to
Boston in July.
Also living a life of adventure
is the family of Karen Hufnagel
and Brice Hoskins. “In May,
we moved our family of four
and two businesses (Montanya
Distillers and Mountain Boy
Sledworks) to Crested Butte,
Colo. New school, new house,
new community, new friends,
new employees, new ski area,
new mountains. You name it, we
changed it. And we are loving it!
In June, we all went to Ladakh
and Darjeeling, India, for a
three-week trip that involved lots
of hiking (our 11- and 13-yearold boys made it to 17,000 feet
in the Himalayas!) and lots
of eating great food. We are
ever so tired of moving boxes
around. Sammy Rogers came
to visit over Thanksgiving, and
she thought we were living in a
vacation rental because we got
rid of half of what we owned in
the transition, leaving not much
to help her know she was in
the right house. We are looking
forward to lots of visits from
Ephs for rum at our new facility
in Crested Butte.”
Yoko Hirano wrote, “I’m still at
Pearson working as a ‘publisher’
(in U.K. terms), which is more
like an editorial manager, in ELT
material for children learning English around the world,
primarily in Latin America. It’s
a great job with fabulous people
that I am so lucky to have! I am
married, living in Cold Spring,
N.Y., and have two boys (7 and
almost 3), who are lots of work
but so much fun.”
Brett Babat is a practicing spine
surgeon in Nashville, specializing
in adult deformity and revision
surgery. He spent a great week
before Christmas in Playa del
Carmen, Mexico, with wife
Jackie and kids Zach, Sylvie and
Lucy. Brett also reported a great
weekend eating and drinking in
Manhattan with Ed Wiggers last
July.
Timmie Friend Haskins is doing
residential interior design in the
SF Bay area as well as in Hawaii,
Montana and Sun Valley. A
splendiferous house she designed
in Hawaii was featured in
Architectural Digest.
You may recall reading here
that Michael Erard was finishing
up a book on super language
learners. Babel no More has
had a fantastic review in the
New York Times Book Review.
Of course, you should read the
book, but if you at least manage to read the review, you’ll
learn how “shadowing” is a
great technique to learn a new
language, one that might involve
making a “spectacle of oneself …
but seems to help the beginner
shed some of the self-consciousness connected with speaking a
foreign language.”
Whitney Wilson is a lawyer
at Jacobson Holman, in DC,
practicing in the patent and
trademark fields. “I spend most
of my spare time patrolling the
youth sports sidelines (hockey,
soccer, baseball and diving) with
my 8- and 10-year-old sons and
leading an eager group of 10
Cub Scouts. One of my fellow
soccer dads is Hamilton Humes
’85. I get to see Bruce Young ’90
pretty regularly.”
Tim Sullivan wrote while
recovering from his first-ever
marathon! He wisely selected
the Disney World Marathon for
his debut, and wife Katie, son
Devin, 12, and daughters Niamh,
10, and Aoife, 4, all enjoyed
a long weekend in Orlando.
Otherwise, the Sullivan family
lives in Marblehead, Mass., and
Tim commutes to Cambridge,
where has worked for 15 years
at Millenium Pharmaceuticals,
currently in environment, health
and safety. Tim and family have
been getting some skiing in at
Jay Peak, including with Peter
Millikan and family. Tim was also
looking forward to getting back
in touch with Rubber Band mate
Phil Jordan ’89.
Training for a half-marathon
is Steve Allen. Unfortunately,
the unseasonably warm winter
in Moscow has been depriving him of the best excuse not
to train, reducing him to “my
legs really hurt from running
so much, when the hell is it
going to get cold so I can stop
running?” Hope was on the
horizon, though, with a promising 10 degrees F on a day in
January, and “with the wind chill
it is somewhere between seven
degrees below and 18 degrees
below zero. A) Russians scoff at
this. For Christ’s sake, it should
be 20 below for two or three
solid weeks. ‘You know, back in
the 70’s…’ is something I often
hear as a preface to just how
mild the current weather is, and
this has been the case in exactly
17 of the last 17 years. B) There
is no such thing as ‘wind chill,’
bekoz unlike amerikaans vee do
not feel zee vind.” But can zey
handle zee heat?
Pam Lotke is stoic during the
summers, and enjoys the cooler
seasons in Tucson with her
family, including husband Alex,
daughter Allegra, 7, and son
Asher, 5. Pam is keeping very
busy working at the University
of Arizona, Department of
OB/GYN as well as spending one day a week at Planned
Parenthood and another half
day at the county jail. “Enough
research to keep it interesting but
not so I have to bring it home.
Alex, on the other hand, could
n 1 9 9 0 –9 1
be doing his research (physics,
and now solar energy) 24/7.”
Although Arizona ranks low in
the nation for education funding,
Pam feels lucky to have found
a Spanish immersion magnet
public school with some great
programs. Hard for the kids to
return to Spanish mode, though,
after a winter break of ziplining
across the back yard!
David Becher has been living
in Boulder and working for 19
years at a small market research
and city planning firm—primarily in the travel and tourism
field. He enjoys hiking and cross
country skiing as much as possible. Perhaps unusual for the
West, Boulder has lots of snow
this year. David sees John Putnam
fairly often in town and on the
trails. John is an environmental
attorney with two kids and is
active in local environmental
efforts/boards in addition to his
professional work.
Jim Fogarty has been keeping
the headhunters in business, with
a whirlwind tour of executive
positions, including CFO at
Warnaco, CFO at Levi Strauss,
CEO of American Italian pasta
company, COO at Lehman
Brothers, CEO of Charming
Shoppes and now CEO of
Orchard Brands!
Emily Dolbear delegated Paul
Willen to write in and “explain
what we do with our time.
We have two children, Joseph,
11, and Marco, 8. Emily does
some freelance editorial work
but devotes most of her time to
raising the boys. I work as an
economist at the Federal Reserve
Bank of Boston. I’m something
of an expert on home mortgages,
so I’ve been very busy the last
few years. (If you’re bored, you
can find out more on my website
http://sg.sg/pwillens.”
Chap Petersen was re-elected
to the Virginia State Senate
last year and is now approaching his second decade in the
legislature. He also maintains
a full-time law practice in
hometown Fairfax City. He and
wife Sharon have four children,
with the youngest born last
August and the oldest in middle
school. Life is great, and Chap
“recently visited with Chris
Adams, who lives in Charlotte,
N.C. He’s the godfather to my
son Thomas, 6, which means
he’s supposed to be an example
of integrity and morality in
adult living. That’s a frightening
thought.”
Keep the frightening thoughts
coming! At press time, at least
one birth and one wedding were
imminent, so I hope I’ll have
more good news for you next
time.
1991
Ramona Liberoff
34 Charlotte Road, Flat 4
London, EC2A 3PB
United Kingdom
Greetings to the Class of ’91
from London, where I’ve been
living since 1994. This is my first
class notes, and I am glad we get
five years to improve both solicitation of news and presentation.
My husband Garry and I spent
much of the end of 2011 holiday
break with BlackBerry switched
off and a mince pie in each hand,
so thanks to those who overcame
turkey torpor to write in your
news.
I received no news of extreme
weather, odysseys to Kazakhstan
or emergency rescues as in Pete’s
September notes, though everyone who wrote in lives impressively busy lives of daily heroism,
juggling children and work,
participating in community life,
while maintaining a sense of
humour.
I have spent the last 10 years
working in different global roles,
and it is always fun to run into
Williams alumni. Last October
at a conference in Baltimore,
Md., I ran into Chris Walker ’93
and Stephanie Linden Seale ’96,
working in Switzerland and
California, respectively, on issues
of global health and technology.
Also in DC, I caught up with
Greg Woods and got news of former class secretary Mary Moule
and family as well as inside tales
of the Beltway from Greg. I
managed through decoding the
DC Metro map to meet with
Jessica (Baraka) Nolan and have
a rapid-fire 37-minute coffee
and catch-up on the last decade,
including how she met husband
Phil, life with a young son and
the delights of McLean,Va. When
in Paris, I try to catch up with
Jennifer (Austin) Flanigan, who
now has three boys and a girl,
all under the age of 10, with an
impressive command of French
and a fine line in Franglais.
London is a common place for
global alumni to pass through or
visit. Last summer I enjoyed the
company of Deidre (Goodwin)
Carovano, who with husband Bill
working locally in Cambridge
(the UK one) enjoyed life in a
flat with their two children and
a total change of pace from
“normal” life in Tampa, Fla.,
with sunshine and a house in
London in December. I shared
an Indian dinner with Monica
Brand, who was on a work trip
to London and Amsterdam with
Accion International in DC.
My Thanksgiving dinner table
included Sarah Peterson, who
was in town for work, Sophie
Muir, who lives in London, and
Jae (Gruenke) Barnhill ’93, who
with husband Eric is spending a
year in Edinburgh.
Scott Schwager, another longtime London resident, living with
wife Viviane and family, met
with Josh Kurzban and his wife
Michelle on their way to a wedding in Europe. “Josh loves the
open spaces and life in Kansas,
where they recently moved after
decades in New York.”
Brian Carlson writes that he
and his new wife Kristin were
planning a trip to Europe in
the spring and “are thrilled to
have moved into a new home in
Marblehead, Mass., my favorite
town in the world.” Brian is still
practicing employment and labor
law with a boutique law firm in
the Boston suburbs and enjoying
the work.
Tim Hildreth is convinced that
London is the glittering, celebrity-strewn and unrecognizably
tidy version of itself that turns
up in films like Love, Actually
and writes that he’s “jealous”
that I get to spend the holidays in
such a wonderful place. I think
New Hampshire sounds far
nicer than London, if terrifyingly filled with very fit people,
from Tim’s description. Tim, Lisa
Leinau and 10 friends enjoyed
the landscape by doing the 2011
New Balance Reach the Beach
Relay, running 200 miles from
Cannon Mountain to Hampton
Beach in 36 legs. (I assume each
runner contributed two of their
own.) “It was a really amazing
experience to run through some
of the most beautiful places in
the state, through the night, and
run as one team across the finish
line 29 hours after our first runner started.”
I am glad to hear news from
the “home” team, those who
have stayed in the Northeast. Joel
Foisy is committed to bringing
back the Janes, a splendid ensemble homegrown in the basement
of Lehman Hall in summer 1989.
The Janes included Mike Cole on
keyboards, Greg Woods on guitar,
Andy Beveridge on bass and,
of course, Joel on the drums.
Joel writes that he now “has an
CL ASS
NOTES
electronic drum kit and is ready
for a reunion.” If references are
needed, “Jane Greenawalt ’90
or Soo La Kim can provide fan
notes of the awesome show in
Greylock Quad.” We should
keep an eye out for the Janes on
YouTube or demand a live show
at our 25th Reunion. Joel also
visited DC in September and
spent time with Jake Smith and
Cliff Majersik and came away
impressed by “how many kids’
soccer games Cliff planned to
attend the next day (three).”
Betsy Allen-Pennebaker and
Andrew Allen are living in
Burlington, Vt. While Andrew
is busy growing a new division of his business, Betsy is
now teaching the liberal arts
strand at Champlain College
in Burlington. Betsy writes, “I
am enjoying teaching the curriculum because it is so varied.
I just couldn’t face teaching
‘der, die, das’ to freshmen. …
Here I get to teach psychology
and literature and this semester
political philosophy. Classes start
tomorrow, and I am nervous
because the readings for this one
are quite dry, and I am starting
to have late-night moments of
terror in which I see a classroom
full of heavy-lidded teenagers,
all texting under the desks to
their friends, saying how much
my class sucks.” A common
nightmare for all faculty, Betsy,
particularly those teaching philosophy, I suspect!
Josh Becker is making sure he
raises a next generation of Eph
fans by bringing his son Aaron
to watch the Williams/Amherst
game in Palo Alto, Calif. Josh
writes, “two members from our
reunion entrepreneurship panel
(at the 20th reunion in June)
were featured in San Francisco
Magazine: Mariam Naficy was
on the cover for an article about
women and entrepreneurs, and
Eric Grosse is in the same magazine having taken over as CEO of
Task Rabbit, a company that just
raised $18 million and is growing rapidly.” Congratulations to
our West Coast entrepreneurs!
In East Coast sports news,
Chris Mersereau is making sure
the Red Sox have a next generation of fans. Chris writes, “My
sons Jack and Pierce and I attend
many Fenway Park games,
and we were heartbroken by
their September performance.”
Chris’ own home equine team is
doing far better: “Stoneymeade
Farm continues to grow and
‘show,’ with 40 horses. Last
November we had three of our
horses compete at the Maclay
National Finals in Lexington,
Ky. Fortunately our daughter
Josie, 6, prefers horseback riding
to baseball.” Chris also spends
time with Ephs in Boston and
was planning a Williams trip
to golf St. Andrews in Scotland
with Pam Dickinson ’86 and Paul
Mersereau ’61.
Michelle Sanders writes from
Bedford, Mass. Michelle was
enjoying her holiday break from
her pediatric practice and gearing
up for the busy January season.
She was able to bid bon voyage
to Jonquil Wolfson, who with
husband Jeff and children Talia
and Eliana, has moved to Stuart,
Fla., where Jeff is the new rabbi
for a congregation. Having seen
photos of the family in shorts
for Halloween, Michelle believes
“Jonquil misses wool sweaters …
but the family enjoys the citrus
trees in their backyard and being
able to use the pool for much of
the autumn.” Doesn’t sound like
a bad trade-off, but then I live
in a country where sunshine is
worthy of a special mention.
Please do send your news
in—to Christine next issue—and
a happy and healthy 2012 to
everyone.
1992
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Stephanie Phillips
241 Central Park West, Apt. 5A
New York, NY 10024
I’m saddened to report that
after a two-year battle with cancer Elizabeth (Betsy) Carson Rupe
passed away on Jan. 10. She is
survived by her husband Allan
and sons Keith, Simon and Isaac.
The rest of these notes were written three weeks prior to receiving
this news, so please excuse the
incongruity in tone.
Here’s the few, the proud, that
made it in before I had to shame
you all into contributing: Lynette
Guastaferro bumped into Eric
Kaye in the lobby of the building
where her nonprofit, Teaching
Matters, is located. In a random,
fun coincidence he was in the
building cutting a record with
singers from the building’s wellknown choir.
Anne (Joseph) O’Connell shared
a comprehensive update: In
the past five years she married
Jamie O’Connell, had two kids
(Evelyne, born in 2008, and
Alexander, just born Oct. 21,
2011), and received tenure (at
the University of California,
Berkeley).
Jim Scott, whom we haven’t
heard from in ages, was encouraged by his wife and kids to
“let everyone know that I
was honored to be selected to
perform with the Philly Pops
Festival Chorus with Peter Nero
in their 2011 holiday program.
It was a blast and brought lots of
memories back from performing with the Springstreeters in
Chapin Hall.”
Kerr Houston rang in the New
Year by traveling to Cairo for a
week as part of a research project
that culminated in a paper,
delivered in LA in February, on
1950s Egyptian movie posters. In
the meantime, he also managed
a second, briefer trip to the City
of Angels, in order to compete
on Jeopardy! Kerr advised that if
you want to see him wishing he
knew more about jazz pianists,
tune in in late April.
From Keith Faigin, we learn
that “the Faigin family still
counts themselves as one of nine
documented families that voluntarily moved to the Detroit area.
We’ve been here about seven
years. I moved up to take the
position of CIO of a health services company and my wife is an
oncology nurse. Our daughter,
Anabel, 12, has her bat mitzvah
in May and is a cheerleader. She
is the first cheerleader who will
talk to me*. Our daughter, Eliza,
9, is a budding drummer and
excels in the areas of volume and
noisiness. As for me, as a way of
further avoiding growing up, I’ve
gotten back into improv. *I’ve
used this joke before—primarily on Alumni Fund solicitation
emails—but, it is a good bit, and
I feel it merits repeating.”
And now the guilty consciences
who felt that it would be untoward for our class to have really
short notes on the eve of our
20th reunion.
Ivan Fermon very helpfully
asked whether I meant “saddest as in depressing or as in
pathetic?” but then provided
no information. Thanks for the
help, Ivan.
Dan Weiswasser shares that, “as
an internist/pediatrician, I am the
director of quality and clinical
informatics at Riverbend Medical
Group, the largest multispecialty medical group in Western
Massachusetts, i.e., we’re big fish
in a small pond. When not seeing
patients, I work to leverage our
electronic medical records system
to provide the best quality care
n 1 9 9 1 –9 2
From left: Josh Kurzban ’91 and his wife Michelle caught up with Scott
Schwager ’91 in London on their way to a wedding.
on a practice-wide basis. I am
looking forward to bringing my
boys, Jake, 8, and Alex, 5, to
the reunion this summer, as the
Berkshires are practically in my
back yard. I would like to give a
shout out to Sage B entry-mates
Derek Schilling, who has just
returned from a sabbatical in
southern France (pauvre bâtard),
and Doug Boyce, who is the chair
of the music department at The
George Washington University.”
Joan (Malamud) Rocklin shared
that she got married to Bob
Rocklin in 2009 and in 2011
welcomed Sam Rocklin to her
clan. She also sent a lovely
picture of her wedding and a
really cute picture of her baby
boy. She has also co-authored a
legal writing textbook, A Lawyer
Writes, which is good reading
for first-year law students or
anybody having trouble sleeping
at night. And Joan and Bob (also
an attorney) are working on
a second textbook, tentatively
titled To Move a Court.
We learn that Jeremiah Axelrod
also welcomed additions to his
family this past year: Amalia
Serenity Axelrod-Delcampo
and Sophie Amistad AxelrodDelcampo were born on July 3
to Jem and Lil Delcampo (Drake
’92). The twin girls are happy
and healthy, having completed
their first big trip (to Tennessee
for the holidays) and look
forward to the Williams reunion
in June.
Abigail Solomon is engaged and
plans to get married Memorial
Day weekend on Martha’s
Vineyard to Jason Teuscher.
Congratulations, Abigail! If I
recall correctly, your family has
a lovely house on the beach in
Chilmark. But details of that
long-ago evening on the beach
are hazy, except I still remember
Will Brockman arriving late after
finishing his thesis and running
into the ocean fully dressed. We
hope no one will do that at your
wedding!
Tony Elison moved to the
Seattle area (as of late 2010,
actually), and chose to live on
Mercer Island as it is where
Greg Hart also happens to live.
“As a result, both of our lives
have regressed by a few decades,
as we hang out on weekends
with nothing better to do. It’s
also interesting to see the kids
well into a second-generation
Elison-Hart friendship. Although
this time around it seems the
Harts are the better athletes,
young Charles, 7, and Catherine,
5, seem to be preserving some
semblance of family honor for
the Elisons with their superior
dance moves.”
Louisa (Mittlegluck) Quittman
also gets to hang out with
Williams classmates. She is “still
at the Treasury Department,
trying to find ways to make our
financial system work better
for the 99 percent, and works
with a number of Williams
folks, including the famous
Don Graves, and got to have a
Williams intern this past summer, thanks to Michael Tae ’97.”
Louisa recently caught up with
Deborah Lee, who is preparing
for the Episcopal seminary.
Melinda (Varn) Pearson admitted she never writes and that
“when you said it was the saddest ever, I felt a certain twinge
of guilt and obligation.” She
reports, “I now live in Ventura,
Calif., after stints in Sacramento
and Denver, working on various
degrees and having fun. My husband Duane and I have two fantastic daughters, Marlo, 6, and
Alice, 4. I am an English PhD
dropout (yes, the pathetic ABD)
and currently full-time SAHM
(oh the acronyms!), but am contemplating returning to teaching
English lit and composition once
my girls are both in school full
time. Or maybe taking up tennis?
We’ll see.”
Deirdre Flynn, who protested
that she had little to tell, did a
great job reporting on the whereabouts of several classmates:
She reports: “Kate (Lee) Flynn
and I had dinner last week. She
is doing well in her job at JP
Morgan, where she has nearly
hit the 20-year mark. I can’t
understand how it’s possible that
we are old enough for someone
to have been at a job for 20
years, but apparently the math
works. I also had lunch with
David Willmott’s wife Catherine
when they were in New York.
They live in Portland, Ore., now,
but their East Coast friends are
assuming that’s not a permanent
move.
Did you know that Alison
Bonner is now married? As I was
enjoying a mint julep on Derby
Day last May, I emailed her to
wish her a good one (as it was
this Kentucky roommate who
introduced me to all the hoopla).
As it turns out, she actually was
at the Derby, where her then
boyfriend proposed. They didn’t
wait long before finishing the
deal, but I have no more scoop!
And I still live in NYC with four
kids and a minivan.”
Also doing an excellent job of
reporting on classmates is Heidi
Sandreuter. Heidi is “still at
Pepsi. It’s been 121⁄2 years, all in
marketing, and for the last year
I’ve been leading the media strategy team for Pepsi Beverages.
My position has allowed me to
work closely with Matt Colangelo
’98, who is our finance guru.”
Heidi looked at an apartment
shown to her by her Sage E
suitemate Abigail Lash but had
yet to pull the trigger. She visited
Ashley Edgar Milliken and her
husband Peter ’91 last fall and
went out to San Francisco in
October to check in on Candace
Kelly. Candace had just returned
from a two-year detail in DC.
They also “bopped over to Josh
Levenberg’s house in Hillsboro,
where he and his wife Verna are
raising three terrific kids.”
And Amy Sachtleben writes that
she was (at the time of writing)
CL ASS
NOTES
hosting Elizabeth (Feeney) Asali
in London, as she travels to the
GSK home office occasionally,
and that “tonight we have plans
to visit a purple pub.” Amy
heard from Caitlin Mann that she
was meeting Lloyd Alexander and
Clint Kendall in Boston for lunch
but had no details.
Kristen (Hassing) Howard
reports that in November she
met up with Brad Behr, Jonathan
Lindley, Jared Cumming, Karen
Schroeder, Amy Elmore and
Maura Gallagher along with their
families for a weekend in Deep
Creek, Md. “Peter Weingartner
usually joins us but was unable
to this year, so we hung out via
video chat instead. We watched
our kids perform some very
funny skits, ate some really
great food and found a geocache
in Deep Creek State Park.”
Kristen has also performed in
two plays, Oliver! and Alice in
Wonderland, and has started
up with rapier sword dancing
again (there’s something for
you to Google!). She currently
works for Silverchair Science &
Communications, a company
that designs and hosts websites
for science, technical and medical
publishers.
Arielle (Kagan) Masters writes
that she is determined to at least
try to get in shape, and so has
been taking classes at LA Boxing
since October (and hopefully
will still be taking them as of this
printing so as to avoid the hasbeen embarrassment. She’s loving
the classes, aside from the sore
back and shoulders.
Alison Locke Perchuk continues
to enjoy teaching art history
at Occidental College in LA,
where her fellow faculty members include Paul Nam ’91 and
Jeremiah Axelrod.
Also in academia is Marica
Tacconi. Marica had what may
just be the best gig going: In July
2011 she concluded a sevenmonth residency as a visiting
research professor at Villa I
Tatti, the Harvard University
Center for Italian Renaissance
Studies in Florence, Italy. “I was
assigned to live in my own huge
villa overlooking Florence and
had a marvelous 1875 concert
grand piano in my living room/
ballroom. When not playing
and composing at the piano, I
worked on a new musicological
project while benefitting from
the interdisciplinary community
of scholars at the center. With
a more flexible schedule away
from my regular teaching duties
at Penn State University, I also
got to fit in some great trips to
Paris and Tanzania.”
Holly Frazier has been working
significantly harder and has been
very busy juggling work, home
and school. She completed her
PhD in educational leadership
from University of Pennsylvania
in 2011 and is happily married and the proud mother of
three terrific kids—EJ, Nia and
William. She continues, “People
may be surprised to know that
I am currently involved in a TV
series called DanceMoms, and I
have the pleasure of supporting
my daughter through the world
of competitive dance.” I have
to admit, that sounds intriguing
enough to break my “no reality
TV” rule.
Patty (Altoff) Conte returned
to education part time in the fall
of 2010, “tutoring at the school
where I did my student teaching
(17 years before!). And this summer I will be coaching diving for
the first time in almost 20 years!”
From Kent Wosepka, we learn
John Staudenmayer did Ironman
Louisville over the summer.
Oddly, Kent shared no details of
his own.
Dan Rhode very helpfully wrote
the following: “Dan is living and
working in Buxton, England,
and is hoping some more people
in the U.S. will buy his recently
published book on pottery
(Introducing Pottery, find it on
your favorite online bookseller!).
Work includes looking after his
two nutty children aged 9 and
3 who are a constant source of
bedlam mixed with fun. He is
happy to show anyone around
the peak district by mountain
bike so stop by!”
And last but not least, Christy
Johnson writes, “I wish I had
something exciting to send in,
but I got nuthin’! Just getting
excited about the reunion in
June.” As am I. I wish you all
safe travels to Williamstown, and
I am looking forward to seeing
you in June!
1993
Chad Orzel
1570 Regent St.
Niskayuna, NY 12309
Another year, another January
set of class notes. This time, I’m
not writing from an airport bar,
but never fear, I’ve found a new
way to simulate jet lag and thus
generate the slightly punchy
prose you’ve come to expect: My
wife Kate Nepveu and I had a
son, David, in November. Big sister Claire (now 31⁄2) is so excited
to be a big sister that she can’t go
more than five minutes without
running over to give him a hug
and a kiss. She’s also apparently
too excited to sleep, which means
nobody in the house is getting
any rest. I’m typing this at 10
p.m. in my bedroom, hoping that
she’ll finally doze off, but judging
by the sounds from her room,
she’s still telling stories to her
stuffed animals…
This leads naturally to
the other new births in the
class: Zahie El Kouri and John
Greenman have a new son,
Nico, born back in June, and
Laura (Wedner) Grams had her
third, Patton Henry, in August.
Laura’s still teaching philosophy
at the University of Nebraska,
Omaha. Dara Musher-Eizenman
and her husband Abe had their
third, Sylvia, in April, and are
greatly appreciative of the many
advances in baby technology
since their first two, 8 and
11 years ago. Dara was also
promoted to full professor at
Bowling Green State University,
which is nearly as difficult as
having kids, so double congratulations to her.
The topic of new children also
brought in a couple of first-time
reports, first from Rajveer Purohit
and his wife Mamta, who have
a new son, Shivraj. Rajveer also
had his first co-authored book on
urology published, sees Sandeep
Patel and Girish Bhakoo regularly
and attended Navin Girishankar’s
wedding in DC. Paul Krebs also
wrote in for the first time, to
report the birth of his daughter
back in April. Paul’s living in
Atlanta, working for Coke and
promises to write in again in
2031 or so.
There were also plenty of
pre-existing child stories. Patty
(Pennebaker) Rutins reports that
she and husband Erik are still
looking for their 5-year-old in
the giant pile of Lego bricks
from Christmas (this was in
January, but may well still be
true when this sees print later in
the spring). Nadine Block is still
working on sustainable energy in
DC and reports that it’s gotten
much harder to keep up with her
4-year-old twins now that they
no longer need training wheels
on their bikes. Pete Putnam’s kids
are a little older (8 and 11), so
he and his brother John ’90 took
them hiking to a “remote yurt in
Colorado” in December, which
sounds faintly ominous but was
apparently fun. Rebecca Beavers
n 1 9 9 2 –9 4
was looking forward to skiing
with her 6- and 3-year-olds and
also had a minireunion/40th
birthday get-together with
Sarah Platman Baird in October
in Williamstown, where they
supported the local economy by
buying lots of Williams-related
clothing.
John Dye is doing the “Mr.
Mom” thing for a little while,
having just moved from
California to Hawaii (just what
I needed to read in January in
the Northeast…) as his wife
became the team physician for
the University of Hawaii. John’s
also studying to take his third
different bar exam, an image
that undoubtedly sends shivers
up the spines of all the class
lawyers. And speaking of chilling
thoughts, Holly Bernstein writes
to note that her children are
entering the teen years, and her
oldest recently asked whether
she could attend Amherst (I
recommend encouraging a more
socially acceptable form of
rebellion, such as a tattoo…).
Kim Tresch reports that she’s still
happily working as a pediatrician
and recently took a class with
Robb Friedman.
Robb and Elisa Friedman ’93
also turn up in a report from
Camille Preston, who attended a
New Year’s party at their place.
Camille had a busy start of the
year, publishing a new book
and moving to a new house as
well. And since we seem to have
moved into the usual random
encounters part of the report,
Tom Kimbis reports from DC,
where he manages to take the
occasional break from promoting solar energy to hang out
with Heather Rieff, Dave Barker,
Bill Mowitt and Paul Piquado,
who apparently has some sort
of aircraft-based scheme for
getting back to Williamstown
more often. A request for class
notes material on Facebook led
to Claire Benson-Mandl, Chris
Colburn and Bowen Chung playing “six degrees of separation”
on my wall, though I’m still not
sure which of them knows somebody who knows Kevin Bacon.
And lest all the parenting talk
make you feel too old, Kate Brill
writes in from Williamstown following Charley Stevenson’s 40th
birthday party, which involved
prune wafers, walker races
(highlighted by Tom Wintner righteously trouncing Brad Svrluga
’95), walker gymnastics (by Scott
Lewis) and traditional beverages.
Kate writes, “It’s hard to imagine
the next round of milestone
birthdays being as much fun,
although childcare will be much
easier.”
Kat Kollett writes in with
a couple of years’ worth of
updates, reporting that she’s
now working with Blick Art
Materials, helping run a program
called Art Room Aid that helps
school art teachers reach out for
funding to support arts education. Oh, and by the way, she got
married.
Also in the art world, Allison
Achauer and husband Tim Sellers
’90 have (or perhaps will have
had, by the time this appears)
a joint show at the Future Art
Studio in LA, featuring her photographs and his oil paintings.
Kerrita Mayfield was awarded
a grant from the Community
Foundation of Western
Massachusetts to do workshops
for teachers in the Pioneer Valley
(almost in the Berkshires).
The unquestionable champion
for the most shocking anecdote
of this round of notes belongs
to Stephan (Fiedler) Terre, whose
house was struck by lightning
back in October. Everybody is
fine, which is why I feel comfortable introducing this with a
dreadful pun, but as a story,
that’s pretty tough to top.
And that brings me to the end
of another round of class notes
(and the faint snoring from the
next room suggests I will finally
be able to go to bed myself…),
though I do want to sneak in a
little self-promotion, to mention
that my second book, How to
Teach Relativity to Your Dog
will be published at the end of
February and should be available
wherever books are sold by
the time this sees print. I highly
recommend it for all your spring
and summer gift-giving needs…
And if you have any news you’d
like to report, drop me an email
at oilcan@gmail.com.
1994
Elizabeth Randolph Rappaport
9 Killington St.
Chappaqua, NY 10514
Dear Class of 1994, this
winter has been the usual slog
toward the holidays, exhaustion, sick kids and then some
restorative time off. But I’d
say the highlight thus far was
my kick off to 2012. I had the
privilege of sitting on the other
side of the podium at Williams
for the first time—if only for a
brief few hours for a couple of
days—to teach a portion of a
Winter Study class.
I was lucky enough to help
teach a class on journalism to
students interested in the media.
I was one of four alumni in the
field to visit campus, where I
found it remarkably easy to
speak for two hours at a time
about my work and my life—go
figure. My segment was on investigative newspaper journalism,
and I gave them all an assignment to come up with something
to dig into. Their ideas were
amazing, and they all devised
creative ways to investigate and
powerful messages they felt their
revelations would send to the
world.
The experience, including the
cold weather, reminded me of
what I love about Williams and
why it’s always the highestranked school in the country.
