2008

November /December 2008

Still so much news that I beg your indulgence and patience while thanking you for keeping me in the loop. I love to receive news from those who are far away and who have not been heard from, classmates like Will Long, about whom you will hear anon, after I catch up with older news. To quote Joe Williams, “I seem to be busier and busier doing less and less, but loving every minute of retirement.” From what I have learned about the class, I might change “less and less” to more and more, but of a different nature from pre-retirement years.

Remember Rolf Margenau who spent freshman year with us before graduating with the class of ’59? Recently the Margenaus moved to New Jersey, where they caught up with Bill Clark, whom Rolf knew in Wright Hall and had not seen in 50 years. Rolf reports that Bill is an avid polo player with a string of eight horses on his farm- a string that produces quantities of high quality “ordure” which has significantly enriched Rolf’s rose and asparagus garden. After Yale Law School and twenty years as an international lawyer, Rolf and wife Nancy founded Frogworks International. If you are looking for an antenna that doubles as a fishing rod, dog puppets that wag their tales on truck hitches, the whoa horse hitch, the Wheelie Hog, the Flapping Bass, the Don’t Shoot Deer, or an antenna shaped like a horse, you now know who to google.

Margaret and Eric Moore celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last November, certainly providing an excellent opportunity for total retirement? Of course not. Eric, two Anglican pastors, and assorted translators and hymn singers headed off on a mission trip to Uganda to teach 1st Corinthians to clergy with an average 8th grade education- a “sobering but uplifting experience” writes Eric.

Speaking of pastors (How’s that for a transition? Thank you, Yale), Hugh Magee is now serving on the staff of the Cathedral in Dundee, Scotland, where he was the chaplain in the 1970’s, and is in the process of getting his first book published.

Congratulations to Lloyd and Ken Mills, who were recognized for their outstanding contributions in the Santa Ynez, CA, valley with the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. After army service and earning an MBA at Michigan, Ken worked for Dow Chemical and Goldman Sachs in various locations before the move to Santa Ynez. In addition to their very active contributions to the Christian Science Church, Lloyd and Ken have been involved in a range of activities, and they lead hikes in western national parks and to the Swiss and Austrian Alps.

Election time commentary on health care has come from two concerned physician classmates. Arnold Brill: “I have finally retired from clinical practice of surgery. I continued in that endeavor over the years because it was so personally rewarding; however, it is no longer any “fun.” In my opinion, medicine is too overregulated and too much influenced by people (read lawmakers) who stifle the art and science of my profession. I continue in a part-time quasi-administrative position to allow me to continue to make my voice heard.” Joe Barrie: “I work part-time for the Tufts Health Plan…I adjudicate provider appeals. Single-payer is an attractive ideal, but Medicare rules make me doubt that they are the ones to run this. I am astonished by the professional progress made by medicine. I wish more people could benefit from this, and that it were more affordable.”

In conclusion, a tribute to five wonderful classmates who recently died. The death of Carl Morse on July 26th was reported to me by Nikki Barranger. Carl’s ashes were scattered at the base of New York City trees. His most recent collection of poems was submitted to his publisher a week before his death. To quote Nikki: “His encyclopedic collection of gay and lesbian poetry, done together with Joan Larkin, will remain a milestone for many years to come.” Carl’s partner, Fred Trump, may be reached at 460 West 24th Street, New York City 10011-1361. From Carl’s poem “Mash Notes for M.S., published in our 50th reunion yearbook: “Let us devote our daily bread to cleansing hearts of human dread.”

Alfred Lee died on July 2nd in Seattle WA. He may have been the only classmate to attend Yale, Swarthmore, and Brooklyn College. A sculptor and teacher of art in the Pioneer Valley, MA, Alfred was very active in local affairs. He is survived by his wife Barbara and hordes of off-spring. Regretfully, I do not have an address for Barbara.

