2021

Nov/Dec 2021

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2021 treated you well and that you remained as healthy as your age allowed, sore joints and all excepted. During this past year of relative lockdown, I hope you have been able to develop some new interests, hobbies, or other forms of amusements.

Please make plans to attend our in-person reunion June 9 – 12.

I have hadonly one communication from a classmate other than those related to our June reunion and November class dinner. That comes from Mike Shepperd, former sports director and sportscasterr extraordinaire for WYBC. Post Yale, after two years in the Army, Mike and his wife Alice spent time between Dallas and Marblehead, Massachusetts. He devoted his career to private secondary school education, first in Oklahoma City and ultimately as Upper School head at St. Mark’s School in Dallas. After leaving that post, he and Alice became independent educational consultants in Dallas.

Charles J. (Charlie) Asher died on August 14, 2021, in Princeton, New Jersey, where he and his wife Mary lived for many years. Raised in Brooklyn by his grandparents, an aunt helped him enroll in Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, from which he graduated in 1952. He spent the next two years at Yale followed by two years in the Army and graduated from Yale in 1958.He was, and always will be, associated with our class. His career was with Underwood, the typewriter manufacturer and its successor Oliveti, but his real love was his family and Yale. He was awarded the Yale Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2016 for his involvement with the Alumni Schools Committee for Central New Jersey.

A native of New Haven, Dr. Gerald Nicholas (Jerry) Cimmino died on August 2, 2021, at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut. His high school sweetheart and wife of 62 years Dona survives along with 5 children, 14 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. Jerry was an ophthalmologist having graduated from the Yale Medical School.He practicedin the Air Force in San Antonio and then practiced at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut, where he served as Chief of Ophthalmology. Despite his distinguished professional career, he considered his greatest accomplishment and love was his family.

Very few of our classmates have ventured across borders or abroad for their careers, but Paul Bickford Huber is one who did, spending most of his adult life living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and teaching economics at Dalhousie University there. He died in the QE II Halifax Infirmary on June 24, 2021. His late wife Eva was from the Franconia area of Germany which explains the love Paul had for all things German,especially its music. Together, they traveled extensively around the world and co-edited a book which was featured in the Sterling Memorial Library display of books by our classmates at our 50th Reunion.

A few days before I was to submit this set of class notes, I received notice from Ala Reid that her husband, William Seabury (Breezy) Reid died on April 11, 2021, in York Harbor, Maine. After graduating from Yale, Breezy moved to Boston where he met Ala and began his investment career with State Street Bank where he became Senior Vice President and Research Director in its Trust Department. In 1979 he moved over to Bay Bank and later became Treasurer of Boston Legal Services for 20 years. In 1985 he and Ala move to York Harbor, becoming a founding member of the investment firm Johnston, Reid & Mitchell from which he retired in 2010. He was known for his “irrepressible sense of fun and a near-perpetual twinkle in his eye.” His formal obituary reported that in 1954 he and a group of Yale rowers traveled to Henley, England to compete ina “friendly” race against a crew from the Soviet Union (results unreported). He had extensive interests, traveling the world, inventing new outdoor games like cross-country croquet,and living a very interesting and fun-filled life.

Our most recent loss was reported by the Asbury Park Press. Lawrence Boris (Larry) Weinstein of Tinton Falls, New Jersey,died after a long battle with prostate cancer on October 12, 2021. While at Yale Larry became an All-American swimmer under Coach Delaney Kiphuth. He began his professional career working with his father in the fine furniture business in Red Bank, New Jersey, but, after eight years, left to form LB Weinstein Construction Co., a real estate developer and building company which served Monmouth County, New Jersey, until 1986. He was a licensed pilot, and he and his wife Joyce, who survives him, enjoyed taking day trips to points along the east coast,and satisfying his sweet tooth by sampling local desserts. What fun!do I put September Notes, under October

Sept/Oct 2021

Ted Robb has served as Class Secretary for the past ten years with great distinction. Before that, he was our very able Treasurer. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his enthusiastic and outstanding support of our class over two decades. Thank you for electing me to serve as his successor. I hope I can serve you as well as he did.

Ted’s final activity was working on our virtual 65th reunion over June 4 and 5. That event was most ably chaired by Ray Foote, assisted by Tersh Boasberg, Program Chairman, andMarvin Berenblum, Associate Program Chairman. Some 68 of us attended this unique virtual event over the two days, most likely more than would have attended had it been held in person in New Haven.

Highlights of the reunion included talks by Yale Professor David Blight, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom; our ownDr.Peter Braun whose talk entitled Covid 19: Where Are We Today brought us up to date on the pandemic, its background and the efforts to curb its impact; and John Eaton reprising his 1994 concert on Duke Ellington. Dr.Jordan Cohen introduced Peter Braun and led a discussion following the talk while Marv Berenblum directed break-out sessions led by Dan Banks, Ed Barlow, Ken Liebman, Bill Poorvu, John Rindlaub, and Jordan Cohen. The YAA also provided programs that included a university update by President Peter Salovey, ’86 PhD, eight lectures to choose from and other virtual activities. In all, it was a very successful event as viewed by this participant and a survey of attendees that Ray Foote supervised.

Most of our programs have been archived on the class web page (www.yale-56.org) which is maintained under the leadership of Bill Rees. He has gone to great efforts to update the page and include material that many of you have submitted.