Each student was so present,
so engaged and so responsible
about their work, and the place
is so conducive to reading and
thinking and taking time to do
things.
One element of my visit disturbed me, however, and I want
to share it with the class as many
of us have kids and the world is
becoming ever more competitive.
I found the students understandably anxious about their
futures and their job prospects.
Unemployment is still high, and
the economy is still wobbly.
But they were dramatically
relieved and surprised to hear
that my career path was varied
and indirect. It struck me that
they imagine they’d have to start
out at The New York Times or
The Wall Street Journal upon
graduation to be successful.
I was in book publishing, the
Internet boom, grad-school.
I wrote obituaries, for trade
newsletters, a web site, a
newswire and finally reached
my goal of writing for The Wall
Street Journal by the time I was
35. Who knows what’s next? In
between, I’ve gotten married,
had two children, traveled and
enjoyed life as New Yorker.
It made me a bit sad to think
that kids feel they have to
start out at the top or they feel
they’re failing. It’s just not true.
Meandering a bit is healthy, and
so is failing and getting up. One
path always leads to unexpected
avenues.
I told the students that while
I understood the pressure to
perform at Williams, life is all
about their own happiness and
definitions of success. I explained
CL ASS
NOTES
that most of my classmates have
not gone down a singular, predetermined path. I encouraged
them to just go and try things
that may seem unfathomable
to the career office or to their
parents. I think I’ll email them a
reminder of all this and suggest
they just read the Alumni Review
for inspiration.
Firstly, I’d like to correct
myself. Alex Amidon is a woman,
not a man. I mistakenly referred
to her as a “he” in the prior
class notes. My apologies, Alex.
You’re kind to say my mistake
made you “giggle.”
On the baby news front,
Nicole Vennell Roberts and her
husband Brian had their second
daughter, Clara June, born on
Thanksgiving. No cooking for
Nicole (nice work).
Peggy Maher moved back
to Manhattan after living and
working at the University of
Arkansas for five years. “It
surely is great to be back in
Gotham,” she writes, adding
she loves her job as the associate
dean at Columbia’s School of
Engineering and Applied Science.
Congratulations are in order as
well because Peggy got married
in December to Todd Thompson,
who not only agreed to move
from the Midwest to Manhattan,
but will now root for the Mets!
That is devotion. Peggy sees Ted
Mason and keeps in touch with
Tibisay Salerno here and there,
she said.
I hope to hear from more of
you soon. Happy Spring. —Liz
1995
Anamaria Villamarin-Lupin
535 Arabella St.
New Orleans, LA 70115
Nancy O’Brien Wagner
1049 Linwood Ave.
Saint Paul, MN 55105
My mother, who successfully*
raised seven kids, says that
having the first child is an act of
optimism, and all others are an
act of courage.
Joining the optimist’s club is
Wei Lin Chang, who announced
the birth of her son James last
May. James was mastering crawling and clapping at Christmas
time, and Wei Lin was enjoying
full-time motherhood. Rachel
Levinson also joined the club
with the birth of the “super
good-natured” Sarah Anateah
Levinson-Waldman on June
29. Rachel is also transitioning
professionally and left her
position as in-house counsel to
the American Association of
University Professors to join the
Brennan Center for Justice as
counsel to its liberty and national
security program.
Joining the “courage” club is
Shelby Hallam Benton. Shelby had
her fourth child, Sarah Katherine
in July. Shelby is helping her oldest, Maggie, 13, apply for high
schools and writes that it’s “kind
of surreal having an infant and
a teenager at the same time!”
She is homeschooling Drew, 11,
and chasing around the toddler,
Patrick, 2. She founded a new
Boy Scout troop and is acting as
treasurer and managed to play
violin with the New Bedford
Symphony for a brief time before
maternity leave. And if you want
proof of her courage: “Oh, and
we enjoyed our first family trip
to Disney World last May. I was
seven months pregnant with a
16-month-old in tow. Drove all
the way from Massachusetts
with the three kids. Had a blast.”
Donny Wong breaks his silence
with some big news: He has been
living in London for the past
five years and has just received a
permit for permanent residency.
He’s seen a few classmates who
have passed through London
over the past couple of years
(Kyle Roberts, Teddy Welsh, Chia
Hwu ’96). “The other exciting
news is that I got engaged at the
end of 2011 and will be entering
a civil partnership in the UK with
my partner Chris Dicken some
time in 2012. I invite Ephs to
read about our trials and tribulations on our blog: http://www.
gayweddingstory.com.”
Alastair Moock sends news that
he has been reconnecting with
some ’95ers (and their kids) at
his shows recently. Last fall he
saw Marc Johnson and Sarah
Knight in DC, Maren Reichert in
Philadelphia, Chris Cardona and
Catherine Sumner in New York,
and Yvonne Hao, Jim Joy and Kate
Lanford Joy in Boston. Check out
his website, www.moock.com,
and see if you can catch him!
Check the newsstands for the
spring 2012 issue of CBE-Life
Sciences Education for Greg
Crowther’s essay “Using science
songs to enhance learning: an
interdisciplinary approach.”
Greg also enjoyed a dinner with
Mark Cordes, “who still spews
analogies like a hyperarticulate
rapper, or like Prof. Hodge
Markgraf ’52 used to do.” Greg
has been teaching his son Phil,
age five, to enjoy the chemistry
set he got for Christmas, though
he clarifies that “at this age,
‘chemistry’ mostly involves dissolving things in water.”
Rami Alturki sent in big news
about his wedding to Maha
Al-Jasser last fall. They married
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Oct.
5., and followed up with a party
in Paris on Nov. 5. Ramon Silva,
and Naomi Hewitt-Couturier ’99
were able to attend the Paris
event and can vouch that the
couple looked gorgeous and
happy. You can check out the
photo at the end to see for yourself. Congratulations, Rami!
Flo Waldron reports from the
parenting frontier that she has
begun her daughter’s potty-training, though she has “nothing
concrete to report.” A-hem.
I am selfishly very happy
to report that Chris Wells’
Minnesota roots just got a shot
of Miracle-Gro. Last November,
he was serenaded by bagpipes,
which is Macalester College’s
traditional signal that he received
tenure. Chris says that the greatest change is the silencing of the
niggling voice of tenure concern.
But with 3-year-old twins and
baby Meg (born in March) there
isn’t much silence in the home,
anyway.
Paula Peters writes from
Olanthe, Kan., that she has
been having fun teaching writing classes to officers at U.S.
Strategic Command. She is in
the 13th year of running her
technical writing business and
publishes articles on the side.
She keeps busy chasing around
6-year-old Zack and 2-year-old
Alexa. Paula reports that Maria
Suro Leach is now in Japan with
her husband Jay Leach and two
kids through his work with the
U.S. Navy, and that Alethea Cruz
has moved back to Wisconsin.
Tiraatso Tebatso Lekalake writes
that “happiness is my daughter
Seneo!” Seneo is 5 now, and
joined Tiraatso on a two-week
trip to France to catch up with
Yetunde (Ramsey), her lovely
daughter Anais and Hussain ’96.
Prepare to guffaw: Maren
Reichert reports that she sees lots
of Bernard Prusak, as their oldest
kids attend the same elementary
school in Bryn Mawr. Maren
apparently throws a mean
6-year-old’s birthday party, as
one of the other parents “propositioned me to pick up and babysit their daughter on a regular
basis after school—even offering
to pay me. I’m not sure what I
did to suggest that I needed to
take in stray children of parents
n 1 9 9 4 –9 6
Jake Russin ’94 (standing, left) takes a breather with some of the 30 Ephs
who participated in a six-mile hike he led in Virginia’s Great Falls Park
for a Williams D.C.-area “Mountain Day” celebration in October.
who are stretched too thin. Alas,
I work full time (albeit in a family friendly law clerk position) in
Philadelphia, where my younger
son attends day care. I’d like to
have someone pick up my kids
for me too sometimes, but I’m
not about to ask another working parent to do it!”
Tony Qaiyum writes that life
has been thrilling and exhausting
the past few months—it was a
record year for Smallflower.com
and for Merz Apothecary, his
family’s 137-year-old Chicago
business. Tony was able to get
away to celebrate Cory Nohl’s
wedding to Sarah Daoust in
Southern Vermont in October.
Daughters Saffron and Nol
were flower girls along with
the daughters of Pete and Liz
Richards. Other ’95ers celebrating the occasion were Chris
Murphy, Josh Caley, Rami Batniji,
John Streng and Jessie Price. “It
should be mentioned that the
wedding band was without a
doubt the most dance-inducing
group of all time. I want to
become a wedding crasher and
follow them around!”
Tony was able to grab brunch
with John Ruder and his wife
Kate on Jan. 2 before they
finished their Chicago visit and
headed back to their new digs in
Boulder, Colo. “They and their
sons Wes and Quinn seemed as
happy as can be!”
By the end of this year, many of
us will begin to cross into our
fifth (ack!) decade. Classmate Ted
Welsh confessed to some memory
lapses related to the cheers at
homecoming and mentioned he’d
made it to the annual mathematics meetings in Boston, where
he “saw half the Williams math
faculty and a bunch of (much
younger!) alumni.” They’re getting younger every year, Ted.
Jonathan Eades, who is the
head of St. Mary’s Hall in San
Antonio, also made it back to
Boston for a conference. After
the conference, he and his
wife squeezed in a road trip to
Williamstown. They “stayed at
the Orchards, appreciated the
new student center, ate a pizza
from Hot Tomatoes, reloaded
on Williams gear at the Williams
Shop, stopped at the new Purple
Pub (the old one burned down)
and learned Spring Street is now
a one- way street!”
Max Simian sends news from
Saipan, Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands
(“where America’s day begins”),
in remote Micronesia. He is now
a registered professional geologist and works for the local utility company’s power division in
their environmental compliance
office. He is working on groundwater oil spill cleanup and future
prevention. Go, Max!
Laura Hemmeter Putnam wrote
that her husband Pete Putnam
’93 and his brother, John Putnam
’90 recently took themselves and
their sons (Ethan, 15, Tom, 11,
and Matt, 8) camping in a yurt
in Colorado. They had a wonderful time with snowshoeing,
cross country skiing and card
playing. Although the temperature dropped into the single digits overnight, the wood-burning
stove kept the yurt toasty with
temps in the 70s. Pete also got to
feel like a heroic frontiersman by
stoking the fire in the middle of
the night. Laura stayed down in
Colorado Springs and “enjoyed
Starbucks and Barnes and Noble
with my in-laws, and everyone
was happy!”
Co-secretary Anamaria
Villamarin-Lupin shares that she
and her husband Tim Lupin ’93
met with Sue Le Page Wintner and
Tom Wintner ’93 in Connecticut
in December to enjoy a Saints
game. Anamaria is now the New
Orleans representative on the
Louisiana Parenting Education
Network’s guidance team and
continues to supervise master’s
level students pursuing their
degrees in social work and counseling. “And when I am not busy
with that, I continue to supervise
master’s level offspring pursuing
their degrees in elementary education and socialization.”
*My mother’s definition of
“successfully raising” seven kids
meant that none of us ended up
in jail, and I am happy to report
that when this went to press that
was still the case.
Happy spring, folks! Keep the
news coming.
1996
Lesley Whitcomb Fierst
245 Dale Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910
So, I get a little e-receipt telling
me when my messages to the
Class of ’96 list have been successfully distributed. I could not
help but notice that, when I sent
out my request for news in which
I described my grandfather’s trip
to the Katy Perry concert (only
briefly), the e-receipt said the
message had been distributed to
441 recipients, but when I sent
out my reminder email a couple
of weeks later, it said it had gone
out to 439. I immediately felt a
pit in my stomach, thinking that
in my attempts to be clever and
funny in my email news requests
and reminders, instead I had
inspired two of you to ask for
mercy. I am going to hope that
two people just left jobs and so
they lost their email addresses, or
moved to cabins where they have
no email access, but just in case,
I promise my next request for
news will be more garden variety
so as not to potentially alienate
folks.
On to the news. Joan (Lee)
Tarbutton appears to be gunning for her own Brady Bunch.
“Believe it or not, I just had
my fifth kid! Robert Augustine
Uh-Jin Tarbutton was born on
Dec. 18, weighing 8 pounds, 10
CL ASS
NOTES
ounces. We now have two boys
and three girls, and it appears
that we have more blond-headed
kids than brunettes! Both our
boys are blond, and one of our
girls is fair-haired. I often get
asked where on the Korean
side of the kids’ family does the
blond gene come from. Uh-Jin
(whose name in Korean means
‘kind and benevolent king’)
is enjoying the attention of so
many. My a capella music friends
will appreciate that I now have
enough children to form that
SSATB vocal ensemble I have
always wanted.” Making a rare
appearance in class notes, Jill
Wasserman had a few pieces of
exciting news. “My husband,
Stephen Devereaux, and I were
married on April 30—the day
after the royal wedding of
Will and Kate. Although my
(maternity) wedding dress was
not nearly as chic as Kate’s, I
managed to pull off a “tiara”
(purchased on Etsy) and certainly
felt as lucky as a princess. In
addition to marrying my own
Prince Charming, the marriage
also came with Stephen’s darling
10-year-old daughter Emma. I
am trying very hard not to be a
storybook wicked stepmother!
And finally, our lovely twin
daughters, Harriet McGillivray
and Carolyn Witte, arrived just
a few months later on Aug.
23. Needless to say, 2011 has
been a year of fairytale magic
for me and my family.” Also
new parents (again), Mary Liz
Brenninkmeyer and her husband
Chris Kaczmarek had a baby girl,
Annika Elizabeth Kaczmarek, on
Nov. 9. According to Mary Liz,
big brothers Ian and Andrew are
enjoying their little sister, but,
hey, just give it time.
Among our internationally residing classmates, Ian
Graham wrote of the birth of
his third daughter, Charlotte,
on Dec. 14 in Bad Homburg
(Bah Humbug?), Germany.
“Obviously, this meant that my
wife Priscilla and I weren’t going
to go off and have a raucous
New Year’s Eve, but it did give
us an opportunity to check out
what German TV has to offer in
lieu of Dick Clark. The highlight
of the night was coming across
the ‘Silvesterstadl,’ a concert
featuring traditional folk music
from across Germany, Austria
and Switzerland and complete
with audience members dressed
in lederhosen. Hearing the sound
of the accordion-infused music
brought me back to the Saturday
morning polka show we would
listen to after Friday night
water polo games at Amherst.
If memory serves me, the theory
was that nothing can be as bad
as the polka, so enduring it made
the hangovers that much more
manageable. Besides such choice
TV options, we are still very
much enjoying our time here and
taking advantage of the travel
options. The highlights from last
year were Istanbul, Provence
and Amsterdam. This year we
are really looking forward to
San Sebastian, where Kevin
Burke ’94 will host a gathering
of Williams alums in Europe.”
And Kyle Downey and his family
moved from Shanghai to Hong
Kong a year ago, “where I’m still
working for Morgan Stanley. I
heard from Micah Edmond over
the break but just missed him in
NYC at end of 2011.”
Living it up in LA, Heather
(Laquer) Williams wrote, “Life
with three kids (ages 11, 8 and 3)
is busy and fun. I’m embracing
my sports mom role and have
now branched out into being a
stage mom as well with my oldest daughter Caitlin performing
as Young Louise in a 12-week
run of Gypsy and booking and
shooting a co-star role where
she plays a bully named Tiffany
on The Office that airs March
1. I can’t really give out the
details of who all she takes on
and beats up, but it is funny.
We’re big Office fans too, so it
was just as exciting for us to be
on set with her—never has my
husband offered to help with set
parent duties as quickly as he did
for this! So now I’m attending
premieres not only for my husband’s projects as a film and TV
composer, but now my daughter’s projects as well. #groupie.”
As for other Eph sightings, Kate
Newman Jerris, her husband
Rand and their three kids swung
through LA, and we met up at
Descanso Gardens so all of our
kids could run around and we
could catch up. They’ve been
coming out to LA fairly regularly,
so it’s been great seeing them and
marking the passage of time by
how much bigger our kids have
gotten. And after about a decade
of living in the same city, Smith
Glover and I finally met up for a
nice alfresco lunch by the pool.
He got a taste of how crazy life
can be with three kids as, while
they were playing pirates, one
kid accidentally fell in said pool.
So if anyone is in LA, drop me
a line, and I’d love to hang out,
with or without pirates. Also
out in LA and in what I can only
assume is his iPhone version of
a Tweet, Shing Chi Poon wrote,
“Baby Nicole born in mid
October 2011. Big brother Derek
adjusting to new addition.”
Apparently in competition
with Strom Thurmond and Mr.
Rogers, Teon Edwards this past
summer passed the 15-year mark
at her job. “Despite being at
the same company for so long,
my actual work has changed a
lot over the years. Currently it
largely involves designing and
researching games that engage
the players in science learning
and that they want to play in
their free time. A task that is
both very fun and very hard. Jen
(Nicholson) and Jon Todd, along
with their daughter Julia moved
to Newton, Mass., recently,
so we’ve been able to see each
other much more often. The J’s,
plus Sarah Calvo, Alexia Rosoff,
Jim Wilber and I met recently
for an (almost) annual holiday
gathering. As I’m sure all the
parents out there know, but
something new to this ‘Auntie,’
watching a 4-year-old decorate
a Christmas tree is a truly great
experience! Along with many
others in the Northeast, I’ve had
more than a few blackout days
this past fall, between Irene, the
‘hurricane, that wasn’t’ but that
still knocked out my power for
three days and flooded so many
areas, and the freak October
snowstorm, which took down
my power for another two days,
plus several more during the following week for ongoing repairs.
I actually kind of enjoyed them. I
hope both were fun in our purple
mountain valley!”
Hanna (Kelly) Sanoff liked my
Katy Perry reference (so there).
“My news is definitely not of the
‘earth shattering’ variety. Still
living in Charlottesville, working
at UVA, trying to make some
headway against cancer. I think
my favorite thing here is our
Friday night ‘girl parties’ with
my 3-year-old daughters and
one of our favorite people: Kate
Paxton. Girl parties feature ‘girl
wine,’ wine, cheese, dancing and
general ridiculousness. Lest anyone think girl parties are exclusionary—my husband is invited
too—we just rename them wine
and cheese dance parties those
days so he doesn’t feel left out (or
have to wear a party dress, which
he just plain refuses to do!).”
Also living in the Southeast
region, Brad Wasserman and his
partner Scott Graves met up with
Tracy (Weir) Marek, her husband
David and their daughter Maria
n 1996
From left: Brian Eng ’96, Elise Brown ’85 and John Goodrich ’80 caught
up with each other at the Juice Conference, a two-day event supporting
collaboration and connection in the creative economy, held in Camden,
Maine, in November.
during a trip through New York
last June. “We walked across
the Poughkeepsie Pedestrian
Bridge and capped off the calorie
burning excursion with some ice
cream.” Isn’t that how you’re
supposed to do it—Diet Coke
with the brownie ice cream
sundae?
In the DC area, my daughter
Aviva and I celebrated with
James and Lydia (Vermilye) Weiss
at their son Rex’s 3rd birthday
party in December. Also there
to celebrate were Jim Heyes and
his two and a half-year-old son
Oliver. Jim attempted to dodge
“the press,” but being that he
was sort of stuck there in the
planetarium, I was able to drag
out the details about Jim’s baby
son, Zachary, who was born
Nov. 4. Another of our regular
DC-area crew also has been busy
with a new baby: Alexis Gilman
and his wife Michele Buenafe
welcomed son Anson Javier on
Nov. 1. And from Jim Heyes’
former teammate Andrew Feller:
“Long-time listener, first-time
caller. I’m still in DC, working
for the SEC, where I’ve been for
a little more than four years.
2011 was a big year for me—I
got married in May, and my
wife Kathy and I welcomed a
daughter in October. She was
actually born on Oct. 17, so
she shares a birthday with her
dad—best birthday present
ever! We’re part of a nice little
WUFO baby crew, along with
Jim Heyes and his wife Julie,
whose second son was born in
November, and Lyn and Anne
(Bilby) Debevoise ’98, whose
second child arrived in October.
We’re looking forward to taking
the little one to Williamstown
sometime this spring, should it
ever thaw.”
Anna (Cederberg) Heard
reported an eventful year. “We’ll
be doing Christmas in DC this
year, instead of the traditional
trip to Minnesota, where my
parents live. Miles, our older
son, turned 2 in November and
had fun eating chocolate cake.
He’s in love with his new toy
2½-year-old old Sean is potty
trained and going to Montessori
preschool with his big brother—
in the same classroom! They’re
both thrilled, and Mommy is
thrilled to have mornings to
herself to prep for tutoring/teaching. I’ve been teaching a high
school journalism class to six
homeschoolers. Some of them
have already been published on
patch.com!”
Perhaps inspired by her
attendance at reunion back in
June, perhaps drawn in by my
Katy Perry reference (all right,
I will let it go now), Kelly Beard
wrote in for the first time ever
with an update. “I am back in
the Bay State after many, many
years in Virginia. I’m beginning
work on an M.Div. at Andover
Newton Theological School and
living in Newton, not far from
my sister. It’s a great change, and
getting to go to my nephew’s
ballgames is certainly a factor!”
In November New Hampshire
resident Megan Farkas won “The
Future of Quilting” award at
the Houston International Quilt
Festival, “which is the biggest
and most prestigious quilt show
in the world. The award included
travel and hotel, so I got to go
to Houston and be a celebrity
for a week.” And Karen (Coyle)
Robinson is still living outside
Boston in Norwell, working
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Megan Farkas ’96 won The Future of Quilting award at the International
Quilt Festival in Houston in December. Her winning piece, Sakura I:
Hanaogi Views the Cherry Blossoms, also won Viewer's Choice at the
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.
hockey set. He also now has an
obsession with backhoes and
gorillas and a great little book
called Dino-Hockey. Kai, our
newest addition, is putting his
parents through the wringer, but
we’re hopeful that we’ll soon
be able to look back and say,
see how much you’ve changed?
I’m sort of looking for a job,
but really don’t want to start
working until April or May, so
that makes it a bit tricky. So for
now, hanging out with the boys
is my job, and an exhausting
one at that.” Holly (Hodgson)
Stephens wrote, “Susan Gillmor
and I went to see Kate Marquis
sing in her Christmas concert
with DC-area choir Choralis. It
was quite professional and fun,
and I had flashbacks to 1994-era
Elizabethans when they sang a
P.D.Q. Bach song. In other news,
and raising her three kids and
seeing Robin (Keller) Elliott, Porter
(Harris) May and me sometimes
but not as much as we moms
would like. “The boys (Jack,
7, and Aedan, 5) are playing
hockey, and it tends to take up
our weekends, but it has inspired
Libby (3) to get out on the ice
and try to skate—she can actually stand up and move a little
out there.” I am super impressed.
My fellow Sage B’er Meg
Barber also wrote in. “I did get
up to Williamstown this fall with
my husband and in-laws and I
showed them Sage B. So many
funny memories. This fall I got
involved with a political campaign here in Holyoke, Mass.,
and served as the volunteer coordinator for Alex Morse, who is
now our 22-year-old mayor-elect!
It was thrilling to be a part of the
CL ASS
NOTES
grassroots effort that brought
together people from all different
parts of this community. I have
so much hope for my city right
now. Just last week I bonded
with the new mayor by plunging
a toilet together. Nothing like
some early morning poop humor
to solidify a relationship!” Meg
also asked whether I had heard
from many of our co-entrymates.
Brings up a good point—where
are you guys? Kudos to regular
contributor Vanessa Wruble, but
other than that, where are you
guys—Polsby, Bruce, Josh Cohen?
Mitch Howell, our head class
agent, has encouraged a friendly
entry vs. entry competition for
contributions to the Alumni
Fund (BTW, keep those donations coming!), but how about a
news competition? Not based on
quality of course, but quantity/
participation rate. What say you,
’96ers? OK, gotta run. I’m off to
a Katy Perry concert.
1997
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Bahia Ramos Synnott
5 South Elliott Place, B
Brooklyn, NY 11217
As to be expected, the Class of
1997 is all over the map, doing
great things…
On the West Coast: Norm
Anderson writes, “I'm still living
in LA, working as supervising
producer on a new show for
Spike TV and developing some
feature film projects, including one set in the beautiful
Berkshires. Actually tied the knot
on 8-9-10 in a ceremony where
we sang and danced down the
aisle and had circus performers
entertain the guests.”
Beverly Grossman Palmer is also
in the LA area, practicing law
and parenting two young boys,
Tobin and Emmet. She writes,
“We love it here. We live less
than a mile from the beach and
are there regularly. Our boys
will surely surf before they know
how to ski at this rate.”
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
“All is well here in sunny LA.
Just had another daughter—
Saskia, who has a sleep ‘allergy.’
I was told by the preschool that
our older daughter is ‘quite
independent,’ which apparently
is code for not listening to any
of her teachers. Busy directing
a bone and soft-tissue cancer
program for children, adolescents and young adults at UCLA
where I work very closely with
… Dr. Jeffrey Eckardt ’67, who is
now the chair of orthopedics at
UCLA,” writes Noah Federman.
Melanie Howard is practicing law at Loeb & Loeb LLP
in LA in the advanced media
and technology department.
She writes, “My husband R.J.
and I were blessed with a son
(Jackson Marquis) a year and
a half ago, and we are delighting in this crazy parenthood
journey. I am actively involved in
the microfinance sector in Haiti
sitting on the board of directors
of Fonkoze USA.” Melanie and
R.J. were planning a trip to Haiti
in April.
“I just came off of my first sabbatical, during which I completed
the first half of my manuscript
on contemporary sculpture made
out of string. I hope to run into
some Ephs at the upcoming CAA
meeting in LA,” says John Corso.
Susan Arico saw Dana Critchell
Beausang, a fellow Golden State
resident, over Thanksgiving
weekend. They swapped
pictures of their April babies.
Susan writes, “Mine, Matilda
Mae Arico, came fast enough
to become an accidental home
birth, delivered safely by my
husband moments before the
paramedics arrived. Keeping
things interesting with number
four.”
Julie Rapoport reports, “Bought
a house. I can only talk about
home repair, fruit trees and the
fun and excitement of tearing
down and rebuilding an entire
room. Tom Reid finally moved
to SF about a year ago, so I see
him more often. I also see Bonnie
Schulkin ’96, who also … bought
a house. For our summer vacation, we decided to hike the John
Muir Trail, which covers over
200 miles, most above 10,000
feet, and runs from Yosemite to
Mount Whitney. Eighteen days,
200 miles, 50,000 vertical feet,
one shower. Average backpack
weight: about 40 lbs.”
Jonathan Botts is doing a oneyear fellowship in orthopedic
sports medicine at the Kerlan
Jobe orthopedic clinic in LA.
His wife Evette and 21⁄2-year-old
daughter Isla love it out in LA.
Dave Vosburg, Kate (Hedden)
Vosburg ’98 and their three kids
all shaved their heads following
a family-wide episode of head
lice. Kate also reports, “Dave got
to see one of his Harvey Mudd
students get baptized, which was
a really great experience.”
Emily Eldredge is living in
Tucson, Ariz., now with her
sweetheart of three years, Paco.
She is diligently writing a book
about the emotional healing
technique she created called the
Drawing Out Process (www.
drawingoutprocess.com).
“Vy Bui Rossi here. … Working
for Kaiser and living the dream
in Denver with husband Adrian
’95 and Great Dane puppy.
Good wishes to all for Year of
the Dragon.”
“I work part time as a pediatric
nephrologist at Seattle Children's
hospital,” says Susan Halbach.
The rest of my time is spent as
a mom to my two cuties Larson
and Cora. We have just entered
kindergarten world this year, and
so far it's been a hoot!”
In the Dirty South… Eleanor
Driver Post says, “Taking care of
my three kids and continuing to
paint, mostly filling portrait commissions but doing some of my
own work as well. We bought a
house in Atlanta. It should keep
things interesting and put our
artist/architect creative skills to
the test. We had Kate Cardoza
Blackwell and baby Mika down
… in November, and Mika and
our baby Jackie had a great time
bonding and ‘chatting.’”
“Greetings from Decatur, Ga! I
am happily raising my two kids,
Madeleine, 41⁄2, and Sam, 21⁄2.
They are both at a cooperative
preschool, which keeps me pretty
busy. I also am working on
legislation that seeks insurance
coverage in Georgia for medical foods used to treat certain
metabolic and GI disorders. …
I’m learning how to brew beer,”
writes Christine Soares Cox.
“I'm loving my position as
the Buddhist chaplain at Duke
University and have become
increasingly busy as the minister
for the Buddhist Families of
Durham (BFD),” writes Sumi
Kim.
New York gets its own
category… (You can take me out
of NY, but that doesn’t mean
I don’t love the place.) “The
New York Times published a
documentary I wrote, directed,
edited and narrated on the life
and death of NHL hockey fighter
Derek Boogaard, who was found
n 1 9 9 6 –9 7
to have CTE, a degenerative
brain disease caused by repeated
head traumas that has also been
found in professional football
players and boxers. The piece
investigated the brutal culture
of fighting in hockey and the
growing science of concussions.
The piece was a collaborative
effort with a sports reporter and
photographer and jumpstarted
the conversation about violence
in hockey. Over the holidays, I
headed to the Mekong Delta in
South Vietnam as a volunteer
with Habitat for Humanity,”
says Shayla Harris.
Ian Synnott is enjoying Ft.
Greene, Brooklyn, and investment management out of Rock
Center. “I was recently in
London, where I stayed with Kurt
Knuppel and Johan Kongsli ’98,
in from Oslo, who is doing well.
Over the holidays and into the
New Year, I caught up with Jenny
Keane and Jim Stanton in NYC at
a pickle contest and bon voyage.
Jenny was just back from a bike
tour in New Zealand, and Jim
is enjoying his new(ish) job in
Stamford. I also saw Seth Morgan
and Shayla Harris.”
David Turner is playing Harry
Connick Jr.’s psychiatric patient
in the Broadway musical On a
Clear Day You Can See Forever.
“Everyone asks if he really kisses
me as the lights fade in Act I. But
I’ll never tell! Matthew Swanson,
Christian Vainieri, Kenny Harmon,
Penn Clarke ’96, Matt Alsdorf ’96,
Matt Rouse and my Williams
B entry mates have all come to
support me!” Maria Plantilla got
to go backstage to David’s dressing room. “It was so lovely to
celebrate his success with him,”
she writes.
“I’m living in Manhattan with
my wife Radhika, daughter
Ashima and son Santosh. I still
work at KBW in investment
banking, covering insurance
companies. I recently saw Peter
Sinclair, who was interviewing
for his new marketing position at
ScoreBig, and Joshua Tripp, who
was also in town for work and
hosted me for burgers, beer and
a very healthy side of steamed
broccoli,” reports Seth Bair.
“I have two daughters, Alison
and Lauren. I am still traveling
between NYC and DC during
the week, working as an advisor
for U.S. EPA Administrator
Lisa Jackson. My wife and
daughters have been troopers
during the past 2-and-a-half
years. While it has been difficult
being away from my family so
frequently, it has been a truly
amazing experience, and it is
still difficult for me to fathom
that there are less than 4,000
political appointees in place to
direct policy for the president.
I am proud of our accomplishments. I periodically see Ephs
in and around DC, including
Alex Steinberg Barrage,” submits
Charles Imohiosen.