John Work died on June 9th. After graduating from Harvard Business School, John rose to the Executive Vice-President level at Shearson Hammill, then founded and served as Chairman of Johnson Steel and Wire. He also served as Board Chair of Delta Wire Corporation. He is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

“One measure of a man is his willingness to contribute to his community and country even when circumstances afford him the opportunity to live an insular, self- focused life.” That quote, from an editorial in the “New London Day” newspaper, sums up the lives of so many classmates, including Tony Halsey, who died on June 6th. After graduating from Hotchkiss, Tony served in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star. After Yale, Tony rose to a Vice-Presidency at Chemical Bank before moving to Mystic CT, where he founded the Bank of Mystic and became actively involved in community organizations, including the Mystic Seaport. He was a trustee of that organization and Chair of the Boat Preservation campaign, a commitment compatible with Tony’s passion for sailing. Tony and his wife Sandy were married for 51 years, and he also is survived by four children and seven grandchildren. Sandy’s address is 27 East Forest Road, Mystic, CT 06355-3220.

SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2008, Charles Lord, Class Secretary

So…who would you expect to meet in a motel parking lot in Sturbridge MA on a Friday afternoon in mid-July? If you said Ann and Tom Bradley, you guessed it. They were heading north while we were heading east from the Berkshires. As many of you know, the Bradley’s met when Ann was in art history graduate school and correcting papers for Vince Scully. Tom has retired after a distinguished career as a professor at Swarthmore and is keeping his hand in teaching adult courses in several venues, including a prison. We had a wonderful mini-reunion.

Ditto for the mini-reunion in the Berkshire, a delicious lunch and gab-fest at the bucolic and beautiful retirement house of Fran and Larry Strauss. They are enjoying life in Lenox, staying actively involved with local issues, and Fran continues on a part-time basis as a text book editor, concentrating on elementary and secondary school publications, with an occasional college text in the mix. You never know what will turn up on a 2008 road trip, just as we weren’t sure what to expect on our 1956 road trips from New Haven.

Please be patient as I endeavor to catch up with a full in basket in 1000 words or less, a plethora of information which proves that there is, indeed, life after seventy. To wit: “The Wildlife Art of Jim Kern” has just been published, a celebration of Jim’s fifty years as a wildlife photographer. The book includes seventeen of Jim’s most dramatic stories about his efforts to photograph rare and endangered animals. Jim’s editorial assistant was Sabin Robbins.

While in the mood to order holiday books, check out nick@steiner.com, to learn about Nick’s new book: “Through my Lens-Europeans Volume 3”, following two earlier books on the same subject plus “Europe in the 1950’s” and “Through my lens-Michelangelo Comes to N.J.”. Of course, Nick’s most moving story is the autobiographical “Unforeseen Consequences- A Physician’s Personal triumph over Advanced Melanoma.”

In the May 10th issue of “The Economist” there is the following quote, supplied to me by Bill Rees: In the review of a book on Cecil Rhodes and the Rhodes Trust and Scholarship: “He (the author) cites, for instance, as an example of the all-rounded man so admired by Rhodes, one Edward Selig. Was it true, asked the Library of Congress that Mr. Selig had written one book on Thomas Carew, a 17th century love poet, and another on economic incentives on pollution control? Yes, confessed Mr. Selig, pointing out ‘the underlying continuity, since both books were essentially concerned with nocturnal emissions.’”

We don’t only publish books. Some of us are still studying them. Rocky Suddarth recently received his Masters degree in music from the University of Maryland, writing a thesis entitled: “French Stewardship of Jazz: The Case of French Musique and French Culture”, called by Rocky’s advisor “a landmark study”. The latter also commented that “Rocky came to the University of Maryland with degrees in hand from Yale, Oxford, and MIT- clearly he has waited a long time to get into his first choice school.”

Also in the world of music: John Eaton reported on his gig at the annual Supreme Court end of session concert/party, where John opened for two opera singers, a performance organized by Justice Ginsburg. John- only the third solo pianist to play the gig- following Bobby Short and Michael Feinstein- opened with a good saloon song: “One for my Baby”. Chief Justice Roberts, whom John knew many years ago, requested his Eaton favorite-played at the Justice’s wedding via a tape-“Night and Day.” Justice Scalia asked for “Begin the Beguine” (a conservative number?) and laughed at all John’s jokes. John will play the New York Yale Club on January 21st.

Dr. Michael Carey retired from the LSU Medical School faculty after 36 years, recognizing that the medical infrastructure had been largely destroyed by Katrina. Full retirement? Of course not. Michael has been Chief on Neurosurgery at the Manhattan, NY VA hospital since September 2006, contributing to improved neurosurgical care of veterans. Betty Carey oversees the rebuilding of their badly damaged New Orleans house, resulting in a late life commuter marriage.

Roger Hollander is recuperating from a very serious auto accident. When I last heard, he was in rehab in Billings Montana. Those who have seen Roger report that his determination, strength, and good spirits have carried him through.

“FDA has so much power that it doesn’t need any more legislation.” Thus spoke Peter Hutt in an article published in The Hill, in which Peter is described as “a food and drug super lawyer. Working with FDA Commissioner Edwards and HEW Secretary Elliot Richardson, Peter was instrumental in changing the nature of the agency from a purely law enforcement to “a modern administrative law agency”, leading to “rule making, not litigation.” Peter describes the “unbelievably good luck…that changed my whole life” and urges his students that “the one thing you should not waste your time doing is trying to plan your life.”

Sadly, Richard Villa, who retired as Executive Director of Patent and Trademark affairs at Sandoz, died on February 22nd. Beverly Villa may be reached at 84 Westview Road, Short Hills, NJ, 07078-1269.

Two pieces of good news: Thanks to your generosity, the $100 000 Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship has been fully funded, to support students who require financial aid, with preference for descendents of our classmates.

Secondly, thanks to the efforts of Ken Liebman there will be a class lunch in the Tap Room of the New York City Yale Club on the third Thursday of each month at 12:30 pm. Dress is “business casual’ (whatever that is), with ties optional. Non-members may open a guest account to pay their share.

Finally, an anonymous classmate (anonymous because I can’t remember who it was) proclaimed to me that if Osama bin Laden had graduated from Yale, the Development Office would have found him by now.

JULY – AUGUST 2008, , Charles Lord, Class Secretary

Where will YOU be over the weekend of April 23-26, 2009? Right here, in Washington D.C., I hope, for our mini-reunion. Please save the date! We may not be able to offer a visit to President Clinton-McCain-Obama (select one), but everything else is on the table for our planned “Beyond the Mall” gala celebration. We want to hear your thoughts and requests. Bob Mason has kindly agreed to honcho the event with the help of an enthusiastic group of volunteers. Please e-mail Bob (bob@cc-m.com) or me (see above) with your ideas.

Lots of news, much of it sad: First of all, my thanks to the Reverends Dick Eckart and Larry Bradner for a superb column in the last issue of the YAM, filling in for me while Gay and I fulfilled a long-time dream, living in Rome for two months, enjoying the rich and varied culture together. We augmented our sybaritic existence with some volunteer work in a soup kitchen for homeless men and in a refugee center for men fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan and victims of the fighting in Iraq. In both cases we worked for impressive nuns, including a dynamite crew from Mother Teresa’s order. We really were seconds to nuns.

When watching the Olympics, look for Stu, son of Joe McNay, sailing in a 470. Stu and his crew mate dominated the grueling sixteen race Olympic trials. Stu announced: “Our goal is to bring a medal home.” Joe will be there, of course.

While on the subject of water, those of us who live in Washington have marveled at Camilla Durfee’s rowing exploits, as reported by a proud Gib Durfee. Last summer, together with her teammates, Camilla won three gold medals, in senior women’s eights, double sculls, and quad, plus two silver medals, all at the National Masters Rowing Regatta. Camilla also has competed around the world in international events in France, the Czech Republic, among other venues. Camilla took up crew at the age of 50!

I end on a sad note, as we salute five classmates whose deaths I report. Irwin Miller lost his courageous battle with melanoma on January 29th. Those of us who were receiving Irv’s powerful, up-lifting e-mails over the past few years will never forget his struggle. To quote Bob Hirsh, who first met Irv when they were two: “In 1996 Irwin was diagnosed with melanoma cancer, and, since then, he has battled this deadly disease with endless experimental drug programs and surgeries too numerous to count. Until the very end his attitude was totally positive, and he never complained.” Judith and the Miller’s four children can be reached at 580 North Bank Lane, Lake Forest IL 60045-5305.