Noah Harlan’s daughter
Mazhira Dahlia Harlan—who
goes by Mazzy—was born on
Christmas Day. In February, the
latest film he produced, Return,
premiered in theaters and on
iTunes/VOD. It was a Williams
project in many ways, directed
by professor Liza Johnson ’92,
produced by Noah, starring
Byron Wetzel's client Michael
Shannon, photography direction
by Anne Etheridge ’92 and coproduced by Charlie Birns ’09.
“Eric Watson here. Living
in New Paltz, N.Y., and still
coaching soccer at Utica College.
My wife Paola Gentry ’98 is
working at Vassar College in
their admission office. Aracely,
9, and Oliver, 6, are keeping us
very busy.”
Edging on over to the Tri-State
Area… “My wife Michelle and
I welcomed the birth of our first
child, Chloe Jane Hyland. Born
Jan. 5 @ 4:28 a.m. We are now
living in Wilton, Conn. I’m still
with NBC Sports, primarily producing football, horse racing and
Olympics,” reports Rob Hyland.
Jess Bongiorno says, “My
daughter Mia Rose Bjorkedal
was born July 29. She is already
displaying a great deal of my
late Grandma Rose’s spunky
personality! … I am still enjoying
my career in reinsurance, heading up property underwriting
for Arch Re in Morristown, N.J.
My husband Nik and I live five
minutes away from my office
with Mia and her ‘big sister,’
Harper, our Boston terrier. We
see a lot of Seth Morgan, since
he is married to my sister, and he
and Nik share a love for drinking
grappa and playing cribbage.
… We spent some time with
Martha (Folley) Bullock, Bevin
Brennan, Nancy Lee and George
and Kari (Lampka) Watson at our
backyard pig roast/baby shower.
I met up with Bevin, Rosie Rubin
and Jawad and Colette Haider
to see David Turner in his new
Broadway show.”
Massachusetts has earned its
own category as well… Matthew
Swanson writes, “Robbi and
I welcomed our third child, a
little boy named August. Our
latest book, Build Your Own
President: 2012, is an interactive game that was featured on
BoingBoing.net and rattled the
interwebs on New Hampshire
primary day. … It can be found
at www.idiotsbooks.com/buildyourownpresident. We're on the
verge of launching a small press
that publishes children's books.”
“Enjoying life in Somerville,
Mass., with our daughter Violet,
who has recently started walking and thinks she's absolutely
unstoppable,” writes Jardayna
Werlin Laurent.
Michel Ohly reports, “Derek
is still working to slingshot his
custom bra company, Zyrra,
to startup fame and success.
I’m home with the kiddos, now
2 and 4. I am contemplating
re-entering the work force as
a middle school math teacher,
hoping to pass the Mass. teacher
exams this winter/spring. We just
moved to a new house, which we
love. We did spend New Year's
weekend with Kay Kamiyama
and Josh Pierson, with their baby
Leena, and Adam Nesbit. It was
like old times, except our poker
skills are now rusty, we drink
less, go to bed early and get up a
lot earlier the next day.”
“I’m still living in the
Berkshires, eight years now. I just
passed my PhD comps at UMass
in comparative literature, and
I'm currently teaching a Winter
Study at Williams—an introduction to Old Irish, sponsored
by the Classics. The next few
months for me will be about dissertation and beginning to look
for a permanent academic job
here in the Berkshires or within
commuting distance,” says
Shannon Farley.
Hilary Hutchinson writes, “I am
emerging from the first year of
life with a second kiddo, (Abigail
Katherine Hutchinson, born
1/10/11). I still work at Google
in Boston and love it. Williams is
still representing against all the
Stanford and MIT alums here—
Iein Valdez, Max Ross and DeWitt
Clinton among them. … I keep
up with Arch Handel and Emily
Manus in the Boston area.”
“All is well in Boston. My husband JF and I are having a great
time with our 10-month-old
Cordelia. We try to have regular
play dates with Ellie Sosnovik
(daughter of Debbie Goldstein)
and Caleb Ginsberg (son of Steve
Ginsberg ’96). We’re hoping
that they all become fast friends.
I’m still practicing landscape
architecture but have reduced
my hours post-baby,” says Gigi
Saltonstall.
CL ASS
NOTES
Last year Annaliese Beery (plus
husband David and toddler
Ronan) left sunny California for
a neuroscience faculty position at
Smith College. They now live in
Northampton, Mass.
Kate Boyle Ramsdell writes,
“Jamie and I kicked off 2012
with the arrival of Whitman
(Whit) Boyle Ramsdell! He was
born early in the morning on
Dec. 27. What a love he is.”
And in other New England hot
spots… “Our third daughter,
Georgia, was born last March. In
June, we moved from Berkeley,
Calif., back to a small, cold,
northeastern liberal arts college
town: Middlebury, Vt., where my
husband landed a post-PhD job
teaching economics. I’m feeling
a lot of Williams deja-vu, except
that now I’m seeing things from
the vantage point of the professors. … Already had some fun
visits this fall from Maria Plantilla
and Kristin Hem,” contributes
Faith Cinquegrana Gong.
Susan Costanzo writes, “In
2009 I left Best Buy with the
help of a severance package that
I voluntarily accepted prior to
Best Buy’s round of involuntary
layoffs. I visited Frank Vigorito
in Gato Morto, Spain, in the
Galician region. The highlight
was when Frank and I drove to
Braga, Portugal, to go skydiving!
We're both afraid of heights, so
it was an exercise in overcoming
fear. I’ve dabbled in modeling and acting and working
with certain photographers in
Minneapolis. It makes for some
great Facebook profile pictures,
I'll admit.
“I now work with FICO in the
Marketing Solutions division. We
serve the retail and CPG industries. My client is also my former
employer—Best Buy.
“I recently returned from a trip
to London where I said goodbye
to 2011 and hello to 2012. Other
recent travels include a trip to
China this past summer, where
I met up with Adam Nowak ’95,
my former JA, in Shanghai for a
weekend. I then took the bullet
train to Nanjing.”
Kate Ramsdell and I have been
working together for about
a year and a half leading the
agent team raising funds for the
Alumni Fund.
A brief stop in our nation’s
capital… Alex Steinberg Barrage
and Mike Tae have been lunching
at various eateries around the
Treasury building, rekindling the
lazy days in Baxter where Alex
and Amina Abrahams laughed
with Mike. Alex writes, “I’m
still running. Two kids later and
somehow I’m faster. So many
pluses to enduring childbirth!”
Jonah Wittkamper ran into
Dahna Goldstein at a congressional event on philanthropy in
November. “She and I now run
in similar circles, linking technology and giving. … I was playing
in my front yard with my boys
when Eli Boritz randomly walked
by with his dogs. We have been
living near each other for over
four years and just discovered it.
… He’s now working at NIH. I
saw Dana Mason. … She’s also
working in a similar field—
bridge-building and mediation. She’s a new mom, too. I
exchanged holiday text messages
with Josh Solomon. I’ve been in
touch with Francisco Alarcon.
We will someday go cave diving
together,” writes Jonah.
Last April Cora Ganzglass quit
her job as legislative director at
a consumer protection nonprofit
to hike the Appalachian Trail.
She writes, “My boyfriend and
I started April 7, 2011, down at
Springer Mountain in Georgia.
Over six months we hiked north
through 14 states, approximately
2,100 miles, seeing lots of Ephs
along the way. I got to meet up
with Julie Weed ’96, Emily Eakin
’99, Gina Coleman ’90, Cammie
Barrow and Michel and Derek
Ohly. I also met along the trail
another Williams through-hiker,
Krystal Williams ’96. On Sept. 30
we reached the northern terminus of the AT, Mount Katahdin.
Since then we have returned
home to the DC area and are
slowly adjusting back to the real
world.”
Bob Feit writes, “My wife
Preethy and I are the proud new
parents of Nathan Ram Feit,
who was born on Oct. 27. The
little guy is doing well and shows
some promise of being a ‘starter’
baby. He has already been visited
by Chetan Rao ’97, Ron Alcala
’97, Lenny Alfred ’98, and David
Galaty ’98, who are all doing
well.”
And all the places in between
and abroad… Laura Christensen
Guthrie submits, “Trent and I
are enjoying life in Michigan.
Our son Quinn, 2, is too fun for
words. I quit my job about a year
ago to concentrate on Quinn and
all the life stuff that needs to be
done. Trent continues to enjoy
his work as an orthopedic trauma
surgeon in Detroit at Henry Ford
hospital. We bought a house in
the nearby city of Northville …
and are working on plans for
renovations before we move in.”
Jennifer Feighner and husband
welcomed their third child, Julia,
in October. “She is a wonderfully
sweet newborn, and her older siblings are enjoying her as well. Life
continues to be good to us in the
Bitterroot Valley of Montana-—
we are building a house on 61
acres we have christened Skyfire
Ranch, and I was able to start up
our hospital medicine program
full time, with the recruitment of
three additional hospitalists,” she
writes.
Dylan and Harriet (Greenwood)
Ragozin and Charlotte and Isla
left the Bay Area for a one-year
stint in Basel, Switzerland. Dylan
works for Genentech, which was
purchased by Roche, and he is
there leading a project related
to the integration of the two
companies. Harriet is taking a
year off from work and enjoying
being a stay-at-home mom. They
spend their free time traveling as
much as they can; so far, they’ve
explored Switzerland, France,
Germany, Croatia and Israel.
Guillermo de las Casas writes to
us from the 90th floor of a hotel
building in Shanghai. “I will be
glad to be done with a month
and a half of traveling for work
and vacation around Europe,
South America and Asia. Have
just rented my new home in
Hong Kong. I really hope to be
the host to some of my Williams
classmates during my stay here!”
Sam Sommers contributes, “I
just published my first book,
entitled Situations Matter:
Understanding How the Context
Transforms Your World. It’s a
behavioral science book written
for a general audience, and I’ve
spent time promoting it on local
radio, NPR, MSNBC and on-line
(more details at www.samsommers.com). Marilyn and the girls
are well.”
David Monoky and I celebrated
our Second Annual Art Basel
Miami Random Sighting in
December. He is enjoying his
career as a doctor in NYC, and
we reveled in the pleasant Miami
winter weather. Matt Rouse and
I shared some delicious BBQ in
Atlanta on a quick stop over.
And now a word from our
president… Seth Morgan writes,
“It’s not too early for people
to contact Hallie D’Agruma to
help with reunion. She is really
working hard to make it a good
time for everyone and could use
the help.”
Biggest Takeaway: Come to
reunion. Help with reunion See
you in June, for the big 1-5. Until
then, be well and enjoy life! xoB
n 1 9 9 7 –9 8
1998
Andrea Stanton
734 St. Paul St.
Denver, CO 80206
Hello, all, and happy 2012
from Denver! Several 1998ers
wrote in with news about how
they finished 2011 or are starting 2012—lots of great stuff all
around, including a few first-time
updates. I’m going to try another
regional division, so…
Starting off on the East Coast,
Andrew Fagenholz writes that
daughter Ruby arrived in
October, joining older sister
Viola, 2. They live in Boston,
and Andrew describes himself as:
“Slogging away at a mega law
firm as of this writing, so work
and family occupy all hours.”
He notes that Evan Hornbuckle
’99 was his “go-to tennis partner
on the local public court” but
that Evan recently moved away.
If you’re in Boston and like
tennis, you might get in touch
with Andrew. Diana Villamarin
writes from Connecticut that
she married Carl Solazzo on
Nov. 21. The newlyweds spent
the holidays with her family,
including Anamaria Villamarin
’95 and Tim Lupin ’93, where she
was also able to spend time with
goddaughter Isabella Tarantino
(daughter of Ken Tarantino ’97).
Back in Boston again, Peter
Robinson writes that he, wife
Liz and daughter Millie had
a great year. “We managed to
meet up with Aaron Kammerer
and his family regularly,” he
writes, “most recently for my
birthday, where we made a
hasty retreat from the restaurant
because, well … our kids are 2
years old.” They also ran into
Whit Growdon, whose children
attend the same nursery school.
Family adventures included
putting Millie on skis (a hit!)
and ice skates (deemed “scary”),
while Pete joined the board of
a local charity, CYCLEKids,
“which is fighting childhood
obesity through putting bike and
nutritional programs into urban
schools.” Meanwhile, he adds,
“I am happy to report that my
company has officially matured
out of the toddler stage.” Lauren
(Guth) Barnes writes that she and
husband Tony are doing well, and
that daughter Ariadne, 7 months,
is “crawling and pulling up on
anything she can get her hands
on,” which Lauren describes as
“both thrilling and terrifying.”
They recently spent a weekend
in Washington, where Lauren
was sworn in to the Supreme
Court Bar and heard oral
arguments for a case involving
the EPA. “Ariadne was a star
throughout,” she notes, adding:
“Like her dad, she can fall asleep
before the plane takes off and
not wake up until it lands.”
Lauren also notes that she and
Tony will be sad to say goodbye
to Abby (Fisher) Williamson and
family this summer, when they
move to Hartford for Abby’s
newly-accepted position as assistant professor of political science
and public policy at Trinity
College. “We’re sad to see them
leave Boston,” she says, “but
we’re thrilled for her.”
Writing from our nation’s
capital, Rob Watkins notes that
he and his wife welcomed a
son, Aire Furio, in late July. Sam
Young writes that he attended the
Iceland Airwaves Music Festival
in October, a few days after running the Army Ten Miler—“my
first big distance race,” he
notes. Sam adds: “I’m training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA
Half Marathon in March and
taking a class on the taxation of
financial instruments”—which he
describes as a conversation ender.
Micaela Coady writes from New
York that she and Kate (Genung)
Taylor and their families enjoyed
a “lovely” dinner at the Taylors’
over the holidays. “Kate’s two
daughters as well as my daughter
were luckily asleep,” she says,
“so the four of us could really
live it up.” They’re planning
another “somewhere on the
East Coast get-together” with
Liz (Mills) and Chris Little, Britta
(Beenhakker) Mullany, Kai Collins,
Erica Bollerud and Katie Schultz
but note that “our group now
includes over a dozen adults and
eight kids, so it’s a challenge to
find a house large enough to hold
us all.” Jonathan (J.O.) Oakman
writes from South Carolina to
say: “All is well in 70-degree
Charleston.” He adds: “The
weather is great for the kids to
play outside, but I do miss snow
and pulling on a heavy coat
every once in a while!”
From the West Coast comes
some of the most interesting
travel news of this update.
Ned Sahin and wife Nicole are
traveling the world for a year
while she works on a book, Ned
“writes up my scientific papers
and grants,” and they work
together on a startup. We look
forward to future updates! Jim
Ying writes that he and his wife
spent Christmas Eve welcoming
new daughter Harper, who joins
son Miles, 20 months. “She’ll
inevitably be getting those
combined birthday/Christmas
presents,” he writes. After several
years in Seattle, Jim is now in
San Francisco, working at a
social gaming startup. They live
in Millbrae, but he says: “We’ll
probably be headed back up
the coast pretty regularly, since
we have family in the Seattle
area.” Brad Johnston writes that
he spent Thanksgiving at Sally
and Chris Bell’s house, where he
found an Amherst alum among
the guests—although one, he
notes, who brought “delicious”
contributions to the potluck.
Chris in turn adds that he and
Sally have been “expanding my
life-long vegetarian palate by
sampling freshly caught oysters
in, logically, Oysterville, Wash.”
Giving up on the low snow levels
across the U.S., they headed
up to British Columbia for a
week of Nordic and telemark
skiing, which Chris described
as “getting our Norwegian
on.” Finally, Evelyn Spence
has rejoined the ranks of West
Coasters, having returned to
Seattle from Brooklyn. She’s still
traveling, though: “I spent New
Year’s at Mount Rainier with
Honora Englander,” she writes,
“and now I’m off to Mongolia
and South Korea to write about
skiing in Asia!”
Moving overseas: Our woman
in Brazil, Thais Mariz de Oliveira,
writes that she is currently on
maternity leave from her work
as a headhunter with Heidrick
& Struggles, having given birth
to daughter Catarina in October.
Catarina joins son Caique, 4, and
Thais reports that she is “loving
every minute” of her leave.
She adds: “I had a VIP visitor
come in for a quick visit to meet
Catarina: Carlos Arnaiz was
here for a couple of hours with
Nacho (Jose-Ignacio Palma). Even
though it was too quick,” she
says, “it was absolutely amazing
to reunite.” And, she concludes,
she’ll be in Williamstown for
our 15th reunion. Another
1998er abroad is Reed Lindsay,
who is working as a freelance
journalist and documentary filmmaker in Cairo. After covering
the Egyptian revolution with
partner Jihan Hafiz, “we later
covered the Libyan rebellion and
did a documentary film called
Benghazi Rising.” They returned
to Egypt in October, and Reed
now contributes to the Real
News Network.
I hope that the year ahead
CL ASS
NOTES
brings many good things for all
of you—whether with family
or friends, at work or at home,
in the U.S. or abroad. I spent
the past two months bouncing
between presentations at four
academic conferences and a
faculty exchange in Vienna—so
I’m looking forward to spending
at least the first couple months of
2012 in Denver! If your travels
bring you to Colorado, please let
me know.
1999
Erik Holmes
915 East Mayfair Ave.
Orange, CA 92867
Nat White
11 Interlaken Road
P.O. Box 800
Lakeville, CT 06039
Well, we’re halfway between
our 10th and 15th reunions
(closer to 15 by the time you
read this), and it’s shaping up to
have a slightly different flavor.
The biggest news flowing in
remains new arrivals; we have
a lot to report this time around,
and more on the way.
Rochester, N.Y., doctor Colby
(Hunter-Thompson) Previte has
used the July arrival of her
daughter Ainsley Madeline
Hunter Previte to simplify
her life; as she returned from
maternity leave, Colby switched
from working in three hospitals
to one. In addition to operating
and doing obstetrics, Colby is the
medical director of the OB/GYN
residency clinic at her community hospital, and she runs the
women’s health curriculum at the
medical school; she has gotten to
see and work with several Ephs
in her latter two roles. Colby,
Greg, Ainsley and 5-year-old
Carter also get to enjoy the
newfound proximity of Colby’s
sisters Kristin Hunter-Thomson ’03
(and her husband Malin Pinsky
SENDPHOTOS
W
’03) and Whitney Hunter-Thomson
’07. Milwaukee-based Tim
Stoddard and Emily Gillmar ’00
welcomed Emma Ruth Stoddard
into the world on Sept. 17.
Emma arrived as Tim continues
his progress toward being a fullfledged MD and Emily uses her
architectural talents to improve
their condo.
Back in Brooklyn, Ted Mann
and his wife Suzanne Miazga
celebrated the birth of Leonardo
Francis Miazga Mann on Sept.
30. When they are not playing
with Leo, Ted is an assistant
curator at the Guggenheim
Museum, and Suzanne is a high
school art teacher. Ted is also
working toward a PhD in art history at the Institute of Fine Arts,
NYU. A scant four days later in
Boston, on Oct. 2, Dan Pozen and
Heather Garni welcomed their
second child, daughter Tess Willa
Pozen. Tess joins big brother
Evan, 3, and she has already
met Dave Willett, Courtney
Stokes Willett, Mike Johnson
and Danielle Kunian Wallis. Also
in Boston, Imelda (Ramirez)
and John Berry-Candelario
welcomed their second child,
Maya Ideliz Berry-Candelario,
on Oct. 23. On the other coast,
Leo Eisenman was born on
Oct. 26 in greater LA. He was
welcomed home by proud papa
Ian Eisenman, mom Ariane Verdy
and 2-year-old big sister Maya
Verdy Eisenman. Leo made it
in time to dress up as a cat for
Halloween. Ian has finished his
postdoc and has taken a job
farther south in California, as an
assistant professor at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, so
you can find them now in San
Diego.
We return to the East Coast
for our next few new arrivals.
On Nov. 6, New Yorker Taylor
Smith and his wife Ana Aguilar
welcomed Lucia Elizabeth Smith
into the world. They are doing
well, and 2-year-old Natalie
is enjoying life as a big sister
so far. Chris Rodriguez and his
family moved back to his home
state of New Jersey in July,
when Chris started working as
a policy advisor on homeland
security to N.J. governor Chris
Christie. On Nov. 11, Josephine
Amanda Rodriguez was born
in Princeton. Chris, Amanda,
Josephine and 2-year-old
Julianna are all enjoying the
proximity of Chris’ sister Joanna,
her husband Rik Dugan ’98 and
their children Isabella, 7, and
Roderik, 4. In New Paltz, N.Y.,
Marie Glancy O’Shea and her
husband Colm O’Shea welcomed
daughter Sufi Zoom O’Shea on
Nov. 14. Marie’s take on the
arrival: “When I was in labor we
went to see Melancholia, Lars
Von Trier’s film about the end of
the world, and that’s when the
contractions finally kicked into
gear. After the credits rolled we
walked straight from the cinema
to the hospital, where we said
goodbye to our own old world
and entered a new one.” Back in
N.J., Matt and Kathleen Higgins
Sigrist continued to expand
their family with the arrival
of Elizabeth Higgins Sigrist,
nicknamed Ginny, on Dec. 15.
Her sisters Katie and Anna
were thoroughly excited by the
early Christmas gift, and Matt
is now totally outnumbered. We
conclude this section of births
back in Southern California,
with my co-secretary Erik Holmes
and his wife Shannon Reid
welcoming their first, Declan
Timothy Holmes, on Jan. 6. Erik
reports that all are doing well. I
know we’ll have more births to
announce by the next round of
notes, including several that will
just miss my deadline for these
notes, others that will push up
against the next deadline and
probably some in between.
In addition to babies, our
class continues to expand by
marriage. Kelley Powell married
Doug Welsh on Oct. 28 at Swan
Harbor Farm in Maryland.
Kelley is thrilled, and she has the
distinction of having the only
wedding reported in this round
of notes.
We have writers! In addition
to those whose work is seen in
popular culture, like Rachel Axler,
and the many of our classmates
who publish academic papers,
Roosevelt Bowman got a mention in The Wall Street Journal
(and elsewhere) for his article
examining the decline of the U.S.
dollar. Dayna (Kaufman) Lorentz
has four books coming out in the
spring: her Dogs of the Drowned
City trilogy is being published
by Scholastic in April, May and
June; and the first book in her
young adult trilogy No Safety in
Numbers will be published by
Dial Books for Young Readers in
May. Dayna is enjoying being a
mom and living in Vermont with
Jason Lorentz ’96.
We now shift from those
with good reason to stay at
home to those on the move to
new homes. Marina (Gisquet)
Knight, her husband Chip ’08
and son Cedar have moved to
Hanover, N.H., where Chip
n 1 9 9 8 –9 9
coaches the Dartmouth women’s
alpine ski team. Marina works
for a nonprofit called the T2
Foundation, which provides
financial support to elite athletes
and connects them with youth.
Marina and Chip are looking
forward to teaching Cedar how
to ski at the Dartmouth Skiway.
After 10 years in Cambridge
and Somerville, Mike Heep and
his girlfriend Ayesha Fuentes
’03 moved to Santa Monica in
September. Ayesha is a graduate
student, and Mike continues to
work remotely for PG Calc, a
company specializing in planned
giving software and services.
Mike is loving the year-round
farmers’ markets, restaurants
and hiking so far, and he enjoys
having Meg (Randall) and Eddie
Park ’98 right around the corner.
Austin Chang had a number of
big moves to report, including
his own. The company Austin
founded in 2010 was acquired
by Google in August, and
Austin moved from NYC to San
Francisco to join Google+. Snehal
Patel was a part of Austin’s
company, and he also moved to
SF to join Google. Austin also
reported on Albert Dang’s move
back from Hong Kong to SF,
where he works at Frog Design.
Portland resident Neelay Shah
brought his wife and two kids
to San Francisco to visit Albert
and Austin. A much smallerscale move happened in the DC
area, where Eric Soskin and his
wife Miran moved from their
apartment into a much larger
suburban house, where they are
looking forward to hosting many
visitors. They’re off to a good
start, having been visited by John
Rivera-Dirks and his wife Sheila
on the weekend they moved in.
Shortly after that, Zack Mully,
Reggie Hall ’98, Haynes Cooney
’00, Liza Murcia ’00 and Joel Iams
’01 dropped by for a housewarming cookout. Eric had lots of
other Williams encounters, too.
He coxed for the Williams ’81
eight at the Head of the Charles
in October, and in November he
and Miran went to San Francisco
to visit Will Slocum and his wife
Zoe and son Rory. While there,
they joined Jason Langheier ’00
for the 2011 Painted Turtle charity benefit. Somehow both Eric
and Will found clothes that fit
in Jason’s closet. Eric also made
an appearance at the Palo Alto
telecast of the Williams-Amherst
game, where he got to hang out
with Leigh Winter Martin.
There may be more moves
coming soon, as several
classmates are finishing current
work and looking for new
opportunities. Cleveland resident
Christina Williams is halfway
through her trauma/surgical
care fellowship, and she reports
that she is finally searching for a
“real” job. Astrophysicist Laura
Brenneman is on the academic
job hunt and finding positions in
short supply. She has managed
to build her résumé by giving a
few lectures at Williams at the
invitation of Prof. Jay Pasachoff.
Laura reports that the alumnae soccer game this year was
enjoyed by all participants, and
she’s enjoyed the opportunity
to pick up Williams gear for her
son Luke. Both Laura and her
partner Kathy have been traveling too much for work, but they
really enjoy their downtime at
home with Luke. All of Laura’s
athletic activities have caught
up with her; she’ll miss most of
2012 recovering from Tommy
John surgery. Environmental
engineer Andrew Henderson is
also on the academic job hunt.
He managed to schedule a great
trip from Ann Arbor to the East
Coast in the fall; he visited with
Nilesh Kansagra in New Jersey,
staying long enough to compete
in a Tough Mudder race. Andrew
then presented at a conference in
Boston for a week, before spending the weekend visiting with me,
Julie Rusczek and our son Jasper.
Julie and Jasper recently met up
with Becky Logue-Conroy, her
husband Chris Conroy and their
twins Maeve and Meiris at the
Curious George exhibit at the
Norman Rockwell Museum in
Stockbridge, Mass. Becky earned
her master’s in social work in
August, and she has enjoyed time
“between careers” with her family. Chris, a baseball umpire, is
home for the winter, and they’re
having lots of fun together
as a family. They went to the
Princeton, N.J., tree lighting ceremony with Anazette (Williams)
Ray and her daughter Addison,
and they drove by Emily Eakin’s
very well-decorated house. Becky
drew a nice comparison between
Emily’s decorations and those
of Clark Griswold. Anazette
has also seen Rebecca (Krause)
Missonis a few times, including
during the Williams-Amherst
telecast, also attended by Kyra
Williams ’98, and at Rebecca’s
Christmas party. Rebecca lives
and teaches history at The
George School.
Some of you have been all over
the world visiting classmates.
Roxann (Smerechniak) Blasz
headed to Europe for work, and
she managed to meet up with
Jenny (Walsh) Singer in London.
During their visit, they also
connected with Leticia SmithEvans by phone, and they shut
the place down while catching
up over dinner and drinks. Jen
Hurley and her family traveled
to Oaxaca, Mexico, in early
November, where they met up
with Sarah Connolly ’00 and her
husband and baby daughter at
the wedding of their mutual high
school friend, Leslie Anderson,
to Simon Maloy ’03. Jen and her
family are doing well in Butte,
Mont., where their grocery store
is starting to make a name for
itself. When she’s not chasing
after her two kids or working on
the family businesses or exploring the outdoors, Jen still dabbles
as a part-time appellate defender.
Rich von Bargen and his wife
Suela ’00 took a trip to Arizona
in November to visit with
Aram Maradian ’97 and Tyson
Matsumoto, who was in from
LA. They all watched the telecast
together, among other activities.
Rich and Suela also traveled
to New Orleans for an Alumni
Fund Vice Chairs meeting and
enjoyed some great jazz on a
tour led by Tom Piazza ’76. Liz
Claflin Wyderko brought her family to Portland for her brother’s
wedding. While there, she got to
catch up with Fran Monga and
Jon Baldivieso and their kids. Liz
learned an unfortunate lesson
about mixing stomach flu, air
travel and toddlers. Liz continues
to work as a dentist, and she
loves her role as mom to Zach
and Leah.
Last word this time around
goes to Dan Nehmad, who
continues his impressive recovery
from a massive car accident 10
years ago in Moscow. Dan has
been tutoring a woman from
Siberia in English, working as
a writing tutor at Rutgers and
working at a Wegmans grocery
store. Dan is making tremendous
progress and hoping to be able
to continue on to some sort of
graduate work, in a field to be
determined.
It’s a busy time for the Class of
’99; stay well, and keep the news
coming.
SENDNEWS!
our class secretary is waiting to
Yhear from you! Send news to
your secretary at the address at the
top of your class notes column.
CL ASS
NOTES
2000
Jon Pearson
129 Franklin St., Apt. 218
Cambridge, MA 02139
Despite the fact that you’re
likely reading this in early spring,
I’m going to start this edition by
wishing all of you a Happy New
Year, because as I type this up on
a cold day in January it still very
much feels like the new year to
me. One of my resolutions this
year is to start submitting my
notes on time (the editors will
believe it when they see it), so
let’s get on with the show:
Steve Kim and his wife Susie
moved to Atlanta in summer
2010 and are enjoying the
Southern life. He’s in practice as
an orthopedic surgeon and finds
it very gratifying. He is also, by
the way, extremely generous
about giving medical advice to
friends on request. Steve and
Susie are the proud parents of a
beautiful little girl, Brynn Susanne
Kim, born June 28, 2011. Steve
says, “She’s definitely Daddy’s
little girl, and life has definitely
not been the same since.”
Melissa (Vecchio) ’01 and Don
Wood welcomed Tyler Franklin
Wood on Aug. 9, 2011. Vitals on
Tyler: 7 pounds, 7 ounces and,
according to his dad, very smiley
and pleasant. As luck would have
it, Tyler shares the same birthday
as his big brother Cameron; the
birthday parties will be wild
affairs. On the day he wrote his
update, Don had Robert and Jess
Adamo ’01 over to watch the
Giants game. Don continues to
work at Campbell’s Soup and
was eagerly anticipating a brand
switch to V8 Splash and some
work on the company’s Hispanic
beverage efforts.
Will Darrin and his wife Tracy
made a lot of big changes last
year. First and foremost was the
birth of their first child, daughter
Autumn Marie, born right on
her due date of Nov. 7. I was
fortunate enough to visit Autumn
in the hospital a day later and can
attest that, despite looking very
much like her father, the child is
beautiful. The second big change
for the Darrins was their move
from Boston to Marblehead,
Mass., last summer. They took
advantage of their new abode by
hosting Matt Levy, Anna Frantz,
Steve Roman, Becky Iwantsch and
me for a delightful New Year’s
Eve soiree.
If you’re not friends with Torie
Gorges on Facebook, you’re
missing one of the funniest,
most honest accounts out there
of what it’s like to be the parent
of young twins. Torie, Todd,
Andrew and Molly made a big
move cross-country in October;
they are now living in Northern
Virginia, just a bit outside of
DC. Torie works with SRI as an
education researcher. “Things
are going well in our new
home, and we’re getting used to
winter again after many years
in California. I do not, for the
record, highly recommend moving with one-and-a-half year-old
twins, but I DO recommend
the fantastic cooking of our
new sort-of neighbor, Cristina
Santiestevan, who kept us fed
for a week while we awaited the
arrival of our moving truck.” If
you live in the area, Torie would
love to get together with you.
Jennifer Kingsley started working at Johns Hopkins University
in a new academic program
called Museums and Society.
She assures us that “if it’s not
obvious to you what that means,
you’re not alone—defining how
we are not really museum studies
is about a quarter of my job.”