Russell Munson, class of ’60, advised me of the death of his brother-in-law, Bill Laughlin, who died on February 25th. I went to grammar school with Bill and since those short pants days always found him to be one of the kindest people I have ever known, or , as Russell puts it:”…known as Willy to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, he was a voracious reader and a fount of incidental information. A sweet man, generous of spirit, he will be greatly missed by all who knew him.” Bill is survived by his sister, brothers-in-law and four nieces and nephews.

Peter Albin, to quote the New York Sun, “was an economist who thought traditional economic theory wasn’t nearly complex enough to make sense of the dynamics of the market place.” A published author with a PhD from Princeton, Peter was a professor at John Jay College, where he chaired the economics department, and he also taught at Cambridge. While watching NYU build a gym near his apartment, Peter observed the work crew, which led to “a study of the inefficiency in the relationship between engineers and construction workers.” Peter died on February 20th and is survived by his wife, Patricia, a professor of Political Science at the Fashion Institute of Technology, two children and a grandson. Patricia lives at Apartment 22D, 505 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012.

It always is up-lifting to read and hear of the gifts our classmates give back to the world. Jacquelyn, wife of Joseph Signore, who died on January 3rd , wrote: “Joe said that life was ‘learn, earn, and return.” After retiring as President of Continental Baking, Joe was in the “return” stage, serving an impressive group of Cape Cod non-profits, receiving recognition as the Cape Cod Volunteer of the Year. Jacquelyn lives 24 Avalon Point Road, Chatham. MA 02633-1438.

Another major contributor to his community was Peter Kohler, who died on Christmas morning after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Past Chairman and owner of Kohler Corporation in Sheboygan WI, Peter dedicated much of his life to educational and civic affairs in Wisconsin. An avid sailor and instrument-rated pilot, Peter was very active in Republican Party politics, both locally and nationally. He is survived by his spouse Nancy, who can be reached at 420 Ridge Court, Kohler, WI 53044, and four daughters and eight grandchildren.

Arthur Chai-Onn reported the sad death of his wife, Rosita, who died on May 29th after a long illness. Arthur is the retired Chairman of Overseas Contractors Limited in Miami.

Finally, Ann Ross, Joe Ross’s widow, kindly provided me with two corrections to the information I received for my report of Joe’s death. Joe specialized in Geriatric, not Pediatric Psychology, and Ann’s correct address is 12 Reservoir Road, Wayland MA 01788. Ann did confirm that I had it right about Joe’s passion for the tango: “He danced several times a week in the Boston area and participated in week-long workshops in Miami Beach, New York, and Tuscany. We danced a couple of times in Tokyo.” Ann also confirms that Ed Selig “gave a wonderful talk at Joe’s memorial service about his more than sixty year friendship with Joe.” Friendships do last.

MAY/JUNE 2008

by the Revs. Lawrence Bradner and Richard Eckart

Our Yale class book of June 1956 shows that some of us participated in established activities: DWight Hall, Hillel Foundation, the Church of Christ at Yale, St. Thomas More Club, the Berkeley Association, the Christian Science Organization, the Presbyterian Committee, and the Yale Charities Drive. Now we realize there was a broader spiritual dimension of considerable depth.

In 1956 David Slavitt challenged our notion of what Yale was and could be, our notion of what we were and could be: “Good art cannot a wretched life excuse. … Life is not a collection of New Yorker ads …. So drink this down with our fine Mory’s ale: ‘You are not saved for having gone to Yale …. My valediction then: it’s understood Yale men do well. May some of you do good.” A glance at the photos in Friendship Lasts and continued absorption of the words in that 1956 class book indicate conformism in the usual sense is not a problem. And it looks like many of us have done exceptionally well.

Rowan Greer has spent most of his career as a professor at the Yale Divinity School. Bill Reeves, who began his career as a Yalie bachelor, worked as a chaplain and a teacher in Hawaii, and after marrying Jane in 1963, went on to help raise a superb and gifted family. Paul Buckwalter combined his ministry with a career as a political activist in impoverished communities. “Skip” Vilas began to sense the innerconnectedness of aspects of his life. After some time in various faith partnerships, Skip worked for the Interfaith Partnership on the Environment of the United Nations.

Lin Knight has been a dean at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hugh Magee, who lives in England, has made a lasting impression on all he has touched, both in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom. And there are many more of us who have become outstanding in the field of religion. Some of us have risked much and gone far deeper.

But when we consider talking with the more pedestrian of us and asking what religion meant to them, I suspect they’d say that their lives have been ordinary. So let us mention those who have been caught by religion and through it have found their lives remarkably changed. We think of Fred Flatow who as a doctor works in hospice and is very much present with the dying. Or Bill Hinkes who has worked as finance officer of the Roman Catholic diocese of Paterson, New Jersey. Or Joe Williams who worked as CEO of the Williams Companies, Inc., and has, in his words. looked “with persistence, curiosity, humility, and a bit of humor and lots of luck,” and has found that circumstances turn out better than he ever could have expected.

We think of Peter Bull who has spent much of his life working for troubled young people, and of Peter Hutt who as a lawyer worked for the Food and Drug Administration and has had the opportunity to sit on the board of directors of 20 small start-up venture capital-funded biotechnology companies. As a young lawyer, Peter represented derelict alcoholics and drug addicts to change the way they are handled in our society. We think of Es Esselstyn who, as a doctor, has done extraordinary work setting nutritional goals that have led the patients thus counseled to overcome heart difficulties and regain their health. We think of our secretary Charlie Lord and his wife Gay, who were helped in facing the death of two of their grandchildren, Hayden and Cameron. Charlie and Gay are people who radiate optimism and humor.

We think of Bob Wheeler who organized our class project to back the fourth grade of East Rock Elementary School, which has led to enormous spiritual fulfillment. And of Chris Gates who uses his ability to listen as a gift that helps healing to happen. Or Tom Jamieson who devoted endless hours to many nonprofit organizations and who was made Citizen of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year, and was given other honorary awards before his untimely death in 2001. We think of Warren Zimmermann, a diplomat who made an enormous difference wherever he went. And Eric Moore who experienced Christ’s redeeming grace while at Yale. We think of Ted Nicklaus who as a lay Christian works hard to grasp, understand, and communicate the faith, and of Richard Chasin who has worked with Public Conversations Project, founded by his wife, which facilitates dialogue among groups caught up in polarizing disputes like abortion, ordination of gays, environmental clashes, Jewish-Islamic differences, and women’s rights in the Third World. We think of Ivan Selin who has brought engineering ideas to bear on human problems such as dealing with masses of refugees after the Vietnam War.

Larry and I conclude that our class has fashioned lives that positively reflect the teachings of God. Religion in our class has grown enormously, well beyond the plans made by the best of us more than 50 years ago.

-LB/RE

MARCH/APRIL 2008, Charles Lord, Class Secretary

Jon Donald, who filmed a 1970’s television special in Viet Nam recently returned to produce a documentary on “Operation Smile”, the surgical mission whose doctors correct cleft lips and palates. The effect of the operations, although constantly interrupted by monsoons and power outages “was almost miraculous. The small child who had gone into surgery with a mangled upper lip emerged whole and beautiful with no more that a tiny scar.” Jon visited one family who were “people with nothing except a frail shelter to live in, the clothes on their back and a lifetime of work to look forward to….Their son had been restored from a terrible accident of nature to what God had intended.” Jon’s reflections on Viet Nam today: “The redemptive smile seems rightly symbolic of present day Viet Nam. It is a forgiving place. I never saw an angry person.…In the last century Viet Nam has fought wars with the Chinese, Japanese, French, and the U.S., but it is friends with its old enemies.…The country is a place of resilience, patience, and those family values that we wishfully invoke so often here at home.”

Bill Rees has provided me with three fascinating documents. I can only synthesize one and will hold the others for later columns, while reporting now on his essay on our arrival in New Haven. “On Wednesday, September 17 1952, we came from the alfalfa fields of Iowa, the Palisades of Big Sur, the Shenandoah valley, but mostly from the New York-New Haven-Harford corridor. …Eight Smiths and Johnsons came, along with seven Andersons and Millers…John was the most popular first name: there were seventy-five, followed by sixty Bills, fifty-two Bobs and forty-nine Jims…sixteen foreigners and six sets of twins…One hundred ten sported butch haircuts but no one with sideburns, a beard or long hair; fifteen percent had alumni fathers, and ten percent had either no mother or no father.