Working in Baltimore means
that Jen finally gets to live with
her husband after three years
of bouncing from university to
university. She adds: “Two-body
problem, I am glad to see the
back of you at least for the next
three years, ’til the grant runs
out...”
Raph Rosen knows what his
class secretary likes: “I just saw
a cool ferromagnetic sculpture at the New York Hall of
Science. I thought that was pretty
noteworthy.” Dan Mason takes a
page from Raph’s book with his
update: “Nothing’s really new
except that we bought a minivan,
which we call the Silver Bullet.
The irony is not lost on us.”
At the time of this writing, Paul
and Allison (Jacobs) Friedmann
and their daughter Maya had
just returned from a holiday trip
to Philadelphia to see family.
While they were there, Paul spent
some time with JA Anne Pitts
Londergan ’98 and her husband
Casey Londergan ’97 and their
two kids. Anne asked after former Sage A-ers and was curious
how everyone was doing. The
Friedmanns see my former colleague Andrew Cloutier as well as
Andrew Speck and Emily Simpson
Speck fairly regularly. Paul
writes, “Clouts and I recently ate
an absurd amount of junk food
at Five Guys, where I shamefully must say I was the worse
imbiber.” On occasion, Allison
and Paul also get to see Lauren
Krisko Sweatman and her brood,
and the couple continues to work
hard teaching at Brooke Charter
School in Roslindale, Mass., and
tell me that the excellent results
their kids have posted over the
past few years is the payoff for a
lot of hard work.
Lauren (Siegel) Applebaum
wishes you all a Happy New
Year, and what a happy new year
it is for her, with son Micah Zev
having arrived on Dec. 22. As I
read Lauren’s email, I thought
to myself that I’ve loved writing
class notes for almost a decade
because of stuff like this: “We are
all doing really well, including
big sister Liora. But does anyone
actually admit it if their older kid
is being a pill about it?” She adds
that the family is enjoying life in
Santa Monica. Mike Hickey wrote
about the arrival of his daughter,
Rory, news of which appeared
in the last class notes. I mention
it again because, well, why not,
and also because Mike was
kind enough this time to attach
a picture of the little one, who
is about as cute as they come.
Wrapping up the baby announcements this time are Phil Groth
and Abbey Eisenhower ’01, who
welcomed Henry Eisenhower
Groth into the world on Oct. 3.
Elise (Estes) Morgan had a
“wonderful” dinner over the
holidays with Becca Parkinson
and Ann Brophy. Becca is the
godmother of Elise’s daughter
Emily, and Ann is the godmother
of her son Erik. This reminds me
that none of my Williams friends
have yet trusted me with godparenting responsibilities, which
speaks to the wisdom of our
classmates. Little Emily enjoyed
a taste of skiing at Sugarloaf over
the holidays, “especially riding
the chair lift.” Elise also revealed
an exciting upcoming MLE that
I cannot mention if I wish to
avoid the considerable wrath of
my humorless, MLE-embargoing
editors. Whom I love. They’re
the best. Seriously.
Ruko Takeuchi Senseney has
taken advantage of social media
to reconnect with some former
classmates. Facebook allowed
her to reach out to friends in
San Francisco when she visited
with her two-year-old son Tyson,
which resulted in a long brunch
with Malana Willis and Sunshine
Wu ’99. LinkedIn helped Ruko
reconnect with her freshman-year
roommate Molly (Cummins) Scott,
and they managed to exchange
holiday cards this year. “So nice
n 2 0 0 0 –0 1
to get back in touch with these
friends,” Ruko writes. Also, after
having three kids, Ruko plans to
pursue an MBA this year.
Mya Fisher is a wonderfully
thorough updater. She reports
that she is in her final year of
grad school at University of
Wisconsin-Madison and is
spending the year working in the
Office of International Education
at Beloit College while writing her dissertation. She made
it back to NYC this fall after
a three-year absence to see the
production Step Show, written
and produced by our classmate
Maxine Lyle, at the New York
Musical Theater Festival. Over
Thanksgiving, she met up with
her former summer science tutor
Krystal Williams ’96 (who was
newly returned from hiking the
Appalachian Trail in its entirety)
for a 10-state, six-day road trip
beginning in the Quad Cities.
“A cell phone left in a Kentucky
hotel room, lots of songs from
musicals and favorite films,
winding roads of West Virginia,
the Bossypants audiobook read
by Tina Fey, driving by real cotton fields in Georgia and random
stops in Veedersburg, Ind., made
for an adventure worthy of
Williams folks.”
Mya spent New Year’s Eve at
the home of Sam Reed, “who
hosted a celebration complete
with Sam’s original tasty food
creations and a music soundtrack
worthy of a Rice House party!”
Also in attendance were Maxine
Lyle, Susan Asiyambi ’01 and
Vanessa Alvarez. Sam is back
in the DC area after receiving a fellowship to spend the
summer studying Spanish out
in California and taking a few
months off to work on various
writing projects. Maxine came
down from New Jersey, recently
returned from a three-week
collaborative choreography
and drill workshop in Ireland
with Soul Steps, the States’ first
professional Step company,
which she founded. Vanessa
was enjoying a holiday break
from her work as a medical
resident in New York. After the
New Year, Mya returned to the
Midwest and made her way up
to the Twin Cities, where she
took in the Japan Pop exhibit at
the Minneapolis Museum of Art
and spent a few days catching up
with Beth McCray ’98.
Taking us home this time is
Steve Roman, who, as you may
recall, only submits his updates
in bulleted lists. Since Williams
People does not, as far as I know,
print bulleted lists, this means
I typically have to turn Steve’s
PowerPoint-style “writing” into
actual prose. Not this time, however. For your enjoyment, I leave
you with Steve’s list, edited only
to remove the bullets and add
periods: “Gearing up for another
marathon with Drew Sutton
(LA Marathon in March 2012).
Visited New York with Becky
Iwantsch. Spent New Year’s
Eve with great friends, Matt
and Anna, our esteemed class
secretary and Will and Tracy
(with their beautiful daughter
Autumn). I’m happily surprised
that I was able to get Autumn
to fall asleep. Visited with Brad
Geddes and other friends on
New Year’s Day. Brad is enjoying
his new home and had a very
good Christmas with the family.
Also, on this visit I realized how
much I missed DD. I made sure
I had enough Boston Creme
doughnuts to hold me for at least
half the year. Six, I think. MLE
planning is ongoing, and I find
myself looking for more tastings
to enjoy. Think I can extend the
final OK just to squeeze in a few
more?”
2001
Liana Thompson
135 Pleasant St.
Richmond, ME 04357
The lag between submitting notes and reading them in
Williams People is striking to me
today. I’m sitting here in Maine
watching the snow fall as I write,
but I also know that by the time
this column is published there
will probably be crocuses coming
up. Happy spring!
Nifer (Knight) Hoehn wrote
in for the first time with news
of her marriage to Ramsey
Hoehn on May 14 of last year
in Waitsfield, Vt. Nifer’s sister
Heidi (Knight) Brackenridge ’86,
her brother Chip Knight ’08 and
her sister-in-law Marina (Gisquet)
Knight ’99 were all in the wedding party. Also in attendance at
the wedding were her brother-inlaw Alec Brackenridge ’85, Heidi
and Alec’s daughter Lexie, who’s
been accepted into Williams’
class of 2016, and Kate (Flynn)
Grant and Tom Grant, both ’00.
Erin Troy married Ming Tung
on Oct. 1 in Boston. Erin
reports that she brought Ming
up to Williams for the biology
research reunion, and everyone’s
first question was if he was a
Williams grad. (He’s not.)
Moving from weddings to
babies, Mike Schloat and his wife
welcomed Macrae Ross Schloat
on Sept. 22. Mike reports that
Macrae had a great first three
months getting to know his older
brother Carter and hanging out
quite a bit with Katie (Bishop)
Calhoun’s ’00 three kids. (Mike
and Katie are both at Deerfield.)
In October Julia Goren
ventured from her home in
the Adirondacks, where she
coordinates an alpine stewardship program, back to the Purple
Valley to visit Elena Traister, her
husband and the newest member
of Elena’s family, Solomon Davis
Buddington. Julia reports that
Sol is a beautiful, healthy boy
who is already showing his musical inclination, and that Elena is
teaching environmental studies at
Mass College of Liberal Arts.
Allyson Rothberg and her husband welcomed their first child,
Noa Abigail Gelbord, on Nov.
20. Just two days later, Sarah
Rutledge-Crump and her husband
had their second child, Louisa
Lucia Crump, on Nov. 22. Sarah
reports that newborns are significantly easier than 2-year-olds,
but that their son Henry is being
an excellent big brother. Sarah
also shared the news that Kathryn
Dingman Boger welcomed a son,
Brady Dingman Boger, on Oct.
24.
Alana Belfield Levine and her
husband welcomed their second
child, son Noah Alexander, on
Dec. 19. Their daughter Hannah
is now 2. Noah (and family) have
had visits from Phoebe Geer,
Matt Speiser and Seth Earn as
well as lots of long-distance love
and support from Sara Richland,
Melissa (Vecchio) Wood and Don
Wood ’00, and Alana notes that
they are very, very happy.
We have several classmates
who have been moving around
for jobs recently. One is Elly
(Spensley) Moriarty, who also
wrote in for the first time. She
finished her PhD in archaeology at Boston University in
December, and is now living in
Vermont, where she is coaching high school Nordic skiing
and teaching a class at the local
community college this semester.
“Life is good!” Elly says.
Also in the academic realm,
Elizabeth Hoover recently
accepted a tenure track job at
Brown University. She has been
at Brown since last August as a
visiting assistant professor and
is excited about the switch to
tenure-track. Her appointment is
at Brown’s Center for the Study
CL ASS
NOTES
of Race and Ethnicity in America
(CSREA), and she is teaching
courses in American Indian studies for the CSREA’s ethnic studies
concentration as well as for the
Department of American Studies.
Ellen Bognar moved back to
Charlottesville after finishing
her clerkship in Miami and is
now working at a law firm in
Lynchburg, Va. Brian Connors has
moved to Detroit and is working
for a nonprofit doing community development in southwest
Detroit.
Seattle area. He’s hoping to get
into the snow a few more times
this winter.
Todd and his family had a
chance to connect with Noel
Johnson and Lauren (Wiener)
Johnson just before the holidays.
Noel and Lauren moved to
Seattle last fall. Todd also saw
Ethan Katz-Bassett just before
Halloween; Todd said that it
sounds like Ethan is nearing the
end of his PhD and had some
exciting work and ski plans
coming up.
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
The International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, founded in 2003 by
Jeremy Faust ’01, received a 2011 Chorus America/ASCAP Award for
Adventurous Programming. Faust, a medical student at the Mount Sinai
School of Medicine in NYC, continues to serve as director of the chorale.
Carissa Carter has moved from
Hong Kong to San Francisco.
One of the new projects in her
life is Scree Magazine, www.
screemagazine.com, a new crossdisciplinary magazine for which
she is the creative director. As
I was working on these notes,
I learned that she is spending
January in Williamstown, teaching a Winter Study course on
design.
Julia (Cianfarini) Schmidt is
still in DC, where she works
for a law firm and keeps busy
with house renovations in her
non-working hours. She is happily now seeing more of two of
her freshman year entry-mates:
Kate Figge, who moved back to
DC last fall, and Beth Friedman,
who’s now living outside
Baltimore. Julia also runs into
Matt Wessler periodically, as he
lives just a few minutes away.
Verena Arnabal and her family
visited Roshni (David) Guerry in
Delaware, where Roshni moved
to start a new job. Verena says
that her daughter Maya and
Roshni’s son Liam, both three,
had a lot of fun playing together
and tearing it up at the Please
Touch Museum in Philadelphia.
Todd Swanson Merkens wrote
while waiting to be rescued by
a tow truck after the exhaust
system on his car dropped out.
Other than car trouble, he said
that he is doing well and is
continually amazed watching his
daughter, Anja, grow up. Anja is
now (in January) 15 months old,
and Todd says that every day
is something new. On the work
front, he’s still doing toll system
planning and design work in the
Judd Greenstein shared a
happy New Year’s with a bunch
of Ephs and their partners,
including Todd Rogers, Matt
Wessler, Matt Atwood, Jackie
Stein ’00, Morgan Barth ’02
and Deidre Fogg ’03. Judd is
still living in Brooklyn but is
plotting a dual-residency move
to split time between New York
and Massachusetts. His music
will be all over the country this
spring, including a big orchestral
premiere in Minneapolis this
March, a multimedia installation
and performance in Scottsdale,
Ariz., this June, and New York
performances in May and June.
Drop him a line if you’re in any
of those places—he’d love to see
you!
Sharmistha Ray’s solo debut
exhibition of paintings, “Hidden
Geographies,” was on display at Galerie Mirchandani
and Steinruecke in Mumbai
from mid-January to midFebruary. Vogue India featured
Sharmistha’s exhibition as a highlight of the month in its January
2012 issue; you can read the
article/interview at Sharmistha’s
website, www.sharmistharay.net,
under “news.”
Michael Cooper’s musical
Sunfish received its world
premiere in February 2011 at
the Stoneham Theatre outside
of Boston, and as I was writing
this column I saw that Sunfish
won Best Musical at a Medium
Theater in Broadway World’s
2011 Boston Theater Awards.
Michael also contributed lyrics to
the musical It Shoulda Been You
(starring Tyne Daly and directed
by Fraiser’s David Hyde Pierce),
which had a successful run at the
George Street Playhouse in New
Jersey last October. Outside of
the theater, Michael reports that
he has moved into a beautiful
new apartment in NYC and
continues to flood Facebook with
status updates.
After being her husband’s first
reader and supporter for the
past 10 years, Tami Thompson
Wood was very excited to see
his debut novel published in
2011 (No Hero, by Jonathan
Wood). It was also a momentous
year because Tami’s son Charlie
started kindergarten and her
daughter Emma began nursery
school. Tami is still teaching family programs at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (where she’s now
been for eight years), and she
enjoyed bringing Charlie along
to her programs this year.
Last fall Tami and her family
went into NYC for a weekend, where they had a picnic
in Central Park with Noga
(Chlamtac) Minsky and her baby
Elinor and spent a morning
at the Manhattan Children’s
Museum with Lia (Amakawa)
Morrison and her toddler Ian.
Tami also got a chance to catch
up with Allyson Rothberg and
Lisa Libicki over lunch on the
Upper West Side.
Elizabeth (Pulbratek) Randisi
and her husband became small
business owners in 2011,
purchasing the boutique estate
planning law firm Weinstein &
Randisi. Elizabeth’s sons (4 and
1 ½) are now old enough that
she can unwind with a drink
after a long day of figuring out
small business ownership details
like payroll taxes. She’s also
working on a memoir-writing
project while her husband works
on developing a swampy piece
of woodlands for their someday
dream house.
Fumi Tosu is still based in NYC
and is keeping busy running the
U.S. office of Table For Two
(TFT), a Japanese nonprofit
that aims to simultaneously
address the issues of malnutrition in developing countries and
obesity in the developed world.
TFT serves healthy, low-calorie
meals at restaurants, universities
and corporate cafeterias, and a
portion of the proceeds from the
food sales go to school meals
programs in Ethiopia, Rwanda,
Uganda and South Africa. If
you’re curious to learn more
about the program, see http://bit.
ly/zCBMrV.
Jeremy Faust is in his last
semester of medical school at
n 2 0 0 1 –0 2
Mount Sinai in NYC and is
going into emergency medicine.
He is also still active in the music
world; the choral ensemble he
co-founded in San Francisco
(International Orange Chorale
of San Francisco) won the 2011
ASCAP/Chorus America Award
for commitment to new music.
The chorale remains a locus
of Eph networking for Jeremy.
Kenric Taylor ’00 sings in the
group and runs its public face
(press and web). Following the
award, Jeremy decided to commission Dan Kohane ’12, a young
composer currently studying at
Williams, to write a new piece
for the ensemble.
Jeremy sees Ryan McNaughton
for almost weekly karaoke
sessions in the East Village and
reports that Ryan recently took
a job as an attorney at the NYC
firm Paul Weiss. Jeremy also
saw Adrienne Wiley and Grayson
Myers recently in Seattle and
met their son Nathaniel, whom
Jeremy reports is charming.
Sara (Grote) Custer is working
as a postdoctoral fellow at the
Indiana University School of
Medicine, where she is studying
spinal muscular atrophy and also
just began a new collaborative
project with Loyola University.
Sara, her husband and her two
girls enjoyed an extended holiday
vacation with lots of family.
Zuzana Tothova wrote in just
hours after getting back to
Boston from a trip home. She
celebrated the New Year in the
mountains of Slovakia at her
family’s ski cabin. I also know
that Zuzana bought her own
little apartment in Brookline last
summer and is enjoying life as an
oncology fellow (even though she
doesn’t do as much dancing as
she used to).
Kivlina (Shepherd) Block, her
husband and their three kids
rang in the New Year with
fondue and an early bedtime.
Kivlina looked forward to taking
a vacation in February with just
her husband.
Seth Brown wrote his update
using only four letter words,
a linguistic challenge he calls
“Game With Four.” If anyone is
interested in trying to correspond
in sentences comprised of words
with only four letters, drop him
a line.
Annaliis (Abrego) Canty and her
husband Scott Canty ’98 are still
living outside DC. They have
three boys and celebrated their
youngest son’s first birthday in
December; their older sons are 5
and almost 4. With a 5-year-old
in the house, they’re in the midst
of applications for kindergarden, which Annaliis is finding a
very weird concept, especially
given the cost of tuition at
some DC-area schools. Annaliis
remains thankful for Facebook,
which she says allowed her to
reconnect with some classmates
after our reunion last year.
As for me, I’m slowly settling
into life in small-town Maine.
My husband and I have now
been in our house for a year and
have managed to begin far more
house projects than we have
completed. (I am learning that
DIY house projects always take
longer than I think they will.) I
exchanged several emails with
Charis Anderson in December,
and we were in agreement that
it would be really nice to have
an entry again as a way to meet
people now that we’re scattered
all over the country and world.
Short of that, I’ve joined a writing group to try to meet some
people and to keep the creative
side of my brain active; Charis
has taken a different tactic on
getting involved in the community and is in her first season
of coaching the New Bedford
(Mass.) YMCA’s swim team. It’s
also great to hear what you’re
all up to—makes me feel more
socially connected than I actually
am. Keep the updates coming in!
2002
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Holly Kohler
541 Main St., Apt. 4
Melrose, MA 01276
What’s that you say? You’ve
been feeling nostalgic for
Williams in general and the
Berkshire Quad in particular?
Dear classmates, you are in luck.
Preparations for reunion 2012
are well under way and the halls
of Prospect, Fitch and Currier are
gearing up to welcome us back
in all of our (slightly more aged)
glory during the weekend of June
7-10. A decade is the sort of time
chunk really worth celebrating,
and I look forward to seeing
many of you there!
Amanda Gramse is so determined to make it to our 10th
that she specifically scheduled her
June 2012 nuptials around the
event. Amanda got engaged to
her boyfriend of seven years on
a cloudy Cape Cod beach over
Memorial Day weekend and is
looking forward to having her
wedding on her parents’ front
lawn in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Annie Weiss married Peter
Cook on Martha’s Vineyard over
Labor Day weekend in a ceremony attended by Sarah Barger
Ranney, Hilary Hackmann, Brooke
Ray Smith, Tenaya Plowman
Kolar, Susan Fulmer and Rich
Dunn. Annie is currently living in
New Orleans, where she works
as a clinical psychologist at Sci
Academy, a charter high school.
Sarah and her husband Mike
have since had another cause for
celebration, welcoming their son
Jackson William Ranney into the
world on Nov. 10—just one day
after his mom’s birthday. “He’s a
character, and we’re loving every
minute getting to know him,”
writes Sarah.
Tenaya, her husband Nathan
Kolar ’05 and their 2-year-old son
Dash moved to the Sun Valley
area in Idaho last September.
“Though we couldn’t be happier
up here in our mountain home,”
reports Tenaya, “the move has
taken us from a thriving Ephtropolis (the Bay Area) to an
area slightly less populated by
Williams alums.”
Conversely, Sarah Philipp
is now living much closer to
familiar faces, having returned to
Jacksonville, Fla., in mid-December after completing her deployment to Bahrain and Qatar. She
is thrilled to be home and has
“a newfound appreciation for a
nice private bathroom and the
ability to cook [her] own meals.”
On the way home, Sarah spent
10 days visiting her boyfriend
in Dubai, where he is currently
deployed, and at submission
time she was looking forward
to returning for another visit in
March. She is still with the same
P-3 squadron and divides her
working time between them and
the aviation clinic on base.
Big changes are also afoot for
Patrick McCurdy and his wife
Christine, who were joined
by their first child, Thomas
Frederick McCurdy, on Sept. 21.
Will and Afton Johnson Gilyard
’05 welcomed son William Jesse
Gilyard on Sept. 3.
Michelle O’Brien Sisk, her
husband Jarrod and their 2-yearold daughter Emma increased
their family size on Dec. 16 with
the arrival of Brennan Michael.
In April Michelle will begin
“a very part-time” position at
a women’s wellness center in
Manchester, Conn. In addition
to giving monthly lectures on
pre- and perinatal nutrition, she
CL ASS
NOTES
will provide one-on-one nutrition
counseling to women.
Stephanie Pirishis has also
added to her brood, welcoming
second daughter Iliana Lucia
Wijpkema on Nov. 25. Last
September Stephanie launched
her own business: poladora.
com aggregates local stores for
wedding registry purposes and
currently represents a dozen
Chicago retailers. While in
NYC last fall she hung out with
Tron Wang and Ame Igharo. In
December Laura Spero dropped
by for a visit and caught
Stephanie up on her latest
Nepalese adventures.
Tron traveled to Asia for work
last spring and shared meals
with Yui Tsao and Heng Cheam
’01 in Hong Kong and Kevin
Hong ’01 in Shanghai. Thanks
to the fortuitous timing of a visit
to Stephanie in Chicago, Tron
managed to avoid “the hurricane
that never was” in NYC. He
hosted a New Year’s Eve party at
his Manhattan apartment, and
Yui stopped by to help usher in
2012.
In nearby Brooklyn live Sara
Hausner-Levine, her husband Cam
Clendaniel ’01 and their son Jack.
Jack goes to daycare with Lizzie
Jacobs’ ’01 son Henry, who is
four months older. Writes Sara:
“We like to think of Henry as
Jack’s mentor.”
Brooklyn Borough Hall was
the site of Margaret diZerega’s
marriage to Chiemi Suzuki on
Sept. 2.
Josh Burns married Brittany
Raven last August in San
Francisco. In addition to his dad
John Burns ’70, many ’02ers were
in attendance, including best
man Ben Doob and groomsman
Forrest Wittenmeier. Josh reports
with certitude that “no one held
back on the dance floor at the
reception, myself included.”
Forrest sent in news of Mike
Gross’s December birthday
celebration at Baker Beach in San
Francisco, a “huge crab feed”
attended by 25 people, including
Maggie Clark and her husband
Trevor Babb ’00, Ed Han, Alex
Morrison and Eli Groban. Seven
dogs were also in attendance,
including Mike and his wife Anna
Kneitel’s Newfoundland Lucy.
Charlie and Lida (Ungar) Doret’s
Labrador Hazey is featured in
this year’s Atlanta Dog Squad
calendar. Charlie and Lida volunteer for the rescue organization,
which is also where they adopted
Hazey. “In less momentous
news,” writes Charlie, he and
Lida met up with Kate Alexander
and a number of other friends
at last fall’s homecoming, an
occasion that Charlie has never
missed. He was particularly
pleased to be joined by his sister
Leah Doret ’99 this time around.
Over the holidays, Lida and
Charlie drove from Atlanta up to
Massachusetts, where they met
up with Steve Biller, his wife Julie
and their young son Zack and
“talked about being postdocs
and searching for faculty positions.” They celebrated New
Year’s on Cape Cod with about
a dozen Williams grads including
Kate, Jason Carini and Elizabeth
(Moulton) and Darik Velez ’01 and
their children Rigel and River.
Reports Charlie: “I was delighted
to learn that Elizabeth and Darik
have purchased one-way tickets
home from South Africa for this
June, which will end three years
abroad. They’re not quite sure
what their jobs will be when they
return stateside, but I think they
are looking at high school teaching options in the Northeast.”
Jamin Morrison spent five
weeks in South Africa teaching
and treating villagers as part
of his residency. Brad Nichol
was excited to welcome him
to London during pit stops on
either end of his journey.
Dan Elsea and his partner Yung
marked their civil partnership
with “impromptu, casual proceedings” on Oct. 15 at Hackney
Town Hall in East London. They
took some friends down to the
pub afterward to celebrate.
Terri O’Brien and Brad Howells
were married on Nov. 12 in
Berkeley, Calif. Topher Goggin
was their officiant “and did,
as expected, an amazing job,
providing a personal and humorous touch that [they] will never
forget.” Brad Nichol flew in
from London for the occasion,
and also in attendance were
Nathan Cardoos, Dave Glick,
Brian Michener, Derek Ward,
Seth Behrends, Brennan Kelly,
Katie Sharff and her husband
Dan Clayburgh ’01, and Laura
Bothwell.
At submission time, Jessica
Ohly had just returned from a
great weekend in Vermont with
Dave, Seth, Mark Robertson,
Jamin Morrison, Michelle Ruby
and Nicole Theriault ’03. Jessica
wrote: “I continue to enjoy
teaching and am currently training to run the Boston Marathon
for a small charity, Housing
Families.” A little farther south,
Michael Minnefor is training
to run this year’s New York
Marathon. In December he
started a job at a small law firm
in Manhattan.
Another admirable runner in
our midst is Jess Paar, who wrote
in just hours after competing in
the 2012 Ragnar Florida Keys
relay race. She and 10 friends
ran the 198.5 miles from Miami
to Key West in about 33 hours
as team “I Thought This Was A
5K.” Although no Eph friends
joined Jess’s team, “they did offer
words and texts of support along
the way.”
William Davidson was in Florida
over Christmas and the New
Year, and he met up with Billy
Marino at the Square Grouper in
Jupiter “to watch the Giants dismantle the Cowboys and clinch
the NFC East Championship.”
Dana Nelson had a big finish of
her own last August, when she
completed her PhD program at
Penn State. She is now working as a clinical postdoc at the
University of Delaware’s counseling center.
First-time contributor (editor’s
note: Yay!) Maywa Montenegro
began her PhD in the environmental science, policy and management program at Berkeley.
She loves being in California
and is hoping to focus on food
sovereignty and sustainable
agriculture, “ideas that started to
percolate during my last six years
[as] a science journalist in NYC.”
At submission time, Maywa had
just participated in a panel at
Williams on science writing.
Laura McMillian is in the last
year of her PhD program in
organizational leadership at the
Chicago School of Professional
Psychology and continues to live
in LA. She visited with Stephanie
Pirishis during a residency trip to
Chicago in September 2010 and
passed her competency exam last
October.
Sadaf Ahmad shared a Chicagostyle deep-dish pizza with
Stephanie and Renee Robinson
last November. Renee, who
works for Women in Film in
Toronto, was visiting graduate
schools for communications policy. In October Sadaf joined Erika
Beltran ’01 in DC to celebrate the
birthday of Enuma Menkiti ’01.
While in DC she saw Caroline
Fan ’03 and U.S. Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan speak at
a conference on Asian-American
research. Over Halloween Sadaf
and Erika attended a Mexican
Ballet Folklorico performance in
honor of Dia de los Muertos.
Morgan Barth traveled to DC
to visit Elizabeth Hole Knake and
her daughter Charlotte and also
n 2 0 0 2 –0 3
made a trip out to Portland,
Ore., to see another former
entrymate, Josh Weinstein. He is
hoping to catch up with the rest
of his Williams F entry at our
10th Reunion. Last July Morgan
began a new job as the director
of a charter middle school in
Bridgeport, Conn. “After a
three-year hiatus in elementary
school,” he writes, “I love being
back at the middle school level—
reading great novels with young
adults. If you ever find yourself
on Bridgeport’s East Side come
visit Achievement First!”
Farther afield, Noëlle Ho-Lam
wrote in from Hong Kong with
news of President Adam Falk’s
November visit. Over 30 Ephs
attended the reception held at
the Box at IFC, and Noëlle,
her mother and Geraldine Shen
’01 later had tea with President
Falk at Sevva in Central. It was
her first time meeting him, and
Noëlle enjoyed hearing about
his vision for Williams. Later in
the month the Williams Hong
Kong Alumni Association hosted
its own version of Mountain
Day, an occasion led by Russell
Yeh ’79 and followed by brunch
at Parkview. Among those
attending were Jon Isaacs ’00,
Bonnie Lui ’04, Fulton Breen ’03
and Cadence Hardenbergh ’11.
Noëlle writes that while “being a
mother of two and working full
time is not easy, the joy and
laughter the two little ones bring
is indescribable and makes all the
sleepless nights worthwhile.”
Sleepless nights are something
that Alana (Clements) and Stefan
Kaczmarek have likely grown
used to since the arrival of
their son Reiter on July 7. The
Kaczmareks are being aided
in their early “Eph indoctrination” by Edlyn Smith, a recent
Boston transplant whom they see
frequently. They’ve calculated—
with some horror—that Reiter
will be in the Class of
2033. As Alana justly pointed
out, “this is mind-boggling.”
Stefan completed his PhD in
neurobiology last summer and is
now doing cystic fibrosis research
at a nonprofit lab. Alana is a
pediatric nurse practitioner at
Children’s Hospital in Boston,
where she provides primary care
for kids with complex special
health care needs.
Also in Boston is Andrew
Mitchell, who recently joined a
funk band called The Othership
and enthused: “It’s great to be
playing the trombone again!”
They have several songs up
on YouTube and will also be
playing gigs in the Boston-area
throughout 2012. Check out the
website for more details: www.
theothership.com.
And that about does it for the
springtime update. I’m excited
to collect much of your news
in person for the next round of
notes, which will include a full
reunion recap. Register now for
the June festivities, and please
seek me out during the weekend
to introduce all your fabulous
new partners and progeny and
other life projects! I’ll be the one
wearing horn-rimmed spectacles
and a bun as I revel in my final
days as class secretary.
2003
Anri Wheeler Brenninkmeyer
4 Howard St.
Somerville, MA 02144
Ayesha Fuentes wrote in to say
that she is trying not to gloat
about the beautiful weather in
sunny LA, but she’s seen dolphins
five times since moving there last
September with her boyfriend,
Michael Heep ’99. Ayesha is
studying the conservation of
archaeological and ethnographic
materials at the Getty Villa in
Malibu, where, in between very
scientific-seeming projects, she
watches hummingbirds, Monarch
butterflies and red-tailed hawks.
She loves her job; her focus is on
human remains and devotional
objects, and she gets to travel
a lot (Chinchorro mummies in
Chile, wall paintings in Tuscany).
Ayesha loves being in the same
city as Pete Van Steemburg and
Lucas Goodbody and was psyched
to have them over for her thirdannual cookie decorating party in
December.
Also in LA, Perry Kalmus
met up with Saif Vagh and Hall
O’Donnell for Saif’s birthday on
the hipster side of the city (aka
the East Side). Perry was hosting
four Williams seniors as interns
for their winter study. They will
be thrown into the fire at his
tech startup, DrinkCity, as the
company goes through its angel
round of funding. Perry roasted a
wild boar with Marshall Dines at
Marshall’s pad in Venice, Calif.
They then made specialty dishes
using different parts of the boar.
Hitesh Walia is working for
Cisco Systems in the VOIP team.
He is based in the San Jose office.
Kristen Shapiro married Antoine
Griffin in September. Anjuli
Lebowitz was one of Kristen’s
lovely bridesmaids.
Also married in September were
Alix Davis and Andrew Weiss,
in Lancaster, Pa. A number of
Ephs participated in the wedding, including Eric Woodward,
who served as the officiant and
led a beautiful and meaningful
ceremony, and Katie Saxon, who
composed a whimsical vocal
and flute arrangement of “The
Rainbow Connection” that she
and Emmy Valet performed. Also
in attendance were Katharine
Baker, Jen Barone, Pippa Charters,
Sarah Nichols and Lindi von
Mutius, who kept the dance floor
lively during the entire event. The
Weisses live in Philadelphia. Alix
is finishing her graduate studies
in art history at U Penn (she is
slated to defend her dissertation
in the spring), and Andrew is a
resident in internal medicine at
the Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania.
Rounding out the wedding
news, Randi Lewis married
David Flaherty, a fellow graduate student at the University of
Virginia. They were married
on Oct. 22 in Lexington, Mass.
Members of the Class of ’03
in attendance included Robert
Baldwin, Elizabeth Mygatt and
Betsy Thomas. Anne Lewis ’04
was the maid of honor. David
and Randi live in Charlottesville,
Va., and both hope to finish PhDs
in American history from UVA in
the next year or two.
Brian Katz finished his PhD
(math, from UT Austin) and is
enjoying his job at Augustana
College (in the Quad Cities). He
hopes to use his increased flexibility to start an a cappella group
on campus.
Janet Ho completed the NYC
Marathon for the first time on
Nov. 6 with support and cheers
from Brigitte Teissedre, her husband Luke Patterson, Linda Lau,
Lisa Marco, Monty Silva, Jiyong
Kim, Kevin Hseuh and Caroline
Fan. Janet wore a “Purple Cow”
sign on the back of her singlet but
didn’t spot any other Ephs on the
course.
Faith Black is still working at
Penguin, editing books under
the Berkley Publishing Group
imprint, handling mainly fiction. In October she was in
San Francisco to run the Nike
Women’s Half Marathon on
behalf of Team in Training. It was
a really challenging race, but the
views were spectacular and Faith
was happy with her time. She
was cheered on by Liz Chase who
came out to San Francisco for the
occasion. Faith and Liz followed
the half marathon with a wine
CL ASS
NOTES
tasting in Napa the following day
with Jen Doleac and Daniel Klasik.
Vivien Shotwell’s novel, Amato
Bene, will be published by
Ballantine Books in 2013 and
translated into four languages.
Renee Dumouchel left the 92nd
Street Y in NYC after five years
to become the associate director of external affairs for the
Guggenheim Foundation. She is
super excited to start this next
phase of her journey and gets lots
of free passes. If you’re in NYC
and are looking for a cultural
play day, let her know. She also
loves teaching yoga and is putting
together a series of workshops
on the yoga of transformation,
taught in the Phoenix Rising
style. Inspired by her puppeteer
boyfriend, Renee recently joined
an arts collective to create new
works combining dance, poetry
and puppetry. She also got to
ring in the new year with Heather
Brubaker and Zach Yeskel ’04 and
spent time cavorting in NYC
with Debby Chen, waxing philosophical about holistic health and
French food.
Rob Michelin is a visiting
lecturer at Williams in the music
department. He also teaches
in NYC at Arts and Media
Preparatory Academy. Rob is
applying for doctoral candidacy
in cultural anthropology.
As always, our classmates’
families continue to grow.
Graeme Sanderson and his wife
Beth celebrated the birth of their
son Deacon Thomas Sanderson
on Aug. 24. Matt Grunwald stood
vigil at the hospital to welcome
Deacon into the world. Graeme
just completed his MBA at NYU
Stern’s executive program.
Anastasia (Gilman) Leyden had
her second child, Isabel Rose, on
Sept. 14. Anastasia, her husband
James and Isabel’s big brother
Patrick are all smitten.
Bethany (Sayles) Yu and her
husband Jonathan welcomed
their second child on Nov. 25.
Baby Peter joins his big sister Evie
SENDPHOTOS
W
in exploring Philadelphia, their
new home since the Yus relocated
in July so Jonathan could attend
business school at Wharton.
Tina Howe and her husband
Brian Clites welcomed a son,
Liam James, on Nov. 28. They
were having a wonderful holiday
season with him.
Kimmie and Angus Beal are
settled into Salt Lake City and
had a baby girl, Phoebe, on Dec.
2. Angus loves EM residency.
Kimmie and Angus’ 2-year-old
had his first day on skis, and
they were all looking forward to
Wasatch powder for the rest of
the winter.
Courtney Janney and her husband Ben welcomed a daughter,
Kairi Noel Janney, on Dec. 20.
Sarah Nichols had a busy year.
She spent the spring semester
teaching at Whitman College,
then moved down to Claremont,
Calif., to join her husband. Along
the way she enjoyed meeting
Ephs at the wedding of Chris
Holmes in Chicago in March
and catching up with Lillian
Diaz-Przybyl ’04 and Jesse Dill
’04 after the latter biked from
San Francisco to LA in June for
a fundraiser. In September Sarah
enjoyed seeing many classmates
at Alix Davis’s wedding. Jen
Barone visited Sarah in October
on a whirlwind vacation tour
through California. Sarah is looking forward to her first Christmas
in a house she shares with her
husband after many years of
alternating between parents
and in-laws. She is currently an
adjunct in the physics departments of several schools and
hoping that one of them will have
money for a full-time hire soon.
Phil Dimon has returned from
two years in India with the
Foreign Service. He is now in
DC learning Spanish. Later this
year he will head to El Salvador
for two years on his second
assignment.
Nick Nelson and Sarah Klionsky
live in Cambridge, Mass., and
have enjoyed meeting up with Jeff
Garland, Ian Warrington and other
classmates on occasion. Nick and
Sarah had a great time skiing,
sledding, playing in the snow and
eating a lot in Vermont over New
Year’s with Jordan Goldwarg,
Bekah Levine, Malin Pinsky, Kristin
Hunter-Thompson and Liz Mygatt.
They also enjoyed seeing Bethie
Miller over the holidays.
2004
Nicole Eisenman
53 Boerum Place, Apt. 3H
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Cortney Tunis
Box 802
150 The Riverway
Boston, MA 02115
Josh Weisenbeck writes: “My
wife and I had our first child,
Ethan Claxton Weisenbeck, born
Sept, 1, 2011. He’s doing great,
and we’re blessed to have him!”
MJ (Priest) Lanum also had a
baby. Theodore Arthur Lanum
was born on Nov. 17, 2011.
MJ writes, “East 1 seems to be
having a baby boom, with Rob
Follansbee and Ali and Chuck
Abba also having kids this year.
Game on, other entries.”
Shamus Brady is considering a run for Congress in the
4th district of Massachusetts.
He encourages his classmates
to reach out to him if they are
interested in the campaign.
Chris Ryan married Ellen
Abbott on Aug. 13 in Charlotte,
N.C. They met while attending
business school at Wharton, and
they are now living in Boston.
Chris is working for a midmarket private equity fund called
Riverside Partners, and Ellen is
working for a consulting firm
called IGS.
Elizabeth Just married Stephen
Dobay ’05 on Oct. 22, at the
Museum of Natural History
in New York City. About 35
Williams people attended,
and the Octet sang during the
ceremony and the reception. The
happy couple spent New Year’s
in Puerto Rico with Alex Lees
’03, Jenny Eames ’01, Andrew
Marks ’05, Ellie Schmidt ’06 and
Peter Schmidt ’08.
On Sept. 18, Liz Kaplan married Dan Gordon, a graduate
of the University of MissouriColumbia, in a beautiful
ceremony overlooking the ocean
in Ipswich, Mass. With them to
celebrate were Sarah Godbehere,
Mike Henry, Jen Lazar and Daniel
Shearer.
Jen Lazar and Daniel Shearer
celebrated their first AND
their 10th anniversary this past
December. They’ve been married
for one year and together since
our sophomore year! Jen spent
most of 2011 running the first
year of the Field Academy, a
traveling high school that she is
founding with Heather Foran. Jen
n 2 0 0 3 –0 4
Classmates Kam Shahid ’04 (right) and Charlie Davidson took a photo
with Shahid’s son and Davidson’s godson, Kam Jr., before running the
Manchester Marathon in New Hampshire in November.
and Heather had an unbelievably awesome time co-teaching
their first group of students
alongside ’04’s Claire Samuel and
Tim Patterson and scheming with
Mike Henry, Maggie McDonald,
Adam Grogg, Dani Lerro ’05,
Brian Burke ’02, Emily Simons,
Elliot Morrison, Sarah Godbehere,
Emily Issacson, Shilpa Duvoor,
Elaine Denny and various others
around the country.
Ally Matteodo has been
enjoying her time back on the
East Coast. She attended the
Williams/Amherst homecoming game telecast at J.A. Stats
in the Financial District of
Boston and caught up with Emily
Bloomenthal ’05 and Amanda
Stout. Ally also attended the
annual Williams holiday party
at the Black Rose in Boston,
where she caught up with Mark
Orlowski and enjoyed the music
of Darlingside. Since returning
to Boston Ally has several projects in the works. She currently
stars in the horror series Camp
Halloway as bad girl Torrie and
in the Rhode Island web series
Red Circles as ADA Alexandria
Jacobson. However, Ally is
most excited about garnering
a spot in Fireball Improv, an
improv troupe headed by Daniel
Phoenix that will begin performing in the Boston area some time
in the early spring.
Charlie Davidson writes: “This
fall, Dave Rackovan hung out for
a few days as he came through
NYC on his way to grad school
in Bologna. The occasional
email and Skype conversation
lets me know he’s surviving in
Italy. I was out in LA for an
art fair at the end of September
and got to catch up with Scott
Goldberg ’02 and Michele Kovacs
’01 as well as my old Willy D
entrymate and former Slippery B
co-denizen Brendan Docherty. I
can’t remember if Doc and I had
burgers this time around, but
it seems like something we do
every time we get together.
“In November, Kam Shahid
and I ran the Manchester (N.H.,
not U.K.) Marathon. We got to
stop by Wellesley on the way
home to see Danny Follansbee,
Rob Follansbee’s brand-new
baby boy. He was about the size
of a football, but judging by his
parents, I imagine he’ll be taller
than most of us in a week or
two. After Thanksgiving I was
down in Miami for Art Basel
again and saw Walker Waugh
’02, who was also working at
the Pulse fair. We ran into each
other again in December at an
awesome Wassaic Project event
in Brooklyn put together by, of
course, Eve Biddle and Bowie
Zunino and attended by Ephs
including Eve’s husband Josh
Frankel ’02 and Lucy Teitler ’05.
I also got to check out Matt
Watson’s most recent work at
the Columbia MFA open studios
and met up with Matt and
Omri Bloch at a Nuru Project
fundraiser. My classmates are
amazing in their ability to make
me feel like I don’t do enough
with my time.
“That said, Jabe Bergeron,
Rob and my brother Will
Davidson ’02 were all once
again a part of the this year’s
annual installment of the Bar
Game Olympiad—an event that
I organize (take that, Eve and
Bowie)—and which saw record
attendance this year. Bee and
I got paired up again, but the
teams are picked at random, so
don’t listen to what anyone says
about conspiracies. Anyway, we
claimed the silver this time after
strong finishes at the Boot Race
(won by Jabe’s dad), Big Buck
Hunter and Darts. Matt Rade
was missed, but we’ll be seeing
him for Pro Bull Riding at MSG
this year (only a few days away,
as of the writing of this email),
and I’m sure I’ll be ready to see
him back to Buffalo by the time
the weekend is over. Jabe also
filled in as a ringer on my ice
hockey team for one game. We
lost, but it wasn’t his fault.”
Kate (Neal) Fellens moved
away from London this year,
though she hopes to return in
the future. She has relocated,
with her husband and their
daughter Mathilde to Nairobi,
Kenya. It’s a wonderful adventure. She would love to meet
up with any other Ephs living
out there!
Melanie Beeck had a really
nice time with Amy Dieckmann
’05, and Elizabeth Van Heuvelen
’05 who visited her in Australia
from the U.S. They toured the
city and at night went to watch
Christmas carols at the park
near Melanie’s house. Melanie
writes, “They were expecting
a small group and some candle
lights. It was great to see the
look on their faces when they
saw the thousands of people
and huge stage set up for a
great night!” Melanie finished
her second year teaching 5th
grade in Melbourne and as
of writing in was about to fly
home to Brazil to get married.
2011 has been very kind
to Alex Grashkina’s creative
spirits, making her think more
than ever about abandoning
tax law as a career field and
doing theater and writing
instead. She directed a Chekhov
comedy that premiered in
Boston and received invitations
for performing in New York.
Kamen Kozarev ’05 played a shy
bachelor in the comedy. She is
worried that Kamen will soon
finish his PhD and move away
from Boston leaving her with
no one to boss around on stage.
Alex also did a poetry reading
of her book Migrant Words
at the Manhattan Movement
& Arts Center and traveled in
Asia with her husband around
Thanksgiving. In Hong Kong,
she ran into Robin Hwang
’04 and had dinner with Asti
Khachatryan, who was an
CL ASS
NOTES
exchange student at Williams
from Armenia in 2004.
Seven of the “Goodrich
9”—Josh Earn, Jamaal Mobley,
Neil Hoffman, Jacob Scott,
Chris Vaughan, Peter Deutsch
and Drew Newman—met up in
Tampa in December for a weekend of beach, cigars, libations
and sports games.
Nathan Hodas graduated from
Caltech in the spring with his
PhD in physics. He is a postdoc
at the Information Sciences
Institute at USC studying the
dynamics of social networks
like Twitter. Nathan also had
his second son, Eli Joseph
Hodas, on Sept. 20. He’s
already best friends with his
older brother!
Aaron Wilson and his wife
Stephanie moved to Dallas.
Aaron started work with the
Boston Consulting Group in the
fall, and they are both loving
Texas.
Adam Grogg reports that
although flatter landscapes
and warmer temperatures
have taken some getting used
to, finishing up one clerkship in Montana and starting
another in DC has happily
meant many more Williams
encounters. Adam writes,
“Highlights include sharing
a charming apartment in an
alarmingly dilapidated building
in Columbia Heights with Jack
Nelson ’07; frequent outings
with Steve Seigel and husband
Justin Wilson in DC; an embarrassing (but delightful) four
visits to Williamstown this fall;
and recent New Year/birthday/
etc. celebrations in New York
with our fantastic class notes
editors Cortney Tunis and Nicole
Eisenman Weber (and her husband Simon Weber), Jeff Nelson
and Meredith Sanger-Katz ’06,
Elliot Morrison and Maggie
Popkin ’03, Christina Draghi
and Will Edgar ’03, Charlie
Wittenberg, and many more.
Cheers, 2012.”
SENDPHOTOS
W
From left: Amy Dieckmann ’05 and Elizabeth Van Heuvelen ’05 visited
Melanie Beeck ’04 in December in Melbourne, Australia, where Melanie
teaches fifth grade.
2005
Aron Chang
1432 6th St.
New Orleans, LA 70115
Charles Soha
2500 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Apt. 619
Marissa Doran is finishing her
second year of law school and
loving it. Fran-Fredane Fraser
has moved back to NYC and
joined Lillian Chang and Mark
Hobel for tapas and is hoping
to spot her roomie Liz Suda.
Joanna Lloyd is in veterinary
school and is bird-sitting five
birds and fostering a kitten.
Ned Hole bumped into Tim
Crawley in San Francisco when
he spotted Tim rocking a
Williams College sweatsuit—
they caught up over a Guinness.
Wes Connors stopped by Tim’s
Christmas party only to miss a
broken window, burnt carpeting
and Chinese floating lanterns
later in the evening.
Afton (Johnson) Gilyard had
a baby, William Jesse, on Sept.
3. Joyia (Chadwick) Yorgey
gave birth to Noah David on
Sept. 17. Noah has already
become quite the piano player.
Ward Bitter and his wife Jenny
celebrated the birth of their first
child, Mirabelle May, on Oct.
14 and spent Christmas and
New Year’s Eve up at their family home in Stowe, Vt.
Katie Joyce and her husband
Rob Follansbee ’04 had their
first child, Daniel, on Nov.
4. They’ve already had visits
from Louisa Swain, Lindsay
Payne, Kam Shahid ’04, Charlie
Davidson ’04 and Matt Rade ’04.
Natalia Romano is pleased to
announce the birth of her first
son, Emil Agramonte Gehlot,
on Dec. 11 in Singapore.
Congratulations to all!
Lucy Thiboutot and David
Cooperman ’02 were married
by Williams Chaplain Rick
Spalding in the Berkshires on
Sept. 17, 2011. Twenty-four
Williams alums were in attendance. Emily Perry got married
in September in São Paulo,
Brazil, to Renato Lulia-Jacob.
Kerel Nurse married Ines Major
’06 on Nov. 4, 2011. Phil Smith,
who recently completed law
school, attended the wedding
and reports, “It was awesome.”
Perhaps as awesome as Kyle
Skor’s plans to build the firstever art gallery on Antarctica?
Ross Smith came back to
Boston from Sweden for just
a couple of weeks for the
holidays and is planning a few
trips, notably to Portugal and
Croatia. Any hints about where/
how to be a tourist in Croatia
are welcome.
Chuck Soha survived his first
brushfire evacuation in Austin
and caught a Longhorns game
with Amy Dieckmann. He went
to Oktoberfest in Munich with
Andrew Leeser, and celebrated
New Year’s in New York with
Jay Ross.
Jaime Hensel is halfway
through Yale’s nurse practitioner program. She and Zach
Sullivan ran a 6.66 mile race
called the Devil’s Chase in
Salem, Mass., on Halloween,
and she noted that Julia Brown
n 2 0 0 4 –0 6
lives down the street from her
in New Haven. Carolyn (Dekker)
Bahls had a reunion with Masha
Lifshin. Carolyn’s moving to
Springfield and welcomes any
New England-based Ephs who
can help her avoid a “madwoman writing in the attic
situation” while she continues
her dissertation.
Noah Capurso graduated from
Yale School of Medicine, moved
to a new place in downtown
New Haven for his first year of
residency at Yale in the department of psychiatry and recently
published a book on the medical school admission process.
Daniel Krass returned from an
amazing trip to Brazil with Ari
Schoenholtz for Melanie Beeck’s
’04 wedding. Enyi Koene was
the maid of honor, and Sam
Goldman made the trip as well.
Dan is enjoying his audiology program at Vanderbilt’s
School of Medicine—Ari, Jane
McCamant and Abby Whitbeck
visited during the fall. He
writes, “I didn’t think I would
begin to enjoy country music
this quickly, but I totally dig
the ‘Music City’ scene and even
made my Broadway debut.”
Micah Halsey moved to NYC
after six years in Boston and
notes, “It was great to see
several ’05s at homecoming in
November like Abby Wattley,
Kevin Kingman, Julia Kivitz
and Ashley and James Cart. In
January Micah was starting
his MBA at Columbia Business
School, where Michelle Flowers
was to start the executive MBA
program. They expected to join
Elena Bonifacio and Scott Malish
on campus.
Rosemary Kendrick graduated
from Harvard Business School,
moved to San Francisco, and
now works at an education
technology startup. Ricardo
Woolery passed the New York
Bar exam and is currently
settling into life as a first-year
associate at a corporate law
firm in DC
Hilarie Ashton lives in
Brooklyn, where she sees many
Williams alumni on a regular
basis. Hilarie also started a new
job as a senior institutional
research analyst in NYU Office
of Institutional Research.
Gavin McCormick and Brian
Hirshman ’06 found the joke
was on them when they tried
to get free labor to help build
a treehouse for Emily Cooper
’93. The pair used an old WSO
list serve to declare the first
Saturday in October as “West
Coast Mountain Day,” hoping
to entice Joe Gangestad ’06 to
come and help them build. But
Gavin and Brian were stunned
to also get RSVPs from 16 other
Ephs, including Kelly Morgan,
Jenni Simmons, Josh and Aubryn
Cooperman, Justin Brown and
Amy Katzen. What started as a
joke ended with an actual hike
up Wildcat Peak in Berkeley,
Calif., complete of course with
hot cider, camping and a stirring
rendition of “The Mountains.”
Elizabeth Van Heuvelen and
Amy Dieckmann finished a wonderful road trip on the Great
Ocean Road in Australia. They
also had the pleasure of having
a local host in Melbourne when
they met up with Melanie Beeck
’04. Amy’s still living in Austin,
finishing up business school and
will be moving to Dallas next
summer.
Elena Bonifacio, Laura
Futransky, Laura Kaufman,
Litia Shaw, Abby Whitbeck and
Karen Vanderbilt met up in
Philadelphia to ring in 2012
together. They ate many foods,
drank many drinks and danced
many dances and still had the
energy to get up and watch
the Philadelphia Mummer’s
Parade...on TV.
It appears that Jonathan
Landsman and Zach McArthur
have moved on from cribbage
to other games. Zach came to
NYC for a game of Taboo on
Jonathan’s birthday. “He (Zach)
was in fine form, basically the
most attractive I’ve ever seen
him. Zach’s the only guy I’ve
ever known to misunderstand
the proper use of a sand timer,”
Jonathan said.
JJ O’Brien is enjoying life in
San Francisco, where he rocked
out to My Morning Jacket with
Drew ’06 and Emily (Welsh)
Gottenborg, with whom he also
enjoyed a bonfire on Ocean
Beach along with Ben and Jaye
(Gregory) Locke ’06, Ned Hole,
Jake Randall ’07 and Garrett
Collins ’04. JJ rang in the New
Year with with Katie Shattuck,
Lindsey Dwyer, Jon Silvestro ’06,
Tim Crawley and Blair Coffman
’06.
Liz Gluck got engaged last
week – her boyfriend Greg
proposed while they were skiing
at Breckenridge. The snow was
terrible, but it was the best day
of skiing she’s ever had!
Eric Manchester went to
his 10th high school reunion.
Williams was well represented,
with Zach McArthur and Danner
Hickman also in attendance.
Melanie Kingsley moved back
to Boston from Guatemala to
start writing her dissertation.
She went to see Three Pianos
with Brittany Duncan and got
the awesome opportunity to
create and teach a class this
spring at Brandeis University
called “Archaeology in Politics,
Film and Public Culture.” She
has dinners with Chris Vaughn
’04 and Lindsey Taylor, who
graduated from Tuck this
past summer and started back
at Parthenon in Boston in
September.
Alice Brown moved back to
the Chicago area last fall and
now teaches middle school
history at the Avery Coonley
School. Zophia Edwards is still in
graduate school in sociology at
Boston University and has made
some major progress toward her
dissertation. She was heading to
Gabon for the spring semester
to collect data. Parlez-vous
Français?
Aaron Helfand celebrated
New Year’s in Northampton
with a number of Williams
alums, including Jeff Kaplan ’09,
Lindsay Moore ’09 and Kevin
Waite ’09. He’s back in Boston
now, happily re-settled into his
old architecture job.
2006
Ariel Peters
2070 Belmont Road, NW
Apt. 307
Former Morgan West entrymates Steve Myers and Hayley
Wynn got engaged in November!
Remember that photo we took
on the science quad during
freshman orientation? Steve
and Hayley own a copy. (Why
wouldn’t they?)
I got to wondering: Exactly
how many of us ended up
engaged or married to someone
in that photo? Since I make
it my business to know these
things, I decided I should start
counting. Here goes!
Will Pucillo and Sarah Connell
(two!) also got engaged in
November. They’re living in
Denver and loving the proximity to the mountains. Sarah’s
a resident in OB/GYN at the
University of Colorado, and
Will works for a private-equity
firm in Boulder.
Ian Bone is engaged to an
Argentinian named Mike.
He popped the question
after asking Mike’s parents
CL ASS
NOTES
for permission—in Spanish!
Following the proposal, Ian
surprised Mike with champagne
and a visit from his very happy
family.
The lovebirds also had dinner
with Jon Brajtbord and Sarah
Jenks ’07 (who were traveling across South America on
their honeymoon) after their
weeklong “engagement-moon”
in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Surekha Gajria planned on
finishing her PhD in biomaterials at UCSB last spring. She’s
engaged to a German named
Thorsten, a polymer chemist
whose company manufactures
the artificial leather used in
Louis Vuitton bags. They’re
looking forward to a fall wedding in Germany and think
they’ll stick around for at least
a few years.
Angie Chien married Garrett
Calderwood in Fort Worth,
Tex., on Oct. 1. Taylor (Tyson)
Haywood was a bridesmaid. At
the reception, Angie and Garrett
taught wedding guests Matthew
Brown, Sarah Brooks, Courtney
Bartlett, Erin Wagner, Nadia
Moore, Ali Macdonald, Daley
Kirby ’07, John Haywood ’04
and Don Macdonald ’04 how to
“wobble.”
Alan Cordova attended the
wedding of Phyo Phyu Noe to
Lwin Mon Thant in Yangon,
Myanmar, on Christmas Day
with Jay Bid, Thomas Kunjappu,
Wei Wang ’07, Ta Banchuin ’08
and Aom Wisa Kitichaiwat ’10.
Creston Herold’s wife Carrie
gave birth to baby girl Charlotte
Ruth at the end of December.
She arrived with a full head of
dark hair after a “near spontaneous” delivery.
Christine Matulewicz was
working on her master’s at Penn
and eagerly awaiting the arrival
of Christine (Rodriguez) Nieves’
baby girl.
Devon and Jackie O’Rourke
(three!) returned from Jordan
in June and settled back into
life in South Berkshire County.
They never feel far away from
the Purple Valley with the likes
of Andrew D’Ambrosio ’10,
Will Cronin ’10 and Julia Cohan
’11 working alongside them
at the Berkshire School. A few
Ephs visited them on the Cape
in August, and they bought a
house in Eastham, Mass., in
the fall! They’re renovating it
and looking forward to future
gatherings.
Blake Albohm spent six weeks
in Amman, Jordan, in the fall,
and Sasha Gsovski (four!) left
2006 classmates (from left) Sarah Steege, Miriam Lawrence, Cassie
Montenegro, Elissa Hardy and Alissa Caron got together New Year’s Eve
on Boston Common. The group also was celebrating Alissa’s visit from
Cambodia and Sarah’s birthday.
consulting to work on health
policy in Senator Kerry’s office.
Her colleagues aren’t keen on
her choice of baseball teams,
but this only makes her feel like
she’s back at Williams.
She was home in NYC for
the holidays and had a raucous
reunion with Jeanne Lehmann,
Melissa Paige, Emily Casden
and Jesse Schenendorf in the
West Village, and she and Blake
caught up with Jeremy Wertzer
(a second-year at Tuck) and Ben
Berringer (now an attorney at
law) at the Jets-Giants game on
Christmas Eve. She also—quite
literally—bumped into Sally
Dickerson in the Union Square
craft market. And Gillian Weeks
accompanied her and her mom
wedding-dress shopping.
EmCas moved into her own
one-bedroom apartment in
Crown Heights last April and
turned in her thesis in May. She’s
now Master of Art History/The
Universe! She’s been back at the
Jewish Museum since finishing
her course work; she made her
YouTube debut giving a tour of
“The Snowy Day and the art of
Ezra Jack Keats” exhibit; have a
peek and help make her famous,
“Bieber-style”!
Blair Coffman bid the Big
Apple adieu when Pandora
transferred her to the West
Coast late last year. Now she
lives in San Fran’s the Haight;
she misses nothing less than
winters in Williamstown and
NYC. As proof, she rang in the
New Year at Ocean Beach with
John Silvestro, Lindsay Dwyer
’05, Katie Shattuck ’05 and J.J.
O’Brien ’05.
Reed and Annie Harrison
(five!) moved out of the third
floor of Annie’s childhood
home; now they’ve got a home
of their own. Reid works in
operations management at
Columbia Sportswear, and
Annie is doing contractor
training at Intel; both mentor
through Minds Matter, run by
Graham Covington ’64. Alex
Chan and Emily Peinert have
paid them a visit, and they have
met up with fellow Portland,
Ore., Ephs Chris Yorke and
Joanna Westrich, too.
Morgan West sticks together!
In November, Anna Gunning
and JA Matt Hoffman ’04
visited Macy Radloff at Macy’s
restaurant in Boston: The coffee
and pastries were “lovely.”
And in October Liz Woodwick
took advantage of Macy’s sweet
Harvard digs when she was in
town to cheer on current and
alumni Ephs at the Head of the
Charles regatta.
Liz was in sunny, summery
Santiago, Chile, when she
emailed me; she started her
last semester of b-school by
participating in a two-week
global business program. She
interned at Deloitte last summer
and is excited to return to the
Minneapolis office next fall.
Elissa Klein is keeping count,
too, but of Ephs at Harvard’s
ed school. In addition to Marty
West ’98, Richard Murnane ’66
and Thomas Payzant ’62 are
profs there, and Cynthia Zwicky
’05 is getting her doctorate.
David Butts got his PhD in
aerospace engineering from
MIT before Christmas and took
n 2 0 0 6 –0 7
I’m still counting, by the way.
Next time, Adam, you’d better
be marrying a classmate.
2007
REUNION JUNE 7–10
Diana Davis
Brown University
Math Department, Box 1917
Providence, RI 02912
Rowena Ahsan ’07 (kneeling, center) celebrated her wedding to Jainal
Chisty (not pictured) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with Ephs from the classes of
2005 through 2009.
a month off before starting
work at the Draper Lab. Wife
Erika Latham (six!) loves Boston
and is dancing tango about six
days a week. Joe Shoer visited
over New Year’s; he and Dave
got started on a new batch of
homebrew and did some sampling as well.
Rachel Segretto got her
master’s in social work from
the University of Louisville last
May and landed her dream
job—she’s working for a refugee resettlement agency. After
she ran into Travis Vachon in
San Fran in early December, she
showed him and Ellen Crocker
(seven!) Louisville’s secret
hipster scene (“Bet you didn’t
think we had one!”) when they
were in town for the holidays.
Bars don’t close until 4 in the
morning, and they took full
advantage.
Lucy Cox-Chapman finished
her master’s in public health at
BU and was getting ready for
the next big thing but hoping
to stay in Boston, where she
regularly sees Sara Beach, Tomio
Ueda and lots of other Ephs. A
big group of them celebrated
New Year’s together and reminisced about reunion.
Cassie Montenegro and Sarah
Steege flew to Boston and
joined Miriam Lawrence and
Elissa Hardy in greeting Alissa
Caron on a trip home from
Cambodia. They had a belated
five-year reunion in her honor
and celebrated Sarah’s birthday
and New Year’s all in one. They
also met up with Elissa Klein for
some yummy Mexican food—
something Alissa can’t get in
Cambodia.
Elspeth Mitchell and her boyfriend Greg were headed for the
States in February after a year
of teaching in Taiwan. She had
an internship lined up outside
Boston and was excited about
getting together with Williams
folks.
Robin Stewart quit his job in
November and was using his
free time to learn aerial circus
acrobatics.
Andres Schabelman has been
at Silicon Valley startup Airbnb
since last summer; he helps set
up and train teams in different offices around the world.
He’s an elite member of several
different airlines: “I get paid
to travel and be myself. Life is
good.”