In this delicious essay, Bill mentions the cost of a few items: A LeRoy Anderson LP for $1.89; a pair of white bucks on sale for 50 cents; a telephone for rent at $2.80/month. We were able to see such flicks as “Caribbean” at the Paramount, “Affair in Trinidad” at the Poli, and “Man in the White Suit” at the beloved Lincoln. We learned that we could not have a woman in our room except in the afternoon, if properly chaperoned. We also found out that Smith and Vassar were about eighty miles away and Wellesley somewhat further-but we couldn’t have a car.

President Griswold welcomed us, and August Heckscher, Class of 1936, of the New York Herald Tribune (Remember that?) told us: “The best preparation for citizenship is the discipline of the mind and of the spirit that comes from finding facts impartially. It is the carefully inculcated habit of criticism, appraisal, judgment and interpretation.” He went on: “At the same time the ideal of the liberal education is under attack from those who want the university to teach a positive or dogmatic code. But where values are authoritatively declared, facts are very soon authoritatively suppressed.”

Bill comments that after that first week we were no longer strangers and that we knew “we belonged to something grand.” He concludes the report by reminding us that we began classes on September 23rd, “when the Brooklyn Bums became top bananas of the National League; when Rocky Marciano Ko’d jersey Joe…when Richard Nixon, the consummate poker player, gambled with Checkers…and when we, the Class of 1956, began our first day college classes, the first of nearly 900.”

How’s this for a transition? We have a new class baby! Winston Bradford Cutler Moore was born on November 4th. He is the son of Julie and Reid Moore. Bill Clark, my informant, reports that Reid’s grandmother lived to be 110 years old, so Reid expects to be present for Winston’s graduation from Yale. As for Bill, his far-flung family — six children and 13 grandchildren — gathered for Christmas. The clan includes a Yale grandson and an all-American swimmer granddaughter being recruited by Dartmouth and Navy. She would be the fifth generation family member at the Naval Academy.

Our roving correspondent, Tersh Boasberg, reported in from Martha’s Vineyard that prize-winning author David Lloyd of “Mary Tyler Moore” and “Cheers” fame has maintained his sense of humor, as proven by his story of the turtle who was mugged by the snail and admitted to the police when they came that he couldn’t remember what transpired because it all happened too fast.

Jim Hinkley died on November 24th. An NROTC graduate, Jim served in the Navy Air Corps in the Pacific, then spent forty years in the book publishing world with Western, Golden, and Grolier, as well as with his own consulting firm. An avid fly fisherman, Jim was described at the funeral by Mike Marron as a “strong, silent, and gentle person who could inspire trust and confidence in those around him…as irreverent, whimsical and even daring. When asked in a Naval Science class to describe a ship propulsion system, clueless, Jim drew three interlocking rings labeled Purity, Body, and Flavor,” describing one of our favorite beers. Jim’s spouse, Deborah, can be reached at Box 334,Goshen, CT 06756.

Ed Selig reported on the death of Joe Ross on December 27th after a valiant battle with cancer. Joe was a psychiatrist in Boston with a pediatric specialty. His relief from his practice was to dance the tango. Ed advises that Joe remained fully engaged with family, friends, and life’s pleasures until his last days, when he went “gentle into that good night.” Ann Ross may be reached at 10 Union Street, Natick, MA 01760

A treat next issue: Dick Eckart will report while Gay and I roam in the Roman catacombs.
Ciao

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008, Charles Lord, Class Secretary

Announcing the first (and last) annual Class of 1956 John Eaton at the Supreme Court Name That Tune Contest! While being inducted as the University Club Washingtonian of the Year, seated next to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John accepted his award with a concert. The result? John was invited to return to the Supreme Court to play for its May gala. The contest? You are invited to e-mail John (pkarrje@ aol.com) with one suggestion for a song to be played at that concert. John will tabulate the votes, and I will announce the winning song and the names of those who voted for it in a future column. The Prize? The joy of seeing your name in bold face print!!