Steve Acton, Matt Teschke
and his girlfriend Helah hosted
former DC resident Bryan
Dragon (now residing in Fort
Collins, Colo.) and Aaron Reibel
in our nation’s capital over the
holidays. Aaron was in between
basic training and officercandidate school and returned
to Fort Benning (Evan Bick’s
old haunt) in early January. He
says Army life is crazy, but he’s
really enjoying it.
By the way, Evan Bick is married to Gillian Sowden (eight!).
Adam Bloch arrived in Harlem
in the winter where, despite a
profound sense of alienation
and some communication problems, he was welcomed into the
local community while pursuing
love, chasing down drug pushers and evading two foreign
goons who were after him—a
pair of Williams alums from the
’70s named John and David (no
last names provided).
Chris Furlong visited Chris
Ellis-Ferrara in NYC and met
up with Sean Hyland and Andy
Stevenson also. Things are good
with Furlong; he has a new job
in multi-family underwriting
beginning soon.
Katie Fleming is at UC
Berkeley, getting a master’s in
public policy. She reports, “I am
so glad to be back in school and
love the NorCal lifestyle and
food culture. I think I ate only
tomatoes the first three months
I lived there; it was delicious.
I’ve been lucky enough to see
Laura Wagner several times!”
Jess (Phillips) Silverstein rang
in the New Year Williams-style
in New York City! Her husband
Mike Silverstein ’05 got Ashok
Pillai ’05 into town, and Anne
Louise Ennis ’06 and Nick Perry
’04 came downtown to enjoy
such varied pleasures as a vintage rooster-shaped chip’n’dip,
terrible SNL highlights and a
grape-eating countdown at a
Spanish restaurant.
Michael Fairhurst is finishing his third and final year of
law school at UC Berkeley and
plans to start a clerkship with
a federal judge in Jacksonville,
Florida, in August.
Abby Taylor is in vet school at
Ohio State.
Brett Marinelli is a first-year
now at Mount Sinai medical
school in NYC; he moved there
from Boston in August. During
their orientation week in the
fall, he, Jessica Harris ’10 and
Brittany Micham ’10 all coincidentally signed up for tae kwon
do and found themselves in the
same class!
Pilar Macdonald is getting
an MBA at the University
of Pennsylvania’s Wharton
Business School with Doug
Holm. They are both in their
first year.
In November Jen Sleeper
was hired as a production finance analyst at Walt
Disney Animation Studios in
Hollywood, Calif. They are
CL ASS
NOTES
currently working on three
full-length animated movies;
the first one to hit theaters is
called Wreck-it-Ralph, and is
to premier next November.
Before Christmas, Ren Wei and
Lingwei Gu met up with Jen in
LA to celebrate Ling’s wedding, and Jen also met up with
Mariama Massaquoi-Gartmann
and Priyanka Bangard Carr, who
came to LA for the holidays
with their husbands. Pri is in
her last semester at Stanford,
Mariama is in medical school
and Ren is in Boston, at
Harvard.
Ashley Overlander and
Matthew Boggia were married
Oct. 1, 2011, in East Hampton,
N.Y. Many Williams graduates
attended the wedding, including
Ashley’s parents and sister.
Alex Hogan and Colleen Garrity
got married in Thompson
Chapel on a beautiful fall day
surrounded by many Ephs.
Colleen says, “It was a beautiful, joyous day. After doing long
distance for the past three years,
we’re both looking forward to
graduating from medical school
and starting our pediatrics residencies together this summer.
We’re currently interviewing for
residencies … and looking forward to finally living together in
July!” Congratulations, Colleen
and Alex!
Laura Lee was to marry
Christian Ernst on March 31.
She lives in San Diego and
works with churches in community outreach and plans to
continue doing so for the near
future.
Nirmal Deshpande is working as a strategist at SS+K, a
New York-based advertising
agency. He is living in Brooklyn,
where he has “standing food
adventures with Isaac Gerber,
Alexis Knepp, and Zach Safford
’09, among others.” Nirmal
attended the wedding of
Rowena Ahsan and Jainal Chisty
in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was
“a wonderful minireunion filled
with choreographed Bollywood
dances, late nights and lots of
curry.” Alums in attendance
included Thomas Kunjappu ’06,
Jay Bid ’06, Hamaad Ravda
’05, Ridhima Raina, Aleha Aziz,
Julia Ramsey, Hannah Gray,
Emily Gray ’09, Katya Prakash
’08, Pam Vachatimanont, Liz
Atkinson, Anna Edmonds, Allison
Davies and Jessie Yu. Former
Williams staff member Kareem
Khubchandani also attended the
wedding.
Anna Edmonds is in Cambodia
on a bicycle, having come from
attending Rowena’s wedding
in Bangladesh. She is on a fellowship this term, so besides
“dissertating,” she will be training to race the Great Divide
Mountain Bike Race, which is
“a 2,785-mile, off-road, selfsupported race from Banff to
Mexico along the Continental
Divide. It starts the first Friday
of June, sadly, the same day as
our reunion!” We’ll be sad to
miss you, Anna.
Doug Hammond and Elizabeth
Preston got married Oct. 1 in
Syracuse, N.Y. Their wedding
party included their Morgan
Midwest entrymates Tyler
Auer and Amanda Nicol as well
as Elizabeth Bond and Zach
Grossman. Elizabeth and Doug
are “living in Chicago along
with an awesome contingent of
Ephs.” Doug trades agricultural
options at the Chicago Board
of Trade. Elizabeth works as
the editor of Muse, a magazine
that covers science and other
nonfiction for kids ages 10
and up. Elizabeth also writes
a science blog called Inkfish,
which can be found at inkfish.
fieldofscience.com.
A crew including Alexis
Machabanski, Laura McCarthy,
Abby Southard, Phil Arnold and
Brian Carey ’06 got together to
watch Ashley Sewell run the
NYC Marathon on Nov. 6. As
they looked out for Ashley, they
got to see Chris Ellis-Ferrera and
several other Ephs run by. Postmarathon, they all gathered
at Ashley’s Upper West Side
apartment and were joined by
Ezra Burch, Chris Merwin, Doug
Holm, Sally Cobb ’09, Meighan
McGowan ’09, Steph Sewell King
’99 and Jonathan King ’98.
Katie Howard was promoted
to a new sales position with
Adidas and planned to move to
North Carolina from Austin,
Texas, in February. Katie, Laura
Ellison and other Williams runner alums gathered to run the
Headwaters Relay in Montana
this past summer.
Auyon Mukharji reports that
Darlingside “is releasing its
debut album over the course of
the next few months. We could
not be more excited about the
music, and we will be touring
across New England to support
the release. So much love to our
fellow Ephs for the incredible
support.”
Alison Koppe hosted Sarah
Martin, Lauren Moscoe and
Julia Sendor ’08 in Berkeley
for their annual New Year’s
reunion. Lauren reports, “We
arrived with a splash. Berkeley
was resplendent with botanical
delights. One dead vole, two
Justin Biebers and three of the
world’s best macaroons ensued.
Carols were at the spinet, and
we painted with all the colors of
the wind.” Well, then!
Matt Kane is still working at
Google in Silicon Valley, Calif.,
where he tries to find time to
make rap videos about search
tips. (Search for “Santa search
tips rap” on YouTube; he both
wrote the rap and appears in
the video!) He ran another
marathon in Sacramento in
December, and at press time
he was looking forward to
cheering (not running!) as
Lauren Philbrook ’09 and some
other friends competed in the
Olympic Trials in Houston in
January. He hoped to see Colin
Carroll and a bunch of other
alums there, too.
Alyssa Mack reports, “I’m officially esquire now! I was sworn
in back in December, and I’m
working as a public defender
in Brooklyn, a job I not only
love but which also gives me
endless topics of conversation
for cocktail parties. I live in
Park Slope and see Carl Clayton
’08 pretty regularly and had
the opportunity to see Brendan
Mulrain when he stopped
in NYC from London last
November. Now I’m planning
a trip to Italy in April to visit
my sister Dominique Mack.”
Congratulations, Alyssa!
As for me (Diana Davis), I
recently attended the Joint
Math Meetings conference
in Boston, where I saw Colin
Carroll along with many other
mathematically-minded Ephs. I
also ran into Chris Ellis-Ferrara
at a few cross-country races
last fall. My news is always
predictable (still in grad school,
still running) so I’d like to thank
all of you who sent in your
news and made this issue so
interesting!
2008
Julie Van Deusen
92 Charles St., #32
Boston, MA 02114
It seems as though things are
starting to settle down a bit
for our class, but we still have
some exciting major life events
to report as well as some crosscountry moves, new jobs and
n 2 0 0 7 –0 8
grad school updates.
Ryan Dunfee left his job as
the director of communications
for an action sports adventure
travel company to move to Lake
Tahoe and get more involved
with his ski journalism career.
He’s been writing for Powder
Magazine and a couple other
outlets and is hoping to get
more involved with writing full
time. He had a great final trip
to Argentina over the summer
with his former job and says it
was definitely the most incredible skiing he’s ever had and an
experience of a lifetime after
working his way back from
his spinal cord injury freshman
year. He reports that he is still
“hopelessly addicted” to both
skiing and surfing, and they
seem to be dictating his life
choices as much as they did at
Williams. Ryan saw a couple
other ’08s over Thanksgiving,
including Hugo St. John, Mike
Darling (who just got engaged)
and Nate Brevard, as well as
a bunch of ’07s. Ryan drove
through Aspen for New Year’s
to party with his freshmen year
roommate Justin Vassar as well
as Sylvia Semper. He reports
that it was “a wild circus of
humanity and super fun.” He
also saw Cooper Jones, Eugene
Berson, Riley Maddox and Haley
Tone ’07 in San Francisco in
January.
Last fall, Dani Wolinsky
moved to San Francisco from
Boston with Google and
has been running into Darcy
Montevaldo, Riley Maddox and
fellow Googler Ben Byrne. She
also lives with Ben Echols ’07.
At the end of the fall, Eugene
Korsunskiy finished his favorite
semester of design grad school
so far, in which his culminating project consisted of staying
up for two weeks straight to
construct a hanging forest
of 10,000 feet of ball chain
(eugenekorsunskiy.com). As
much fun as grad school in Palo
Alto can be, Eugene says it was
wonderful to fly back to North
Carolina to see Kate Nolfi and
travel with her to spend New
Year’s in New York and hang
out with such lovely Ephs as
Joe Song, Polo Black-Golde,
Daniel Yudkin and David Kessel.
Matthew McClure rang in the
New Year with Will Parker (and
their significant others) in South
Beach, Miami. They attended
a concert on the beach and
enjoyed the people-watching.
Dani Johnson is working
at CVS’s strategic product
development group (with
Gordon Phillips). She moved to
Providence from Boston and is
no longer reverse-commuting
each day. Louisa Berky is living in Denver, Colo., with
Alex Horne and 10 minutes
away from her sister Madeline
Berky ’10. Louisa’s working
at the Clear Creek Academy
of Jewelry and Metal Arts in
Denver and recently started her
own jewelry design company,
Louisa B Designs. Alex is in his
second year of medical school
at the University of Denver and
still manages to make it up to
the mountains for a few good
days of skiing each winter.
Chris Shalvoy graduated from
law school and took a job as an
associate with Vedder Price P.C.,
in their global transportation
finance group. In December,
Alexandra Letvin passed her
comprehensive PhD exams in
art history at Johns Hopkins.
She spent a month traveling in
Thailand, Cambodia and Laos
and then returned to “Charm
City” to begin her dissertation and work at the Baltimore
Museum of Art.
Alex Wentworth-Ping is in
his second year at Fordham
Law School and recently won
a Moot Court Interschool
Competition. He looks forward
to working at Allen & Overy in
New York this coming summer.
Alex also reports that Ben Bullitt
got in to Harvard Business
School and looks forward to
moving back to Boston and that
Taryn Rathbone and Michael
Daub plan to get married in
June of this year. Taryn got
a job at an equine veterinary
clinic in the Bay Area. The job
starts in July after her graduation and wedding.
Lashonda Williams worked with
Teach for America right after
graduation (as a corps member for two years) and is now
partway through her fourth year
of teaching ESL. She works in
a high school in Far Rockaway,
N.Y., and really loves her job.
She’s even encouraged some of
her seniors to apply to Williams.
Lashonda was recently awarded
the Albert Shanker Grant to
assist in the financial costs of
applying for National Board
Certification (the highest honor
a teacher can achieve), and she
also got engaged in the spring of
2011. She and her fiancé, John
Gardenhire, are busy planning
their wedding for August 2012.
Eric Zaccarelli is having a lot
of fun living in Brooklyn with
Ryan Karolak, Tom Sargeantson
and their friend Doug Lavender.
They have been playing and
watching a lot of football and
are enjoying the new year and
hoping the end-of-the-world
predictions for 2012 don’t
hold true. Eric also reports
that he recently got an iPhone
and is pretty impressed with it.
Corey Beverly got together with
“Tarevina” (Taryn Pritchard,
Eve Woodin and Marina Harnik),
Kate Peterson and Liz Hirschhorn
in NYC in December, which
he says was much better than
his previous NYC trip over
Halloween weekend where it
snowed all over them and their
costumes.
Last fall I (Julie Van Deusen)
went out to Williamstown for a
work recruiting event and was
treated to a delicious homemade
dinner with Jen Bees and Josh
Cantor, complete with local
vegetables from Peace Valley
Farm. And in early January I
spent an unseasonably warm
weekend (originally intended to
be a cross-country ski weekend)
in the Purple Valley and ended
up hiking Mount Greylock with
Jen and Josh, where we did
eventually find some snow (and
a lot of ice) near the top. Over
the holiday break I met up with
Anne Peckham for coffee and
caught up with her about her
job and life in DC. I also got to
hang out with Nancy Haff when
she was home for the holidays
and hear about how things are
going at Penn medical school.
Nancy is in her second year and
has started her clinical rotations with general surgery. She
also got together with Simone
Levien, Dani Johnson and Caitlin
Warthin for Caitlin’s birthday
and Matt Neuber’s fundraiser
party in NYC in December.
And, Katie Quinn sent in the
alumni photo from her wedding
to Bryan Eckelmann ’09, which
was in Lincolnshire, Ill., on July
3. You can check it out in the
Wedding Album section. They
had quite the alumni attendance, although Katie pointed
out that it doesn’t hurt to have
a sibling, three parents, an
SENDNEWS!
Y
class notes column.
CL ASS
NOTES
uncle and friends who went to
Williams.
I think that covers the news
from our class for now, and I
look forward to hearing from
you again soon!
2009
Mijon Zulu
377 East 33rd St., Apt. 8H
New York, NY 10016
A friend of mine recently said,
“Oh my God. There is a TV
on my phone. I am living in the
future.” Guess what? He was
right. Most futuristic films from
our childhood had ultra thin
screens and videophones. Now
that this is quickly becoming
the norm, one has to wonder,
“What is next?” If we are in
the future, I can’t help but feel
that we are at the end of an era.
Currencies are crazy, the Arabs
have sprung, Congress is trying
to police the Internet, publishing is being redefined, etc. What
lies ahead is, put simply, quite
uncertain. However, I still see
people continuing to invest in
new ideas, their education, their
careers and, most importantly,
their family. Thus even in the
future, we must not forget
where we come from and who
was there. So why are we
checking in? We check in just
because.
Because they build bridges
for tomorrow’s innovation and
have to deal with everyone’s
children, I begin with our
educators.
Jim Lowe, in Shiprock, N.M.,
left the classroom and now
advises the Bureau of Indian
Education on secondary science
and math for Shiprock High
School. In North Philly, Rashid
Duroseau is transforming a
historically low-performing
school’s culture to increase
performance and is teaching
seventh-grade social studies. Mary Wilson Molen in
Wetumpka, Ala., which is near
the shooting locations of films
such as The Grass Harp and Big
Fish, is teaching seventh-grade
social studies at Wetumpka
Middle School. And, in Boone,
N.C., Elissa Brown is finishing
up her first year teaching in the
classroom at an expeditionary
learning public charter school.
Next, because they are learning what we need to learn
tomorrow, we turn to the
increasingly more educated.
At the University of Wisconsin
at Madison, Sara Riskind will
finish her MA in choral conducting, while, at the University
of Idaho, Emily Olsen has
finished an MS in the natural
resources program in conservation social science but still
needs to finish student teaching
in Boise this spring in order to
finish the teaching certification
requirements for secondary
science.
In Beantown, Ed Newkirk took
a break from his PhD in math
at Brown and attended the
annual Joint Math Meetings in
Boston, where he ran into Jess
Levitt ’08, Ralph Morrison ’10,
Jake Levinson ’11 and Diana
Davis ’07 before stepping away
to catch up with Bret Thatcher.
Also in the land of the Red Sox,
Kari Lyden-Fortier will complete
an MS in speech-language
pathology at the MGH Institute
of Health Professions. When
not studying, Ms. Lyden-Fortier
paints the town red with Jackie
Berglass ’11 and, when not
in Boston, Ms. Lyden-Fortier
reunites with old friends like
Rahul Bahl and his close proximity to South Beach in Miami.
Mr. Bahl is clearly starting a
trend, because he also hosted
Brandon Halloway and Chris
Chiang for what was rumored
to be an absolutely epic New
Year’s beach party.
In Texas, Sarah Hill is working
on finishing her MA at UT but
spent a month back in England
enjoying immediate family, her
new niece, high school friends,
her home church and the comfort of the English countryside.
In Philly, Lauren Philbrook
is enjoying a graduate school
program in human development
at Penn State and was looking
forward to running the Boston
Marathon in April with Ryan
Ford, Beth Links, Karin Knudson
and Rachel Asher. Last, Steve
Van Wert and Ms. Philbrook
have set a date for a wedding at
Williams this June!
Over in London, Aroop
Mukharji started a second
MA in war studies at Kings
College London. During his
holidays, Mr. Mukharji went
to Morocco with Alex Lees ’03
and was joined by Jake Gorelov
and friends for more fun in
the Canary Islands in Spain. In
whatever free time he has left,
Mr. Mukharji is working on
a book about Williams from
the 1940s till the present with
fellow Octet alum Kevin Waite
’81. Claire Rindlaub returned to
the States to start her master’s
program in New York after
spending two months in India
and a month in Thailand, where
she caught up with study-abroad
friends, including Francisco
Bisono. Ms. Rindlaub’s new
locale is shared by Jess Kopcho,
who stopped nursing school and
begun a post-bac premedical
program at Columbia, and Jess
Walthew, who, after completing
her first year in her conservation
program, will spend the summer
in Turkey as a junior conservator
at the ancient Lydian capital of
Sardis.
Because we wonder when
we will ever get to go abroad
for a significant period again,
let’s hear some news from our
travelers.
Up north, Anouk Dey is still
doing an Action Canada fellowship and was to present her
findings to the Canadian parliament in March. Before the end
of the year, Ms. Dey ski-trekked
over La Foglietta in the Alps,
crossing from France to Italy.
In the new year, she will host
Molly Hunter, Arianna Kourides,
Riki McDermott, Helen Hatch
and Nanny Gephart for hardcore adventures and encounters
with bears and beavers for Ms.
Hunter’s 25th in the Canadian
North. In England, Ali Tozier has
been living in London and volunteering at a charity that helps
victims of human trafficking
become economically independent, but she plans to return to
Maine in the fall for law school.
Outside of work, she has been
having fun with Mr. Mukharji
and Lindsay Moore, before Ms.
Moore left her job working at
U.K. Parliament and for the MP
fo Cambridge and journeyed to
Somaliland to teach biology at a
boarding school. In Russia, Jon
Earle is still a news reporter for
The Moscow Times, an Englishlanguage daily in Moscow.
Finally, Fiona Worcester took
a break from Alaska to travel
around Ecuador to practice Spanish and scale some
mountains. Now returned, she
has completed a 50-mile ski
race and began training for a
100-miler that will take place in
February.
Because we are now wondering if people still have their
jobs, let us hear from Ephs in
working America.
Ted Kernan, at ExxonMobil
in Houston, got accepted into
the Colorado School of Mines.
Andy Ward, in Beantown,
announced that he landed a
walk-on role as an extra in the
n 2 0 0 8 –1 0
Jenny Coronel ’10 (left) traveled to Istanbul to visit Burge Abiral ’11 in
November. The two rode the ferry from Asia to Europe and had dessert
by the Bosphorus Strait.
upcoming Paranormal Activity
4 movie! Pei-Ru Ko is living
a new life as a yoga teacher
and therapeutic chef in San
Francisco! And, Avalon Gulley
is living in Durango, Colo.,
as a nanny and energy/sound
healer. Ms. Gulley also started
a project called Light University
(www.thelightu.net).
Wendy Li lives in Brooklyn
and works at Red Line Films,
a production company where
she was the key production
assistant on a Bravo show that
premiered in December, Chef
Roble & Co. Since then she has
been a production assistant/
coordinator on a few other Red
Line projects, including a TLC
show about Italian-American
men in the Bronx and an
investigative discovery crime
recreation show. Watch for her
as “the nurse” in one of the episodes—they ran out of extras.
Julian Mesri is working as an
educator at the Lower East Side
Tenement Museum giving tours
and opening up minds about
immigration. Mr. Mesri is also
in the “Playwright Spotlight”
for Magic Futurebox, a New
York theater that will produce
three of his plays this year.
Visitors include Lindsay Millert,
who stopped by NYC to
celebrate Christine Cohen’s 25th
birthday with friends Stefanie
Williams, Bibi Metsch-Garcia,
Chris Doyle, John Szawlowski
and Meghan McGowan. NYC’s
Naya-Joi Martin is still the
development associate at the
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
and has fun with Bryant Lewis,
Nailah Wilds, Alicia Santiago,
David Edwards and Kelly
Smith but planned to take some
time off and work at the NBA’s
Jam Session/All-Star Weekend
in Orlando in February!
Finally, because love is
everything, let us take a second
to get Victoria Williams’ take on
becoming Victoria Stanton. Back
in October, supported by her
Eph bridesmaids—Lisa Sloan
(maid of honor), Emilie Voight
and Amanda Montano, Ms.
Williams married her longtime partner, Patrick Stanton,
University of Maine. The guests
in attendance were Kenny Yim,
David Edwards, Anthony Molina,
Alicia Santiago, Morgan PhillipsSpotts, Josh Goldberg-Sussman
and Amanda Santiago ’08. Good
luck to the happy couple. Till
the next, YCS.
2010
Ethan Timmins-Schiffman
907 Washington St., Apt. GN
Evanston, IL 60202
Arjun Ravi Narayan continues
to study computer science at
the University of Pennsylvania,
“which mostly means I get
to procrastinate all day,” he
wrote. When not indulging
in TV tropes and “Wikipedia
binges,” he teaches undergraduate students. “Then I feel smug
about the quality of my undergraduate education, reopen the
25ish tabs that were previously
keeping me busy and get back
to procrastinating.” Arjun is
happy that his work allows
him to travel to conferences,
enabling him both to present
work “that I most certainly
did not do” and catch up with
fellow Ephs.
Lizzie Brickley is finishing up
her MPhil in epidemiology at
the University of Cambridge
with a focus on health in
developing countries. She enjoys
hanging out in the U.K. with
Asheque Shams, Leah Katzelnick,
Ruthie Ezra, Scott Oleson,
Nathan Benaich, Jun Liu, Susan
Tan and Jose Martinez.
At Nevsehir University in
Turkey, Jenny Coronel is a
conversational English teacher.
Jenny teaches undergraduates in the tourism department the meanings of hip
English colloquialisms such as
“hands down” and “way out
of your league.” Jenny spent
Thanksgiving visiting Burge
Abiral ’11 in Istanbul: “It was
great to catch up as we rode the
ferry from Asia to Europe, and
as we enjoyed dessert by the
Bosphorus Strait.” When she
wrote, she was looking forward
to meeting up with Ambika
Thoreson and Gean Spektor in
January. Jenny sends the following message to those visiting
Turkey: “Hit me up!”
Daniel Gura lives just down
the street from Mount Greylock
High School, in a cottage that
faces the Waubeeka Springs
Golf Course. He resides with
Leah Lansdowne ’11. “We’ve
got a meadow behind our
house and a patio with a fire
pit. It’s basically awesome.” In
December Dan started working
at the studio of Jenny Holzer, a
conceptual artist whose work
is featured in our very own
Science Quad. “I spend my days
archiving her art, prepping it
for places that want it, filing
correspondence and random
documents, etc.” Dan works at
Mezze on the weekends, occasionally hikes with Kelsey Levine
and took yours truly on a hike
on New Year’s Day.
Whitney Hitchcock is loving
life as a second-year medical
student at Dartmouth. She still
finds time to play volleyball,
brew beer and even teach a
yoga class. She looks forward
to getting some chickens in the
spring. “I wish that I could have
a goat, but ç’est la vie.”
Sy Schotz spends his days at
Manda Farm, an organic farm
in Plainfield, Mass. There he
works with the goats for which
Whitney yearns but also with
many other animals. He is
especially happy to tend to the
three llamas and three sheep
that he acquired in the fall. The
CL ASS
NOTES
autumn months brought Sy
experience in nurturing the lives
of his animals—feeding, breeding and providing shelter—but
also in ending the lives of some
his charges. He slaughtered three
goats, explaining that he was
careful to utilize every part of
the animal. “I’m in the process
of tanning the skins, and I am
mummifying the feet to make
decorative barn door handles
and coat hangers.” With the
experience that he gains from his
current work, Sy plans on establishing a permaculture farm. He
wrote his note while attending a workshop in traditional
bow and arrow making. On
Fridays, Sy works at the Heron
Homeschool in Amherst, Mass.,
part of Earthwork programs. Sy,
the students and their mentor
meet at the Hitchcock Center
for the Environment in Amherst,
“teaching and sharing primitive
living skills and generally enjoying hanging out in the woods.”
Joanna Hoffman still lives in
Cambridge, Mass. In October,
she took her athletic prowess out of the water and onto
dry land and ran the Chicago
Marathon with fellow swimmers Jillian Hancock ’11,
Courtney Asher ’09 and Michelle
Kurkul ’08. “It was super fun!”
Also in Cambridge is Erik
Tillman, who is applying to
graduate school.
After completing a thesis on
art crime—specifically, looting
of Native American artifacts in
the Southwest—Perri Osattin
moved to Boston, where she
now works at an international
contemporary art gallery on
Newbury Street.
Maria Tucker lives with Kim
Cheng, Kait O’Brien and Daniel
Tao in the Porter Square area of
Cambridge. “It’s been really fun
so far because there’s always
someone to hang out with,”
she reported. Maria works for
AdMonsters, where she writes
about mobile advertising and
coordinates the company’s
international conference schedule. She looks forward to graduating from Harvard this spring
with a master’s in archaeology
of religion. Fun fact: Maria’s
younger sister Angelica will be
a member of the Williams Class
of 2016.
In DC, Bethany Baker plays
rugby with Liz Hirschorn ’08.
Over the winter Bethany and
Hannah Rosenthal attended a
national rugby tournament.
Tyler Ware and EJ Toppin are
holding down a “sweet bachelor
From left: Brittni Micham ’10, Jess Harris ’11 and Brett Marinelli ’07
became friends after meeting each other at a Tae Kwon Do class during
orientation at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the fall.
pad” in DC only two blocks
from Chris Law. EJ is making
the big decisions on Capitol Hill
working for Sen. Blumenthal,
while Tyler is testing his entrepreneurial skills by trying to
grow his tea company (check
it out on Facebook or at www.
botshelotea.com). Both are
sampling DC culture and nobly
saving the environment by
bicycling just about everywhere.
“Hope everyone is doing well
and say ‘Hi’ if you are in DC!”
Samim Abedi is surrounded
by too many copies of the New
York Post “hoisted up and read
by irritable Long Islanders” on
the NYC trains. “All else,” he
added, “is well.”
Dae Selcer is still teaching
high school English language
arts at an International School
in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,
where she won the dubious
award “Teacher Who Gives
the Most Homework” from
the student body. She has also
begun an MA in teaching ESL
from Hamline University,
which she will complete both in
Minnesota and Ho Chi Minh
City. Her one complaint is that
the lack of snow in Vietnam
hasn’t deterred anyone from
putting up lots of snowflakeshaped Christmas lights: “Not
cool, Saigon. Not cool.”
At February’s end, Julianne
Feder began her work at
Spannocchia, where she is
creating a “working master’s
program” that involves a
year of work on a farm, in
the hospitality profession, in
kitchens and restaurants, in
food retail and with lots travel.
Check on her status at her blog,
thegastronerd.com. Julianne
introduced yours truly to some
of the finest dining Chicago has
to offer while she was in town
on business in October. We
partook in oysters, the classiest
of the bivalves.
Kallan Wood began a dance
program in NYC in January.
She moved in with Sarah
Ginsberg, one of many “cool
kids” in the city whom Kallan is
excited to hang out with.
January 1 was not just the
first day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar, but also the
one-year anniversary of Lauren
Sinnenberg, Christine Jones and
Stephanie Kim sharing the residential bond known as “being
roommates.” The three live in
Manhattan’s East Village and in
January were very excited that
Sarah Walmsley, Tyler Rainer
and Annie Neil were to soon
move into an apartment nearby
in Alphabet City. No gaggle of
roommates would be complete
without specific social plans,
though. A Hunger Gamesthemed housewarming party,
Sunday night dinners and a
new favorite board game, “Six
Word Memoirs,” were all in the
works.
Cullen Roberts wrote in from
Connor Kamm’s living room in
Nashville, Tenn. Cullen, Nora
Mitchell, Amanda Huey, Sam
Jackson, Sam Blackshear, Matt
Deady and Brian Citro decided
to celebrate the New Year in
Nashville. Only Corey Watts and
Jeff Perlis were missing from the
’09-’10 Milham House lineup.
“It’s been a great trip so far
with perfect weather and lots of
awesome food,” Cullen wrote.
n 2 0 1 0 –1 1
“As for my regular life, I’m still
teaching at Choate and enjoying
it a lot.”
Caleb Balderston reports that
his second year in Teach for
America has been “so much”
better than the first. “It is still
more challenging than anything
else I’ve ever done, but knowing what to expect, more or
less, makes all the difference.”
Caleb teaches math at Austin
Business & Entrepreneurship
Academy in the western reaches
of Chicago.
Cat Vielma is now “exclusively
underwriting all real-estate
investments west of the
Rockies.” In November, she
“ditched” homecoming to see
Liz Pierce ’08 and Ryan Belmont
’05 in Boston, where she also
ran into Sammy Sawan ’06 and
Maggie Tucker ’09. In December
she enjoyed hosting a Christmas
party with various Ephs living
in the Chicago area.
Christophe Dorsey-Guillaumin
celebrated the New Year by
moving to a new city: Chicago.
Here, he works on the Obama
campaign in the analytics
department. “It’s super fun,” he
wrote, noting that he enjoys the
company of “tons of incredibly
smart, politically well-informed
and all-around nice people who
really care about what we’re
doing.” The combination of
math and politics is his dream
job, “and I couldn’t be more
excited!”
Tommy Coleman gets bonus
points for writing in while being
out and about in NYC with fellow alumni. He spent a January
evening traversing the streets
of Brooklyn and Manhattan
with Vince Powell-Newman, Alex
Mokover, Samim Abedi, Dave
Kulik, Jim Dunn, Julia Reiser,
Rachel Rosten, Cristina Diaz,
Jimmy Nguyen and Jonathan
Galinsky. Yours truly is looking
forward to Tommy visiting
Chicago from his current home
in Missouri, where he is a
PhD student in mathematics at
Mizzou.