Nick Steiner was married in New York on September 20th to Jennifer Stern, who has played a strongly supportive role in Nick’s life for over eighteen years. As Nick wrote: “I wouldn’t have survived, nor would the intervening years have been so rewarding, without her.” The wedding took place just before Jennifer entered a master’s program in Global Public Health (with a focus on gender issues) at a university in Berlin. Needless to say, Nick accompanied Jennifer to Berlin and divides his time on both sides of the Atlantic.

Steve Scher was named Chair of the LXVII AYA Assembly this fall. The exciting program was “Yale in a Green World: Meeting the challenge of Sustainability.”

Our Treasurer, Ted Robb, reports that the Class Memorial Scholarship stands at just over $92 000. By the time you read this, I expect that we will have reached the magic $100 000 mark. Thank you for your support.

I received a very thoughtful note from Lee Daly, the late Jerry Boerner’s daughter, thanking me for my words about Jerry and reporting that she had found his old Yale baseball cap and banner tucked away in the garage.

Nikki Barranger checked in to say that he has played his last stage role, Henry Albertson in “The Fantastics”. “Best to stop while the reviews are good” comments Nikki, who also reported the death of Camille Lavandero, wife of Leo Lavandero, mentor of the Dramat during the fifties. Nikki describes them as people who are “like Godparents” and wants those who knew them to have the sad news.

John Bacon wrote that he and Jonathan Donald attended the October 12th U.S. Marine Corps burial ceremony for Lawrence Brody, Y’42. Larry interviewed Fairfield County admissions candidates for scholarships, leading to the enrollment of Jason, Jon, and Phil Tarasovic. As Jason observed: “But for Captain Brody, the Yale football team might never have defeated Army.”

Unfortunately, I must continue in this vein and report the deaths of the following classmates.

Lorrie Rea died at his Vermont home on October sixth. After navy service, Lorrie brought his engineering skills to GE, Sylvania, and Raytheon, specializing in defense contracts quality control. The Reas also lived in Concord MA where Lorrie was very involved in church social and healing ministries. In Massachusetts and Vermont his activity also focused on environmental issues, interrupted by extensive traveling, musical interludes, and photography. I recommend that you read Lorrie’s bio submission in our 50th reunion book to encounter a truly moving profile in courage. Cornelia Rea may be reached at 6 Concord Greene, Unit 1, Concord, MA 01742. Lorrie also is survived by their three children.

Leo Curran died on September 29th in Buffalo, NY. Described by one reporter as “as Irish as Mrs. Murphy’s chowder”, Leo graduated with exceptional distinction and won a fellowship to Oxford, after which he received his PhD from Yale. He originally wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, “make a lot of money and drive a big Cadillac.” However, a sophomore year Classical Civilization course stimulated Leo’s interest in Greek and Latin. As a result, he pursued an academic career, where Cadillacs are rare, and retired as Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Buffalo, where he went after five years of teaching at Yale. In addition to various college leadership and national committees’ responsibilities, Leo conducted research in the use of computers and advanced technology to enhance the study and teaching of Latin and Ancient Literature. He was a passionate traveler and photographer; his widely visited web site, Maeconas, features his pictures of ancient Greece and Rome. Leo’s wife, Margaret Tarajos, is a Latin teacher at a Buffalo high school and can be reached at 29 Henning Drive, Orchard Park, NY 14127.

Henry Cooper and Nikki Barranger alerted me to the death of Aubrey Goodman on September 28th in Waco Texas, his home town. As you will recall, Aubrey wrote our senior class musical, “The Great Gatsby”, and was the first in the class to publish a novel, “The Golden Youth of Lee Prince”. Modestly listing himself as a “published author” in the reunion yearbook, Aubrey actually wrote extensively for movies and television and composed a striking poem for our 50th reunion. As Henry Cooper wrote me: “Though Aubrey was an invalid for many years, he kept up with his class and carried on a lively correspondence with many of his classmates, lighting their lives now as he had done as an undergraduate.” Aubrey appointed our entire class as honorary pallbearers.