Since I last wrote, I have
thoroughly enjoyed coaching
high school basketball with
Maggie Scannell (formerly
Miller) ’07. Other important
updates include downloading
and then listening to a Rick
Ross mixtape, hanging out with
Tanya Zhuravleva in Boston and
the steady upward progression
of my quest to make the perfect
kale chip.
Marco Sanchez wrote in with
the following note: “I’m still
in Switzerland, cleaning and
waxing cars by day and making music dressed as a gnome
by night (it’s that time of the
season).”
2011
Caroline Chiappetti
2090 Frederick Douglass Blvd.,
Apt 2C
New York, NY, 10026
So many of you wrote in this
time that I have hardly any
room to editorialize or wax
poetic on your lives. I wrote
most of this batch of notes at
a coffee shop next to an older
woman who mistook me for a
writer (granted, I was writing)
and proceeded to offer me some
wonderful unsolicited advice.
(“Make sure your editors know
they work for you!”) When I
told her I was in fact writing
up class news for my college’s
alumni magazine, she was most
impressed I had volunteered for
the position, so thank you to
all of you who contributed and
make this job pleasurable.
To continue the tradition
of beginning the notes with
those who most deserve our
recognition, Steph Berger was
commissioned as an ensign
in the U.S. Navy on Nov. 18.
She is a surface warfare officer
on the USS Pearl Harbor and
went on deployment in early
January. To send Steph goodies
while she’s away, check out the
Adopt-an-Eph program about
which I emailed you information a while ago.
Faisal Khan embarrassed himself on co-worker Alex Mendel’s
first day of work on his team at
Booz Allen in DC by asking him
what school he graduated from.
Otherwise, Faisal is enjoying
DC and hangs out with the
Williams people he recognizes.
After spending all summer and
fall working as a farm manager
for her parents, Casey Lyons
started a fellowship at the FDA
in Bethesda. Though still living
at home in the DC suburbs,
Casey plans to move into the
city soon with hopes of reviving
her social life. Nevertheless,
Casey has managed to see
Candace Gibson, who is studying
for an MA at Georgetown, Thuy
Pham and a contingent of Ephs
at the Keystone XL Pipeline
protest in November, and Abby
Martin, Laura Staugitis and Jay
Cox-Chapman ’09 at a holiday
party chez Chandler Sherman
and Julia von Hoogstraten.
Casey regretfully shared that
her fellow Milham housemates
Ellen Stuart, Nick Arnosti, Aaron
Bauer and Jake Levinson see
each other frequently in San
Francisco without her. True to
Casey’s word, Nick and Ellen
spent Thanksgiving weekend
in Berkeley with Aaron Bauer,
Jake Levinson and Dave Moore
’10. Nick spent two months
this summer traveling around
Central Europe and improving
his German before heading to
California, where he finished
his first term as a Stanford
graduate student. Ellen joined
Nick in Palo Alto and works as
a research assistant at Stanford
Law School.
Nick and Ellen also joined
classmates Peter Gottlieb,
Marissa Pilger, Camille Chicklis
and Steve Rubin to watch the
Williams-Amherst game at the
San Francisco alumni association’s homecoming party. Steve
started a PhD in computer
science this fall at UC Berkeley.
He reported that Camille works
south of San Francisco, Peter
is in grad school at Stanford,
and Marissa and Julian Suhr live
nearby in Berkeley.
Also in Berkeley are Sasha
Macko and Morgan Goodwin
’08. Sasha works for the
Alliance for Climate Education
with a fellow Eph (Class
of 2000) and a bunch of
Middlebury alums. After a
three-month long cross-country
road trip, she is “enjoying
exploring San Francisco and
the Bay Area and running into
random old friends from
the East Coast who all happen
to be out here basking in the
mellow winter.”
Will Slack, who is working
in Madison, Wis., is one such
friend who enjoyed seeing Sasha
and Morgan as well as Diego
Flores on a recent business trip
to California. He also writes
that, on a recent warmer day in
Madison, he put on a Williams
sweatshirt before heading out—
the first person he ran into that
day was a Williams ’06 wearing
a purple hoodie!
Sarah Dewey is still holding it
down in Williamstown along
with Corey Baldwin, as they
both received teaching fellowships at the Pine Cobble School.
They both live on the PC campus along with Sarah’s recently
acquired dog, Gunner.
“Still being in the Purple Bubble
has allowed us to kick it with
some other alums in the area,
CL ASS
NOTES
including Deborah Caitlyn
Cain, Kevin Snyder ’09, Dan
Greenberg ’08, Kelsey Levine ’10
and Jim Entwisle ’10. Being a
Williamstown native myself, it
has been a slightly bizarre but
awesome experience to officially
include my parents, Dave ’82
and Suzanne, in my social circle,
which often includes outings to
the Pub and the Forge, as well
as the good old free, homecooked meal,” wrote Sarah.
Katie White, another
Williamstown native, spent the
fall working with Professor
Darra Goldstein on Williams’
international website (http://
international.williams.edu) and
working at a Turkish restaurant
in Wellesley while looking for
a full-time job. The search has
brought her to Boston, where
she has seen KK Durante, Janna
Gordon, Maddy Haff, Sarah
Weber, Lizzy Barcay and Rooney
Charest (among others), to
New York, where she has seen
Nina Cochran and Chris Serna
and back to Williamstown,
where she has seen Amy Nolan,
Julia Drake, JJ Augenbraum and
Akemi Ueda.
Across the Atlantic, Ceci
Davis-Hayes works as an English
teaching assistant at a public
primary school in Verdun,
France. Highlights so far have
been mountain biking in a
deep WWI trench, eating fresh
baguettes and stinky cheese on
a daily basis, and playing soccer
at recess every day with her
10-year-old students.
Ellen Song is still teaching in
Madrid and has been fortunate
enough to see Marco Sanchez
’10 in Switzerland as well as
several Ephs passing through
Madrid, including Mustafa
Saadi ’12 and Ben Kane ’12.
Ellen spent her Christmas break
in Turkey with Bürge Abiral, and
the two rang in the New Year
together by taking shots of jäger
with Bürge’s parents and watching fireworks on the streets of
Istanbul.
Maddie Jacobs is still teaching
in Vietnam and is currently
washing dishes in her shower, as
water has stopped coming out
of her kitchen sink’s faucet and
her bathroom sink is too tiny to
wash dishes in.
Asad Liaqat wrote in on behalf
of the Pakistani Eph contingent. Ayesha Shahid works as a
features writer at Dawn News,
the oldest English-language
newspaper in Pakistan, and covers cultural events. According to
Asad, Ayesha sometimes tires of
cultural events and writes about
social issues, hoping her editors don’t notice. On one such
occasion she ran into Asad at a
political party’s press conference
in Islamabad, where he works
as a research associate at the
Center for Economic Research,
Pakistan. Asad has been studying the learning levels of children in conflict-hit Buner and
as of January has been leading
a study on the belief formation
of pre-primary kids in South
Punjab. “Punjab, of course, is
where Ayyaz Ahmed is working
at Sang-e-Meel Publications,
where he meets with authors
by day and dreams of a digital
book revolution in Pakistan by
night,” wrote Asad.
Emanuel Yekutiel spent 10
rupees at an Internet café in
Goa, India, in order to send
in his news after a day of
parasailing. He was about to
finish month five of the Watson
Fellowship adventure and was
due in Australia on Jan. 19.
While in India he hung out with
Bhavya Reddy, and in the UK,
where he spent the previous
three months, he saw Jehanne
Wylie in Cambridge, Fhatarah
Zinnamon and Sara Ahmed in
London, and visited the current
WEPO kids in Oxford.
Also globetrotting in 2011
was Brian Borah. After spending the summer studying for
the MCAT and applying to
medical school, Brian flew to
Guatemala in September, where
he volunteered in the small
town of San Lucas Tolimán
until mid-December. Now
trying to figure out what to do
with the months that remain
before medical school, he asks
whether “any 2011ers want to
team up and road trip?” In the
meantime, Brian was planning
to join Alex Reeves and Andrew
Gaidus for a Poker C reunion in
Jeff Putnam’s NYC apartment
in January. For old time’s sake,
Brian predicted they would
probably “listen to jams, pay
visits to Betty and steal lots of
[Michael Geary’s] food.”
Fellow adventure-seekers
Dan Walsh and Lisa Merkhofer
spent the fall mapping rockfall
hazards and hot springs at
Grand Teton National Park.
“Before that we spent the
month of September living
out of a Subaru Outback
(’Bruce’) and traveling the
Rockies from Glacier, Wyo.,
to Jasper, Canada. We also
enjoyed hanging out with Peter
Hick at Stanford and leaving
appreciation messages for mysterious alums with Williams car
stickers at Mount Rainer. We’re
both now looking for new
adventures in the U.S. or South
America,” wrote Dan.
Carol Tsoi wrote in on behalf
of her Poker E housemates,
many of whom have been
traipsing around the world.
Leigh Davis and David Phillips
spent the summer WWOOFing
in Spain and Italy, herding
goats and making cheese. When
David came back in August
to start work in Boston with
Deloitte Consulting, Sophie
Robinson joined Leigh to
WWOOF in the French countryside. Tending all of those
animals made Leigh a prime
applicant for veterinary school,
and she is in the midst of deciding where she will matriculate
next year. Sophie is now in
Nashville, Tenn., working for
a very busy family. Despite
her long work hours, Sophie
still finds the time and energy
to play pickup soccer with the
locals. Without a fixed itinerary, Mara Shapero is traveling
through South America for the
year, volunteering with different
clinics in Nicaragua and Peru
before applying to medical
school.
Stateside, Carol is an
Americorps VISTA, serving
at the Asian Pacific American
Legal Resource Center and
planning to pursue public
interest law. Also serving the
community is William Lee,
who works as a hotel union
organizer in Boston. He shares
a beautiful house by the beach
with Jen Rowe, Tasha Chu and
Josh and Johannes Wilson. When
not running outside, cooking,
or hanging out with homeless
three-year-olds, Jen looks for
leads with environmental NGOs
in Boston. Elizabeth Kalb is
studying up a storm at Robert
Wood Johnson Medical School
in New Jersey.
Nancy Dong wrote in from LA
on behalf of our class’s Teach
for America cohort; her fellow
TFA Ephs include Emily Spine
in Milwaukee, Giselle Jiminez in
Houston, James Allison in DC,
Gershwin Penn and Dale Markey
in Arkansas, and Jon Carroll in
Indianapolis.
Meghan Rose Donnelly is
now teaching theater classes in
Wakefield, R.I. Her most recent
student? Danielle Diuguid.
Veronica Rabelo is enrolled in
a dual PhD program in women’s
studies and psychology at the
n 2011
From left: Robert Kim ’11, Michael Ives ’11, Josephine Warshauer ’11,
Rebecca Shoer ’13 and Brittany Baker-Brousseau ’11 ushered in 2012
with a celebratory dinner at JoJo in NYC.
University of Michigan, where
she has bumped into Jake
Levinson and Tatiana Fernandez.
She lives with fellow rugger
Emily MacLeary ’10, and they
have hosted Veronica’s Williams
roommate Mike Semensi ’12.
Andrei Baiu and Veronica have
switched off visiting each other
in Ann Arbor and Madison,
where she has bumped into his
co-worker Will Slack.
Abby Martin works at the
Yestermorrow Sustainable
Design/Build School in
Warren, Vermont. “It’s right
by Sugarbush and Mad River
Glen; any ’11s headed that way
should say hello!”
Laura Corona lives with Ariel
White and Ben Atkinson in
Boston.They’re all working as
research assistants—Ariel at
the Harvard School of Public
Health, Ben at Children’s
Hospital and Laura at UMassBoston. These days, they spend
a lot of time reading on the T,
and enjoying having their own
kitchen and paying incredibly
expensive cab fares coming
home from downtown bars.
While sending in her news,
Laura happened to be texting
Harlan Dodson, so she decided
to send in an update on his
behalf as well. He teaches
American history and economics and coaches basketball at
the New Hampton School in
New Hampshire.
Nathaniel Lim continues his
PhD program in mechanical engineering at Boston
University. Tina Zeng is a project
manager at an IT company in
Cambridge, Mass., and volunteers her free time at Venture
Cafe. She has been accepted to
Tufts Dental School and will
matriculate in the fall. In their
spare time, Tina and Nathaniel
have been working on an idea
for a website, which launched
at ranksocial.net. They welcome
support from fellow Ephs!
Our trusty class treasurer
Joey Kiernan reports that he
had a great time with a bunch
of members from the classes
of 2008-11 at the Head of the
Charles in the fall, where the
current men’s Eph rowers beat
Trinity by over 20 seconds for
their third Head of the Charles
victory in four years. Though
based in Boston, Joey spends a
few days a week in Chicago for
work.
Becca Licht started work at a
small consulting firm outside of
Boston in July but in January
relocated to NYC with the
same firm and moved in with
Dan Constanza and former crew
teammate Liz Zhu. As much as
she loved spending time with
the Beacon Hill “crew crew,”
which includes Jenny Schnabel,
Leland Brewster, Shawn Curley
and Joey Kiernan, Becca was
looking forward to a change
from Boston, where she grew
up.
Fiona Moriarty works at an art
law firm in NYC and lives with
Nicole Ballon-Landa in Chelsea.
Fiona and Christine Chung have
just started a food blog entitled
“Kiimchi + Bangers” (after
two notorious foods from their
respective backgrounds) which
will give the inside scoop on
New York’s food scene with
sarcastic flair.
Douglas Onyango is enjoying
Manhattan and learning about
machines at Columbia and also
runs into random Ephs in the
subway. Elliot Schrok is in NYC
pursuing an MA in math and
spent Thanksgiving with Katrina
Tulla and Iliyana Hadjistoyanova.
They were graced with a visit by
Catalina Stoica as well!
Since moving (back) to NYC,
Evan Maltby has been lucky
enough to land two acting
gigs, the first a production of
Woychek by George Buchner,
with a small company called
Stasz/Pruitt Productions, and the
second an ongoing job with the
NiteStar Program, an educational
theater company that performs
in schools and community
centers all around NYC.
As for myself, I hosted Evan
along with Chandler Sherman,
Clare Quinlan, Tess Bingham,
Tommy Nelson, Lauren Anstey,
Chris Fox, Carla Cain-Walther,
Nathaniel Basch-Gould, Jared
Nourse, Maya Hislop and Eric
Koenigsberg ’10 for dinner in
NYC on New Year’s Eve. Also,
before starting a new job, I
made a spontaneous visit to the
West Coast to surprise Michelle
Noyer-Granacki in LA for her
birthday in January. Much
credit is due to Lucas Bruton for
helping organize the surprise
and for driving me around LA.
Finally, Will Harron is living
in a shack in the mountains of
North Carolina, interning on a
farm, herding goats and mastering key skills that Williams did
not teach him, including “splitting wood, building rail fences,
slaughtering chickens, driving
tractors, herding cows, goats
and pigs (although JAing might
count towards that).” His boss’s
father is John Ager ’71 and Henry
Schmidt ’14 is also related to the
farm. He’s there until fall 2012
and, “would love to see more
Ephs swing by these beautiful
mountains, although nothing
compares to seeing Greylock
loom over the horizon.”
Till next time, folks. Thanks
for writing in!
SENDPHOTOS
W
W e d di ng
a l bu m
All dates 2011 unless noted
Margaret
diZerega ’02 &
Chiemi Suzuki
Chiemi and Margaret
(right) were married
Sept. 2 at Brooklyn
Borough Hall in New York
City. The couple, who had
mutual friends in high
school in California and
met again in New York
shortly after Margaret
graduated from Williams,
decided to elope when
the state passed a law
allowing same-sex
marriage last summer.
& Audun Hepsø
Anna Scholtz ’09
Aug. 6, Trondheim, Norway
Victoria Williams ’09
& Patrick Stanton
Oct. 9, Hallowell, Maine
Laura Massie ’99 & Brian Spitzer ’96
March 5, Lexington, Va.
Liza Welsh ’06 & Tim Pingree ’06
Molly Sharlach ’05
& Kevin Hoeschele
June 18, Swarthmore, Pa.
Sept. 4, Silver Bay, N.Y.
ttenborg
’05 & Drew Go
Emily Welsh
’06
Pa.
Oct. 15, Swarthmore,
W ed di ng
a lbu m
Alix Davis ’03 & Andrew Weiss
Alix and Andrew (fifth and sixth from right) were married on Sept. 11 in Lancaster, Pa., in a ceremony officiated by
Eric Woodward ’03 (fourth from left) and including a performance of “The Rainbow Connection,” arranged and sung
by Katie Saxon ’03 (second from right), featuring flute by Emmy Valet ’03 (second from left).
Martha Rogers ’07
& José Pacas ’08
May 29, Minneapolis, Minn.
Vanea Norris ’01
& Derek Turner
June 4, Gainesville, Va.
Jen Lazar ’04 & Daniel Shearer ’04
Dec. 30, 2010, Huntington, Vt.
K ate Beren
s ’04
Jennifer Hendi ’99
& Matthew Trovato
& Cr aig Bu
cki
Nov. 12, Buffalo,
N.Y.
Sept. 17, New York, N.Y.
Barbara Close ’84
& Courtney Horblock
Adrienne Mason & Peter Johnson ’75
June 18, Shelter Island, N.Y.
Oct. 2, Audubon, Pa.
Colleen Gerrity ’07 & Alex Hogan ’07
Oct. 9, Williamstown, Mass.
W e d di n g
a l bu m
Amy Shelton ’05
& Greg Laughlin
Amy and Greg (third and fourth from right) were married on Oct. 29 in Foresthill, Calif., in a ceremony officiated by Kevin
Bolduc ’99 (second from right), their boss when they both worked at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, where they met.
Elizabeth Preston ’07
& Doug Hammond ’07
Lisa Buxbaum ’88 & Brian Burke
Oct. 1, Syracuse, N.Y.
Sept. 17, Scituate, Mass.
Maggie McDonald ’04
& Jon Potter
& JOSH BURNS ’02
Brittany Raven
Aug. 27, San Francisco, Calif.
June 25, Cape May, N.J.
Terri O’Brien ’02 & Brad Howells ’02
Nov. 12, Berkeley, Calif.
Carolyn Skudder ’07
& Andrew Pocius ’06
July 23, Falmouth, Mass.
Kerel Nurse ’05
Ines Ma jor ’06 &
Anna Ludeke & David Brown ’07
Sept. 4, Vail, Colo.
Nov. 4, New York, N.Y.
Alissa Goldhaber & Peter Krause ’02
July 3, Boston, Mass.
W e d di ng
a l bu m
Lwin Mon Thant & Phyo Phyu Noe ’06
Phyo and Lwin (center) were married on Dec. 25 in Yangon, Myanmar. Williams friends traveled from Thailand, China,
Seattle and New York to attend the celebration, which spanned several days and included a religious service at a
monastery, formal receptions hosted by the couple’s families and a Western dinner party.
Ashley Overland
er ’07
& Matthew Bogg
ia ’07
Caren Mintz ’01
& Joseph Grossman
Oct. 1, East Hampton, N.Y.
June 26, New York, N.Y.
Liz Chase ’03 & Tad Hodgson ’03
Aug. 20, Andover, Mass.
Elizabeth Just ’04
& Stephen Dobay ’05
Oct. 22, New York, N.Y.
Williams People publishes photographs of weddings, commitment ceremonies and civil unions. For detailed instructions on how to submit
your photo, please visit http://alumni.williams.edu/sendphoto.
W E D DI NG
A L BU M
Raymond E. George Jr. &
Betsy E. LaMont, Dec. 20
Jill Wasserman & Stephen
Devereaux, April 30
Jennifer Morgan & James
Zembrzuski, June 17
1961
1999
David E. Wheelock & Mary
Harrington, Sept. 10
Catherine Laible & Sean
Plummer, June 2
1977
2000
William J. Feeney & Kathleen
Marshall, June 19
Craig D. Branca & Melissa
Roberts, Sept. 23
Stephen Kelleher & Candice
Corvetti ’07, July 29
Emily C. Perry & Renato
Lulia-Jacob, Sept. 3
Molly Sharlach & Kevin
Hoeschele, Sept. 4
Emily Welsh & Drew
Gottenborg ’06, Oct. 15
Kathryn P. Dineen &
Alexander W. Lawton, Oct. 22
Amy D. Shelton & Gregory
Laughlin, Oct. 29
1988
2001
2006
Gerald S. Kirschner & Katie
Thatcher, April 16
Lisa Buxbaum & Brian Burke,
Sept. 17
Kristen Lee & Robert Webster,
Aug. 21
1991
Cathleen Hanclich & Mark
Neslusan, Aug. 6
Brian D. Carlson & Kristin
Simonson, Sept. 17
Joo-Hee Suh & Yeon Jae Ko,
April 16
Caroline Crocker & Bradford
Otis, Aug. 5
Alexandra Davis & Andrew
Weiss, Sept. 11
Yamilee Mackenzie & Joseph
Colette, March 20, 2010
Elizabeth Welsh & Timothy B.
Pingree, June 18
Angie Chien & Garrett
Calderwood, Oct. 1
1993
2004
2009
Christopher M. Colburn &
Katherine Longwell, Sept. 15
Sara Gilliam & Patrick
Lonergan, Aug. 20
Samuel M. Arons & Magali
H. Rowan ’07, Aug. 27
Sumana Cooppan & Adam
Wolf, Sept. 4
Liz Kaplan & Daniel Gordon,
Sept. 18
Elizabeth Just & Stephen
Dobay ’05, Oct. 22
Kathleen Berens & Craig
Bucki, Nov. 12
Valeria Cueto & Juan D. Pava,
July 22
Miriam S. Foster & R.
Grayson Murphy, Sept. 16
Victoria Williams & Patrick
Stanton, Oct. 9
1952
1995
Michael B. O’Connor &
Kristin Philippi, July 9
1996
Brian Spitzer & Laura
Massie ’99, March 5
B I RTHS
&
2003
A D O P TI O NS
2005
2007
David T. Brown & Anna C.
Ludeke, Sept. 4
1986
1990
1993
Sofia Arabel Wagner to David
Wagner, Oct. 6
Olivia Martine Hoff Igharo to
Geoffrey Igharo, April 27
1989
1991
Cordelia Mya Stanley-Hunt,
Dec. 2; adopted by Douglas B.
Hunt, Dec. 4
Jasper Alling Clements to
Wilson Kendrick Clements,
April 12
Kailyn Zoe Bierer to Gregory
B. Bierer, March 5
Michaela Moxon O’Connor to
Rosamond Moxon O’Connor,
March 10
Sylvia Esther Musher-Eizenman
to Dara R. Musher-Eizenman,
April 25
Danica Alison Piquado to Paul
D.A. Piquado, Oct. 11
B I RTHS
&
A D O P TI O NS
1994
Isabel Marie Almaguer to
F. Daniel Almaguer, Sept. 13
1995
Lukas Eugene Schebesta to Emily
(Sterne) Schebesta, March 15
Dorothy Etta Macomber to
Annie Weisman Macomber,
April 6
1996
Max Tristan Stuhlfaut to
Amanda E. Jones, April 18
Ava Abebe Margaret Wolpaw
to Bethlehem Abebe-Wolpaw,
June 27
Carolyn Witte & Harriet
McGillivray Devereaux to Jill
Wasserman, Aug. 23
Nicole Pui Yee Poon to Shing
Chi Poon, Oct. 13
Anson Javier Gilman to Alexis
J. Gilman, Nov. 1
1997
Chet William Rhodes to
Jeffrey K. Rhodes, Jan. 11
Axel Ham to Paul S. Ham,
March 14
Claire Sarah Dornin to Laird
E. Dornin, April 25
Emmett Muise to Amy Smith
Muise, May 10
Katherine Anne Hynes to
Joanna (Barnes) Hynes, Aug. 17
Elise Georgia Classen to
Colleen (Campbell) & Greg
Classen ’98, Oct. 11
Nathan Ram Feit to Bob Feit,
Oct. 27
August Behr Swanson to
Robbi Behr & Matthew
Swanson, Dec. 10
Whitman Boyle Ramsdell to
Kate Boyle Ramsdell, Dec. 27
1998
Hailey Braden Stahl to
Laura Davis Stahl, April 6
Nola Nemser Quann to
Eliza Nemser, April 23
Callan Elizabeth Dalton to Erin
(Thelander) Dalton, April 25
Raj Edward Jain to Amy
Withers Jain, April 28
Ariadne Eleanor Barnes to
Lauren Guth & Anthony M.
Barnes, May 16
Aire Furio Watkins to Robert
P. Watkins, July 28
Elliott Shaw Debevoise to
Anne Bilby & Lyn Debevoise,
Oct. 13
1999
Callum Paul Kelleher to Robin
Paul Kelleher, March 2
Eli Suver to Daniel William
Suver, March 12
Elizabeth Cheuk Min &
Hudson Cheuk Wai Chan to
Christine Chan, April 13
Ryan Sawyer Linck to Brett
Linck, April 21
Noelle V. Osbourne-Roberts to
Tamaan K. & Camille (Barker)
Osbourne-Roberts ’00, July 28
Sawyer Brooke Hall to Peter
J. Hall & Kate Simon ’00,
Sept. 14
Ranvir Singh Lamba to Vikram
S. Lamba, Nov. 14
Conner Elliott Chesterton to
Katherine Hadley Cornell,
June 14
Benjamin Jay Block to Jennifer
(Berylson) Block, July 17
Macrae Ross Schloat to Mike
Schloat, Sept. 22
Willem Moses Seaton-Wisman
to Dan Seaton, Oct. 27
Noah Alexander Levine to
Alana Belfield Levine, Dec. 19
2002
Fiona Shannon G. Stanley to
Jessie Grandgent Stanley,
May 11
Nicolas Roberto Bravo to
Jose Isauro Bravo & Isabel
Sanchez ’03, Sept. 17
Nicanor Bartolome Brammer
to Gabriel B. Brammer, Oct. 28
Nicolas Emmanuel Bradley to
Sebastien Jerome Bradley, Nov. 8
Ashley Chang Comstock to
Scott Comstock, Nov. 10
Brennan Michael Sisk to
Michelle (O’Brien) Sisk, Dec. 16
2000
2003
Oliver Graham Cohee to
Lauren (Singer) Cohee, Feb. 20
Coraline Alexandra Mann to
Julianne (Anderson) & Britton
R. Mann, March 21
Poppy Hache Ridd to Lisa
(Knappen) Ridd, April 3
Cavan O’Donnell Criqui to
Andrew D. Criqui, May 18
Matthew Charles Sensenbrenner
to Joe & Jennifer (Orr)
Sensenbrenner ’01, June 17
Magnus Erickson Stiefler to
Todd & Jessica (Erickson)
Stiefler ’01, June 26
Carleigh Grace Birdsall to
Alexander S. Birdsall, July 12
Reece Hyland & Cormac
James Eckert to Heather May
Eckert, Aug. 23
Lily Mae Andruskiewicz
to Katherine (Baldwin)
Andruskiewicz, Feb. 2
Simeon M. Piralkov to Anna
(Andonova) Piralkova, Aug. 21
Deacon Thomas Sanderson to
Graeme C. Sanderson, Aug. 24
2001
Reina Kaye Waddell to Sonya
(Ravindranath) Waddell,
May 20
Solomon Davis Buddington to
Elena Traister, May 29
Molly Scott Doherty to
Amanda Brokaw & Brian P.
Doherty, June 5
2004
Noah David Yorgey to
Brent & Joyia (Chadwick)
Yorgey ’05, Sept. 17
Eli Joseph Hodas to Nathan
Oken Hodas, Sept. 20
2005
Mary Clare Tomooka to Grace
(Wells) Tomooka, March 21
Courtland Whaley Cart to
Ashley (Ulmer) & James W.
Cart, Aug. 10
2006
Charlotte Ruth Herold to
Creston D. Herold, Dec. 27
O BIT UA RI ES
1932
Williams he belonged to the
football and baseball teams,
College Council and Kappa
Alpha. He was a U.S. Navy
fighter pilot (1941-45) and
served in the Naval Reserves.
He belonged to the Ephraim
Williams Society. Among
his survivors are two daughters, 10 grandchildren, five
stepchildren, 10 step-grandchildren, 14 step-great-grandchildren and nephew Rawson
C. Gordon ’62.
F. TAYLOR OSTRANDER
of Williamstown, Mass.,
Nov. 10. Ostrander was an
economist. He taught at
Williams for a year and spent
17 years working for the U.S.
government, including with
the Treasury Department. He
later worked in the Marshall
Plan regional office in Paris
before spending 20 years as
assistant to the chairman of
American Metal Climax. He
was an adjunct professor of
international business at Pace
Graduate School of Business
and contributed to several
books on economics. At
Liberal Club, Sigma Phi and
Phi Beta Kappa. He pursued
graduate studies in economics at Oxford University and
at University of Chicago. He
served on the executive committee of the U.S. National
Commission on UNESCO
and on numerous boards,
including the International
Center for Industry and
Environment. As a Williams
alumnus he was class president, chair of his class’s 65th
reunion and president of
the Williams Club of D.C.
Among his survivors are three
children and a granddaughter.
OSTRANDER
1935
PRINCE H. GORDON of
Williamstown, Mass., Nov.
27. Gordon was a pilot with
Pan American Airlines. At
1940
ROBERT R. CAVE of Saint
Louis, Mo., Oct. 3. Cave
worked in estate planning
and insurance for more than
20 years. Previously he was
co-owner and manager of
The Ely & Walker Dry Goods
Co. At Williams he belonged
to Phi Gamma Delta. He was
a U.S. Navy pilot (1940-45).
He belonged to the Ephraim
Williams Society. Among his
survivors are his wife Betty, a
daughter, two stepdaughters
and two step-grandchildren,
including Jennifer Rutledge
Veraldi ’02.
1942
DAVID L. HART of Calais,
Vt., Aug. 26. Hart was a selfemployed Jungian analyst in
Swarthmore, Pa. At Williams
he belonged to the band,
choir, Kappa Alpha and Phi
Beta Kappa. He was a U.S.
Army Air Corps first lieutenant (1942-46). He received
a PhD in psychology from
University of Zurich (1957).
He was author of The Water
of Life: Spiritual Renewal
in the Fairy Tale (2001). He
was a founding member of
the Pennsylvania Association
of Jungian Analysts and a
member of the New England
Society of Jungian Analysts
and the International
Association of Analytical
Psychology. He was president of the training board of
Boston’s C.G. Jung Institute.
Among his survivors are his
wife Demaris, two children, a
stepdaughter, two grandchildren and a step-grandson.
1943
DAVID W. HARRIS of
Seneca, S.C., Sept. 10.
Harris was a psychiatrist,
chief of staff of the Veteran’s
Administration Hospital in
Montrose, N.Y., and previously assistant superintendent
of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital
in D.C., where he was on
the staff for 17 years. At
Williams he belonged to Delta
Phi. He received a medical degree from University
of Pennsylvania (1946).
He served in the U.S. Navy
Reserve Medical Corps
(1947-49). He belonged
to the American Medical
Association and the American
Psychiatric Association
and was a diplomate of the
American Board of Psychiatry
and Neurology. Among his
survivors are two children.
C. GORHAM PHILLIPS
of Vero Beach, Fla., Dec. 8.
Phillips was a partner with the
New York law firm Dewey,
Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer
& Wood, retiring in 1989 as
chairman of the management
committee. He was a master
needle pointer whose projects
included a cushion for the
main altar at Westminster
Abbey. At Williams he was
a junior advisor, president
of Gargoyle Society, Tyng
scholar, editor of the Record
and associate editor of Purple
Cow, belonged to Delta
Kappa Epsilon and Phi Beta
Kappa and received the
William B. Turner Citizenship
Prize and Dewey Prize. He
served in the U.S. Army Air
Corps (1943-46). He received
a law degree from Harvard
(1948). He was on the board
of numerous organizations, including Ceverceria
Corona, Junior Achievement,
Petroleum Tankers and
Wiener Enterprises. Among
his numerous civic and
O BIT UA RI ES
professional activities he
was a trustee of Kimberley
School and the Montclair,
N.J., Art Museum and
chair of the New York Bar
Association’s Section on
Banking, Corporation and
Business Law. As a Williams
alumnus he was class coagent, VP, president, gift
planning chair, 25th and
50th reunion fund committee member and reunion
golf chair, Alumni Fund vice
chair, Treasure Coast regional
special gifts chairman, Tyng
Bequest administrator and
a member of the Williams
Club and Ephraim Williams
Society. Among his survivors
are his wife Marty, four children, including Tacey Carroll
’76, 10 grandchildren, eight
great-grandchildren, nephew
Richard W. Hole Jr. ’70, niece
Diana Hole Strickler ’73,
grandniece Elizabeth (Hole)
Knake ’02 and grandnephew
Edward D. Hole ’05.
He was a volunteer with
Habitat for Humanity. As a
Williams alumnus he was a
class secretary, member of the
Cincinnati regional special
gifts committee and admission representative. Among
his survivors are his wife
Mary, four children, including Stephen P. Davies ’72
and David L. Davies ’77, and
seven grandchildren.
1945
DONALD E.
BRUMBAUGH of Webster,
N.Y., Nov. 25. Brumbaugh
was a quality control engineer at Eastman Kodak Co.
At Williams he belonged to
the band and Delta Kappa
Epsilon. He served in the U.S.
Navy (WWII). Among his
survivors are his wife Jean,
two sons, including Donald
V. Brumbaugh ’74, and four
grandchildren.
DON P. DAVIES of South
Dartmouth, Mass., Aug.
26. Davies was a longtime
resident of Cincinnati, where
he was an aeronautical engineer for General Electric. He
later worked in insurance.
At Williams he belonged
to Zeta Psi. He was a U.S.
Army second lieutenant, 10th
Mountain Division (194346). He did graduate work in
physics at Carnegie Mellon
University. He was a member
of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics.
DAVID S. GREENBAUM
of East Lansing, Mich., Aug.
25. Greenbaum was professor
emeritus of gastroenterology
at Michigan State University
and earlier was a physician
at the Hunterdon Medical
Center in Flemington, N.J.
the band and Cap & Bells.
He served in the U.S. Army
(1943-46). He received a
medical degree from Case
Western Reserve University
(1947). He and his wife
founded the Better Art
Museum Committee at MSU,
and he was a reviewer for
several medical journals. He
won several teaching awards.
He belonged to the American
Medical Association,
the American College of
Physicians and the American
Federation for Clinical
Research. As a Williams
alumnus he belonged to his
class’s 50th reunion fund
committee. Among his survivors are his wife Ruth, two
children, cousin Donald Stone
’46, nephew Robert B. Oehler
’65 and seven grandchildren.
DAVID H. NASH of
Belhaven, N.C., Aug. 9. Nash
spent a semester at Williams
and enlisted in the Army
Air Corps, where he was a
pilot (WWII), earning the
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Air Medal with five oak leaf
clusters and ETO Ribbon
with four battle stars. He
returned to Williams and
belonged to Cap & Bells,
Purple Cow and Chi Psi,
graduating in 1947. A longtime resident of Connecticut,
Nash was an advertising
executive at various agencies
and most recently secretary,
director and VP of Dansea
Enterprises Inc. In North
Carolina, he was director and
president of the Friends of
the Brown Library and board
member of Beaufort County
Community College and
Washington Arts Council. As
a Williams alumnus he was a
class secretary and member of
the Ephraim Williams Society.
wife Nancy, six children,
including Peter L. Nash ’69,
11 grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren.
1946
JAMES M. BARRETT III of
Fort Wayne, Ind., Sept. 22.
Barrett was a partner in the
law firm Barrett & McNagny.
He attended Williams for
one year and graduated from
University of Michigan-Ann
Arbor (1947), from which
he also received a law degree
(1949). He served on the
board of directors of Fort
Wayne National Bank, Fort
Wayne National Corp. and
Fort Wayne Philharmonic
Orchestra. He was chairman
of the taxation section of the
Indiana State Bar Association
and president of Fort Wayne
Art School and Museum. He
drafted the Indiana Nature
Preserves law and helped
found the Acres Land Trust.
wife Patricia, three children
and four grandchildren.
GEORGE F. PIEPER of
Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 12.
Pieper was director of sciences at NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center for more
than 20 years. Previously
he was an assistant professor of physics at Yale and
project supervisor at Johns
Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
He was a visiting scientist
at the Max Planck Institute
for Extra-Terrestrial Physics
in Germany. At Williams he
belonged to the baseball team,
Glee Club, WCFM, Gul, Cap
& Bells, Phi Sigma Kappa
and Phi Beta Kappa and was
a Tyng scholar. He received a
master’s in engineering from
Cornell (1949) and a PhD
in physics from Yale (1952).
He received NASA’s Medal
for Outstanding Scientific
Achievement (1969) and
Medal for Outstanding
Leadership (1977). He
authored many scientific articles. He was a member of the
board of directors of Goddard
Alliance Inc. and president
of the Goddard Retirees and
Alumni Association. He was
a member of the American
Physical Society, Washington
Academy of Sciences,
American Geophysical Union
and American Association
for the Advancement of
Science. As a Williams alumnus he was a 50th reunion
fund committee member,
class secretary—for which
he received the Thurston
Bowl (2006)—and Ephraim
Williams Society member.
wife Barbara, two daughters
and two grandchildren.
JOHN W. TOWNSEND JR.
of Cabin John, Md., Oct.
29. Townsend was a rocket
and satellite pioneer, beginning his career with the U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory
and later helping to establish
the Goddard Space Flight
Center near Greenbelt, Md.
He was deputy administrator
of the environmental services
administration in the commerce department and then
associate administrator of
the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
After more than 30 years
of government service, he
became president of Fairchild
Industries Space Division,
returning to lead Goddard in
1987. He served in the U.S.
Army Air Force (1943-46).
At Williams he belonged
to the swim team, WCFM
and Phi Sigma Kappa. He
received a master’s in physics (1949) and an honorary
Doctor of Science (1961),
both from Williams. He was
a fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, the American
Meteorological Society and
the American Association for
the Advancement of Science.
Among his many awards
and honors he received the
NASA Medal for Outstanding
Leadership (1962), Arthur
S. Flemming Award for outstanding government career
service (1963) and the NASA
Distinguished Service Medal
(1971, 1990). He was elected
to the National Academy
of Engineering (1975). As
a Williams alumnus he
belonged to his class’s 50th
reunion fund committee and
wife JoAnn, three children
and three grandchildren.
TOWNSEND
1947
RICHARD J. BROWN
of Clayton, N.Y., June 27.
Brown was a U.S. Navy
fighter pilot (WWII) before
entering Williams, where he
belonged to Outing Club,
Flying Club, Theta Delta Chi
and the ski and cross-country
teams. He owned Gold Cup
Farms retail and wholesale
cheese business. Previously
he worked in the Sauquoit
Valley Dairy. He was a director of Adirondack Cheese Inc.
Among his survivors are four
children, brother Martin A.
Brown ’40, nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren
and niece Melissa Brown ’78.
1948
ROBERT L. NELSON of
Tulsa, Okla., Aug. 4. Nelson
left Williams to serve in the
U.S. Army 10th Mountain
Division as a first lieutenant
(1943-46). He returned to
Williams and belonged to the
track and swim teams, Sigma
Phi and Phi Beta Kappa and
was a Tyng scholar. He was
a geophysicist with Amoco
Corp. for more than 30 years,
serving as division manager
and later exploration systems manager. He received
a master’s (1950) and PhD
(1952) in geophysics, both
from California Institute of
Technology. As a Williams
alumnus he was an admission
representative. Among his survivors are his wife Anne, two
sons, including R. Eric Nelson
’72, three grandchildren and a
great-grandson.
LEWIS S. SOMERS III of
Lafayette Hill, Pa., Aug.
30. Somers was founder
and chairman of BioChem
Technology and Harmac
Medical Products. At
crew, track and cross-country
teams as well as the Record,
Purple Key Society and Phi
Sigma Kappa. He served in
the U.S. Army (1946-48). He
was a member of the New
York Academy of Sciences,
the American Society for
Artificial Internal Organs,
the International Society of
Nephrology and the U.S.
Department of Commerce
Industry Sector Advisory
Committee. Among his survivors are three children, including John F. Somers ’82, and
two grandchildren.
WILLIAM R. WESSON of
Mantoloking, N.J., Nov. 26.
Wesson was a U.S. Navy
lieutenant before entering
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Williams, where he belonged
to the sailing team and
Delta Psi. He also received a
bachelor’s degree from MIT
(1950). He was a stockbroker
at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg and
then Laidlaw, Adams & Peck
and Dominick & Dominick.
He was treasurer and tax
collector for the Borough of
Mantoloking. He belonged to
Among his survivors are four
children, four grandchildren
and one great-grandchild.
He received an MBA from
Harvard (1956). He was
president of the L.A. Society
of Financial Analysts and
Friends of the Huntington
Library and chairman of the
American Art Council at the
L.A. County Museum of Art.
He was a board member of
the L.A. Master Chorale and,
with his wife Eleanor, helped
found the original Music
Center in L.A. As a Williams
alumnus he was an associate
class agent. Among his survivors are his wife Eleanor, four
children, including Caroline
C. Dove ’78 and Theodore
G. Congdon Jr. ’81, and five
grandchildren.
1951
EDWARD CHILDS of
Falmouth, Mass., July 3.
Childs served in the U.S.
Army (1945-46) before
entering Williams, where
he was a junior advisor and
baseball team manager and
belonged to the hockey and
football teams, Gargoyle
Society, Purple Key Society
and Delta Psi. For 38 years
he was a teacher, coach and
administrator at several New
England private schools,
including Cape Cod Academy,
Middlesex School and
Salisbury School. He received
a master’s in history from
Boston University (1957).
He was inducted into the
Middlesex School Hall of
Fame (2004). As a Williams
alumnus he was a regional
president and secretary.
companion Betsy Ingraham,
four children, including
William Childs ’81, six
grandchildren and a greatgrandson.
THEODORE G.
CONGDON of Pasadena,
Calif., Jan. 5. Congdon was
senior VP and chairman of
the board of Boston Safe
Deposit & Trust Co., later
Mellon Bank. He began his
career as a securities analyst
at Dean Witter. At Williams
he belonged to Cap & Bells,
choir and Alpha Delta Phi.
He was a U.S. Army second lieutenant (1951-53).
JOHN F. RAYNOLDS
of Vero Beach, Fla., Nov.
11. A longtime resident of
Greenwich, Conn., Raynolds
was president and CEO of
Outward Bound USA, Ward
Howell international search
firm and the National Peace
Garden Foundation. Earlier
he was an executive at Mars
Inc., Butcher & Sherrard
and Heede Industries. At
Williams he was a junior advisor and belonged to Chi Psi
and the football team. As an
undergraduate he was a New
England Golden Gloves boxer.
He served in the U.S. Navy
(Korean War), helped found
the Navy Seals and served
with the U.S. Intelligence
Agency. He was on the
boards of the International
Executive Service Corps, the
John F. Kennedy School of
Government Advisory Board
and the Shackleton Schools,
which he founded. He wrote
several books, including
Leadership the Outward
Bound Way: Becoming
a Better Leader in the
Workplace, in the Wilderness,
and in Your Community
(2007). He received honorary degrees from Lynchburg
College (1991) and Green
Mountain College (1999)
and the Kurt Hahn Award
from Outward Bound (2007).
As a Williams alumnus he
was an associate class agent,
belonged to the Ephraim
Williams Society and received
a Bicentennial Medal (2009).
wife Eileen, three children,
two stepchildren and six
grandchildren.
1952
RODNEY L. SKUTT of
Denver, Colo., Sept. 21.
Skutt was an account
executive at Previews Inc.
and The Western Corp. He
spent three years at Williams,
where he belonged to Phi
Delta Theta. He graduated
from the University of
Denver (1953). Among his
survivors are three children
and eight grandchildren.
KEVIN H. WHITE of
Boston, Mass., Jan. 27,
2012. White was an
assistant district attorney
for Suffolk County and then
Massachusetts secretary
of state before serving as
Boston mayor from 196884. He was credited as
a civil rights leader and
with revitalizing Quincy
Market and redeveloping
the waterfront, among many
other initiatives. He later was
a communications professor
at Boston University. At
Williams he belonged to
the Williams Christian
Association, Outing Club
and Phi Delta Theta. He
received a law degree from
Boston College (1955). He
WHITE
received numerous awards
and honorary degrees and
served on several dozen civic
and professional boards.
As a Williams alumnus
he was an alumni trustee
(1976-81) and received an
honorary degree (1968) and
Bicentennial Medal (2004).
wife Kathryn, five children,
including Mark H. White
’80, and 10 grandchildren.
1953
PHILIP A. INGWERSEN
JR. of Exeter, N.H., Sept. 29.
Ingwersen was an engineer at
Raytheon and MIT Lincoln
Laboratory. At Williams he
belonged to Phi Sigma Kappa.
He was a U.S. Navy lieutenant (1953-57). He received
a master’s in applied physics
from Harvard (1958). Among
Jean, two children and three
grandchildren.
JOHN H. JUDGE of Hilton
Head, S.C., Nov. 6. Judge
worked for First National
Bank in New York. At
Williams he belonged to Psi
Upsilon, Williams Christian
Association, Outing Club,
the yacht club and the hockey
team. He was a U.S. Navy
officer (Korean War). He was
inducted into the Herreshoff
Marine Museum Hall of
Fame (2011). Among his
survivors are his wife Mary,
two daughters and five
grandchildren.
1954
DAVID A. WEST of
Wolfeboro Falls, N.H., Dec.
29. West spent 25 years in
the U.S. Air Force, including
two years in Vietnam, retiring as colonel. He received a
number of military decorations, including the Silver Star,
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart and Air Medal
with five oak leaf clusters.
He then worked as quality
assurance program manager
at Lockheed Martin Corp.
in Florida. At Williams he
belonged to the lacrosse and
wrestling teams and Phi Delta
Theta. He received an MBA
from George Washington
University (1965). Among
Dorothy, three daughters and
11 grandchildren.
1955
PETER B. FARNSWORTH
of North Salem, N.Y., Nov.
6. Farnsworth was director
of pediatrics at Westchester
County Medical Center and
later director of the Division
of Scientific Activities at the
Medical Society of the State
of New York. At Williams he
belonged to Kappa Alpha and
the Outing Club. He received
a medical degree from McGill
University (1959). He was a
U.S. Air Force captain (196365). He was president of the
Westchester County Medical
Society and the Westchester
Academy of Medicine, a diplomate of the American Board
of Pediatrics and a fellow
of the American Academy
of Pediatrics. He belonged
to the Ephraim Williams
are five children and six
grandchildren.
CHARLES F. GUNTHER
of Toledo, Ohio, Oct. 5.
Gunther was assistant director of education at the Toledo
Museum of Art and chairman
of the University of Toledo
art department. At Williams
he was a member of the
Record, WCFM, Beta Theta
Pi and the football team.
He received a master’s in
studio art from University of
Colorado-Boulder (1958). He
received the President’s Award
from the Arts Commission
of Greater Toledo (1990).
wife Barbara, three children
and five grandchildren.
EDWARD D. REEVES JR. of
Topsham, Maine, Dec. 23. A
longtime resident of Summit,
N.J., Reeves was owner
and president of Templar
Foods. Previously he worked
for Tenco. At Williams he
belonged to the track team
and Delta Psi. He was a U.S.
Navy seaman (1957-58). He
was a member of the Summit
Volunteer First Aid Squad and
president of the Summit Child
Care Center. As a Williams
alumnus he was class president and belonged to his
committee. Among his survivors are his wife Ann, five
children, including E. Duer
Reeves III ’81, and 13 grandchildren, including Timothy
K. Lengel ’11.
REEVES
1956
L. TONY FISHER of Morris
Plains, N.J., July 19. Fisher
was a financial analyst at
Moody’s Investors in New
York and banker with Chase
Manhattan Bank. He served
in the U.S. Army (1957-60).
the choral club and Purple
Key Society. He received an
MBA from NYU (1966). As
a Williams alumnus he was
class treasurer, associate class
agent, class agent and a member of his class’s 50th reunion
fund committee. He belonged
to the Williams Club and
Ephraim Williams Society.
wife Carolyn, a stepdaughter,
a granddaughter and niece
Sharon Glick ’93.
O BIT UA RI ES
JAMES W. INNES of
Greenwich, Conn., Aug. 29.
Innes served in the U.S. Navy
before entering Williams,
where he belonged to the
Outing Club, Record, Flying
Club, Sigma Phi, the football
team and Phi Beta Kappa.
He received a medical degree
from Cornell (1960). He was
a physician in private practice,
specializing in internal medicine and gastroenterology. He
was assistant clinical professor
at Yale University School of
Medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Greenwich
Hospital. He served on the
legislative advisory committee for the Fairfield County
Medical Association and the
public affairs committee of
the Connecticut State Medical
Society. In Greenwich he
served on the Board of Ethics,
the Board of Education and
on the town’s legislative body.
wife Ellie, two daughters, two
grandchildren and brother
John P. Innes II ’55.
1957
MARK M. SAULNIER of
Summit, N.J., Aug. 8. Saulnier
was VP at Bank of New York.
WCFM, College Council
and Phi Sigma Kappa. As a
Williams alumnus he was a
class agent, gift planning chair
and member of his class’s
50th reunion fund committee
and the Ephraim Williams
are his wife Bonnie, two children, including Peter Saulnier
’83, and three grandchildren.
THEODORE C. SLOSSON
JR. of Santa Fe, N.M., March
20. Slosson was CEO of
Theodore C. Slosson Jr. &
Assoc. management consultants. Previously he was
a partner at Goodbody &
Co. in N.Y. At Williams he
belonged to Chi Psi. He was
a U.S. Army first lieutenant
(1950-53), receiving a Bronze
Star Medal. Among his survivors are his wife Joyce, three
children and a granddaughter.
HUGH R. ENNIS of Naples,
Fla., Nov. 30. Ennis worked
with the U.S. Department
of State and the CIA. At
Williams he was a member
of Phi Gamma Delta and
the squash team and was cocaptain of the baseball team.
He was a U.S. Air Force first
lieutenant. He received the
Intelligence Medal of Merit.
wife Kathleen, four children,
including Gregory Ennis ’93,
1961
F. RAYMOND DRURY
of Staunton, Va., Aug. 30.
Drury was VP and director
of group sales and marketing
for Hartford Insurance Group
and then senior VP and COO
of the TransGeneral Life
Insurance Co. At Williams
he belonged to the Outing
Club, wrestling team and
Phi Sigma Kappa. He served
in the U.S. Marine Corps
(1962-63). Among his survivors are his wife Pat, two
children, two stepchildren,
seven grandchildren and two
step-grandchildren.
1962
EMIL A. KRATOVIL JR.
of Charlottesville, Va., Aug.
1. Kratovil was a partner in
the admiralty and maritime
law firm Haight, Gardner,
Poor & Havens in N.Y.C. At
rugby, football, sailing and ice
hockey teams, Cap & Bells
and Delta Psi. He served in
the U.S. Marine Corps (196366) and in the Marine Corps
Reserves, attaining the title
of captain. He received a law
degree from University of
Virginia (1968). As a Williams
alumnus he belonged to his
committee. Among his survivors are his companion Janie
Barnes and two sons.
IRVING C. MARCUS of
Short Hills, N.J., Nov. 14.
Marcus was a senior partner at Lasser Hochman. At
Williams he belonged to
the Record, Outing Club,
Phi Sigma Kappa and Phi
Beta Kappa. He received a
law degree from Harvard
(1965). He belonged to the
N.J. Board of Bar Examiners.
As a Williams alumnus he
belonged to his class’s 25th
reunion fund committee and
the regional special gifts committee. Among his survivors
are his wife Harriet, daughters
Sarah Marcus Barton ’89 and
Miriam Marcus Karas ’91
ALBERT G. WHITE of
Snohomish, Wash., Aug. 17.
A longtime resident of Vail,
Colo., White owned and
managed Rams-Horn Lodge.
He later worked for Coldwell
Banker/Timberline Real
Estate and owned Financial
Alternatives. At Williams he
belonged to Kappa Alpha.
He was a director of the Vail
Metropolitan Recreation
District and a town councilman, mayor pro-tem and
chairman of the charter commission and planning commission. Among his survivors
are three daughters, six grandchildren and brother Thomas
R. White III ’60.
1963
MARK L. TEITELBAUM
of Baltimore, Md., July
14. Teitelbaum was associate professor of psychiatry
emeritus at The Johns
Hopkins University School
of Medicine. At Williams he
belonged to the band, Delta
Phi and Phi Beta Kappa. He
received a medical degree
from Cornell (1967). He was
a U.S. Air Force major (196971). He was president of the
Maryland Liaison Psychiatry
Association. He belonged to
the Williams Club. Among
Sandy, two children, including
Joshua C. Teitelbaum ’93,
and two grandchildren.
1965
AKISOFERI M. OGOLA
of Entebbe, Uganda, Dec. 3.
Ogola was a member of the
7th Parliament of Uganda,
representing West Budama
South. Previously he was
permanent secretary at the
Ministry of Financial Planning
and Economic Development,
and he was a constituent
assembly delegate, contributing to the crafting of Uganda’s
constitution. At Williams he
was co-captain of the cross
country team and belonged
to Delta Psi. Among his survivors is a son.
1966
PETER D. GALLAGHER of
San Anselmo, Calif., Oct. 11.
Gallagher was a partner with
D. Wahler Associates and Belz
& Associates architecture
firms and project manager
at Woodford/Sloan AIA
Architects. At Williams he
belonged to Cap & Bells and
was soccer team manager and
Zeta Psi president. He served
in the U.S. Navy (1966-69)
and in the Naval Reserves,
retiring in 1989. He received a
bachelor’s in architecture from
Heald Institute of Technology
(1976). Among his survivors
are his wife Susan and three
children.
and Army Commendation
Medal. He received an MBA
from University of Oregon
(1975) and a law degree
from University of California
Hastings College of Law
(1982). He was a board member of the Institute for Central
American Studies. Among his
survivors are his wife Tyche,
five children and a grandson.
1969
ROBERT A. LEE of South
Burlington, Vt., Sept. 18.
Lee was a United Church
of Christ pastor for almost
40 years, working in
Williamstown, on Long
Island, in Willamette, Ill., and,
most recently, for 19 years as
senior minister of Burlington
First Congregational Church.
He received a master of
divinity from Iliff School of
Theology (1973) and an honorary degree from Chicago
Theological Seminary (1986).
He was a founding member of Christians for Justice
Action, vice chair of the UCC
Executive Council, director
of the Justice and Witness
Ministries and trustee of the
UCC Pension Board. He
published a book of sermons,
Roads Less Traveled (2011).
wife Donna, three sons and
two grandsons.
1968
PAUL R. MUNIZ of
Berkeley, Calif., July 27.
Muniz was a community organizer for United
Farm Workers of America,
worked at the Nicaraguan
Information Center and
then was deputy counsel
for Contra Costa County
for 27 years, representing
Children and Family Services.
At Williams he worked at
WCFM. He was a U.S. Army
specialist (1969-72), receiving
a Vietnam Campaign Medal
LEE
1974
RONNIE S. KRAUSS of
Irvington, N.Y., Nov. 21.
Krauss was a seven-time
Emmy Award-winning children’s TV writer and producer, first at Lancit Media
Productions and then on
a self-employed basis. At
Williams she belonged to the
squash team and Phi Beta
Kappa. She was on the board
of directors of the Irvington
Children’s Center, wrote 14
children’s books and received
the George Foster Peabody
Award. As a Williams alumna
she was an editor of her 25th
reunion class book. Among
her survivors are her husband
Paul Tobey and two sons.
1979
KRISTIN N. DJUROP of
Natick, Mass., Aug. 18.
Djurop was a librarian and
manager of library research
and instructional services at
Babson College. Previously
she worked at MIT’s
Dewey Library and Suffolk
University’s Sawyer Library.
At Williams she belonged
to the handbell choir and
choral society. She received
a master’s in library science
from Simmons College (1982)
and an MBA from Suffolk
University (1999). She was a
board member of the Friends
of the Morse Institute Library,
belonged to the SLA Boston
Program Committee and
was newsletter editor for the
Natick Garden Club. It is
unknown whether she has
any survivors.
NINA E. MURPHY of
South Kent, Conn., Sept. 12.
Murphy worked in advertising at McCann-Erickson and
later as VP and senior writer
at Wells, Rich, Greene. She
was instrumental in founding the Heart of the Healer
Foundation, a nonprofit
committed to bridging the
gap between indigenous
cultural traditions and the
modern world. At Williams
she belonged to Outing
Club, the Record and Phi
Beta Kappa and was swim
O BIT UA RI ES
team captain. She received a
master’s in journalism from
Columbia (1980). She served
on the Williams Club Board
of Governors. Among her
survivors are her mother and
two siblings.
1984
MURPHY
1981
JANE (ROTCH)
BOISSEVAIN of Esmont,
Va., Oct. 5. Boissevain
worked for 20 years at
the University of Virginia
(UVA), including as program
director of the Center for
the Study of Mind and
Human Interaction and as
associate director of the
Center for Global Health.
At Williams she belonged
to the soccer and lacrosse
teams, the band, Lehman
Council, handbell choir
and Phi Beta Kappa. She
received a master’s in public
health from UVA (2011).
She received the Leonard
Sandridge Award for
Outstanding Contribution
to the University, UVA’s
highest employee award.
As a Williams alumna
she was an admission
representative. Among her
survivors are her husband
Frederick, son Jeremy R.
de Moleyns Boissevain ’15,
a stepdaughter and a stepgranddaughter.
SCOTT M. CORNGOLD
of Avila Beach, Calif., Nov.
26. Corngold worked in
publishing and as a freelance
writer before being ordained
as a rabbi in 1999. He served
at Temple Shaaray Tefila in
N.Y.C. and Temple Emanu-El
in Lynbrook, N.Y. Most
recently he led Congregation
Beth David in San Luis
Obispo, Calif. At Williams
he belonged to Purple Key,
Jewish Association and Phi
Beta Kappa. He received
a master’s in Hebrew letters from Hebrew Union
College (1997). He belonged
to the San Luis Obispo
Ministerial Association and
the Association of Reform
Zionists of America. Among
his survivors are his parents.
1989
DAVID L. GAILLARD of
Bozeman, Mont., Dec. 31.
Gaillard was a wildlife conservationist with the Greater
Yellowstone Coalition,
Predator Conservation
Alliance (now Keystone
Conservation) and, most
recently, Defenders of
Wildlife. At Williams he was
an Outing Club board member. He received a master’s
in environmental studies
from Yale School of Forestry
(1997). He served on the
board of directors of Wild
Things Unlimited and was
active with the Craighead
Institute. He was co-president
of the Irving School parent
council, tutoring elementary
school math and leading field
trips. As a Williams alumnus
he was an admission representative. Among his survivors
are his wife Kerry, a daughter,
two stepchildren and brother
Tom Gaillard ’84.
Other Deaths
PIERRE LOISEL PAPIN ’20
of St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 19,
1964
ROCCO D. BRUNO ’38
of Danbury, Conn., Feb. 21,
1988
JOHN HARMAN
BUSSER ’42 of Tampa, Fla.,
Jan. 24, 2009
JOHN LIGHT II ’46 of
Melbourne, Fla., Nov. 21
EDWARD R. PERRY ’46 of
Stow, Mass., Sept. 11
JEAN E. BENNETT JR. ’48
of Pacifica, Calif., Feb. 8
JEFFERSON D. ROBINSON
III of Granville, Ohio, Aug. 26
ROBERT S. BLOSSOM ’49
of Pacific Palisades, Calif.,
July 8
GILBERT A. QUINTANA
’50 of West End, N.C.,
May 6, 2008
CHAPIN B. WEED ’50 of
Fletcher, N.C., Nov. 13
PERKINS B. BASS III ’52 of
Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 23
BRUCE M. BEATTY ’52
of Carlsbad, Calif., Dec. 25,
2010
JOHN T. PATTERSON ’62
of Glendale, Calif., Feb. 7,
2005
Of Note
A photograph of
Williamstown doctor Robert
K. Davis accompanied
an obituary for Robert J.
Davis ’44 in the December
2011 Williams People. We
apologize for the error.
Obituaries are written based on
information that alumni and
their families have supplied to
the college over the years.
GAILLARD
A N
ENG AG E D
CO M M U N IT Y
One of the charges of the Alumni Relations
Office is to monitor alumni opinion on matters
relating to Williams and the Society of Alumni.
Occasionally, we find a significant volume
of your thoughts, comments, questions and
observations gathering around a specific issue
or event. November’s hate crime was one such
case, and I’d like to share some of what we’ve
heard from you—as well as the on-campus
response—since then.
As most of you are aware, in the early hours
of Saturday, Nov. 12, the words “all n******
must die” were written on a hallway wall in
the Prospect House residence hall. While much
of the campus, unaware of the event, was
celebrating Homecoming Weekend, a group of
students, faculty administrators and a handful
of alumni engaged in an initial conversation to
grapple with the realities of this horrific act. Late
on Sunday, the decision was made to cancel
Monday classes to allow the community to come
together, acknowledge the damage caused
and listen to one another. During Monday’s
three-hour open forum, students of varied
backgrounds shared their personal stories of
discrimination at Williams.
President Adam Falk sent an email to all
alumni that same Monday morning, informing
you of the incident and the college’s decision to
pause from its routine. Initial alumni response
reflected three central themes: a desire to see
the perpetrator(s) apprehended; opinions on the
decision to cancel classes (a significant majority
supported it, while some expressed concern that
the college overreacted); and frustration that
the Williams community was struggling, once
again, with a racial incident. This last point was
expressed primarily by alumni of the past decade
and shared directly with the college via a handful
of alumni-organized efforts and on social media
networks of fellow Ephs.
Two campus groups were formed in the
aftermath of the incident and are hard at work
this semester. One is a task force of students,
faculty and staff appointed by President Falk
to determine the best protocol for response to
bias incidents of all kinds. This includes support,
communication, investigation and other efforts
to best serve those targeted by incidents and the
Williams community as a whole. The second is a
student group called Students Against Silence,
which has overseen the formation of several
task forces to address issues of inclusion in eight
areas: the first-year experience, residential life
for upperclassmen, classroom culture, curriculum,
identity, social life, community values and public
discussion.
We continue to hear from you with questions
about the incident and the climate on campus.
Some ask why this is considered a hate crime
(exacting federal crime definitions are clear) and
if students really felt threatened (student fear
was very real, which pains us all). Awareness and
understanding of these experiences is just one
step in creating a Williams where every member
of this community can claim her or his place
within it.
Best wishes from Williamstown,
Brooks L. Foehl ’88
Director of Alumni Relations
bfoehl@williams.edu
Outgoing Society of Alumni President, Christopher F.
Giglio ’89, talks about his term in office here
01267-0676
Williamstown, MA
P.O. Box 676
Editorial Offices

rank - Alumni News

Transcription

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