In other news, Rev. Allan Baldwin reports that he continues work in a ministerial capacity as Minister of Visitation and Lecturer at Trinitarian Congregational Church, Wayland, Massachusetts. He began his careeras senior ministerat Yorkville Presbyterian Church in upstate New York. After three years at L’Abri Fellowship, an international study center in Switzerland, he became Pastor of Christ Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, then as Chaplain for Carleton-Willard Village, a continuing care retirement community, Bedford, Massachusetts.

Cornelius Van Cott reposts from Clinton, Connecticut, that his “ship is on an even keel, on course and speed.” He is looking forward to an in-person 65th reunion “when the coast is clear.”

Finally, I regret to report that Worth David died on June 1 at Grace New Haven Hospital. After graduation from Yale, Worth went on to obtain his M.A. in mathematics at Wesleyan University in 1965 and a Certificate ofAdvanced Study in EducationalAdministration fromHarvard in 1968. He taught at Suffield Academy and served as Principal of Clayton High School in a suburb of St. Louis before becoming Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale in 1972, a position he held for 20 years. He also served as Master (now Head of College) of Branford College from 1991 until 1996. Weili Cheng ’77, Executive Director, Yale Alumni Association,wrote in his obituary, “He brought the office into the modern age, restructuring and hiring new and younger staff, reaching out to a wide range of constituencies, and making the transition to a different admissions process less dramatic so he could accomplish change with less challenge. …It helped that he stayed in the background, never insisting publicly on his agenda, but working it quietly”

We look forward to holding an in-person reunion next spring though the dates have not been announced. Also, we will no longer solicit class dues; however, we will continue to welcome any contributions you care to make to the class treasury as we will have continuing expenses related to the maintenance of our class web page,subsidizing our forthcoming reunion, and other administrative expenses.

Please stay in touch with me as I look forward to reporting on all the activities in which you are participating. Retirement doesn’t mean quitting!!

1956 Class Notes July/August 2021

This will be my last Class Note column. For ten years you have put up with my tortured prose, and I thank the class for having provided me the opportunity to function as Class Secretary. Passing the baton to Charlie Cook is a pleasure and will assure us of timely class news.

I will be reporting on the death of 6 more classmates, beginning with Bill Peck who died January 29 in Portland Or. Bill’s twin brother Bob passed away last year. They were close siblings, who after completing their schooling at the same educational venues, traveled Europe and worked in the Sierras. They shared a love of literature, languages, music and baseball. They even shared a close friendship with our own Larry Hewes who was like a third brother. In 1961 Bill was hired to teach by Reed College in Portland OR. He remained a professor at Reed for 40 years, savoring every year of teaching and scholarship, becoming a long time member of The American Philosophical Society. He is survived by his wife Janet and daughter Margaret, son Christopher and one grandson. William Reid died peacefully on April 11 in York Harbor, Maine. Breezy, as he was known to friends and family, was born in New York City and attended The Buckley School, and later St. Paul’s School. His post Yale investment career began by counting money in “the cage” at State Street Bank in Boston. Over two decades there, he became Senior VP and Research Director in the Trust Department before moving to York Harbor where he started an investment firm Johnston, Reid and Mitchell. At his “Birch Hill” home he constructed a number of trails with handmade bridges and dams in their woods, and filled the entry hall with a slew of chainsaw carved wooden bears. He cut and split firewood and catalogued it like a connoisseur of fine wines with labels documenting each tree. He is survived by his wife Ala, two children and four grandchildren. Peter Hollenbeck died December 28. He entered Yale with our class at age 15 on a Ford Foundation Scholarship and finished with the class of 1957 after spending two years in Directed Studies and then majoring in Civil Engineering. His daughter Sarah is a member of the class of 1992. James Frazer died August 26, 2020 at his home in Rossmoor CA. Following graduation he joined IBM and began in a corporate staff job in New York City before moving to the San Francisco area later to complete a 35 year career with IBM. in various sales and marketing jobs. A classical movie buff, Jim attended the Sun Valley Music Festival summer performances for many years. For his entire adult life he was an avid bridge player. He played with the No Name Bridge club in Berkeley for 25 years. He is survived by his wife Patty and Two daughters. Toby Prince Brigham passed away March 19 at his home in Florida, a state he loved deeply, and where he practiced law for some 54 years before retiring in 2014. Toby sought to educate and inspire other lawyers in the complexities of eminent domain law and the importance of private property ownership. It was this experience and the opportunity it gave him to create Owner’s Counsel of America, a national business association of legal experts in eminent domain, inverse, and regulatory taking cases devoted to defending and protecting private property owners. His wife Kathleen predeceased him in 2014. He is survived by four children, two of whom continue the family’s legacy of legal service. Harold Friedman passed away December 19. He was a devoted alumnus and very active through\the years in the Central NJ Alumni Chapter. While I am not in possession of the factors surrounding his death, I encourage classmates to view Hal’sincredibly insightful self-portrait in our 50th reunion yearbook. Two reports from living classmates: Ralph Smith retiring from US District Court bench in Albany NY—playing pickle ball daily—no joints replaced yet—in good health–Board member of the Family Pantry of Cape Cod and town of Harwich Council on Aging. Also delivering meals to senior shut-ins and handling their financial affairs. Great report Ralph—keep up the good ‘56 spirit. The other report was from Jim Kern announcing the publication of his latest book “Broken Promise: The Plight of our National Trails”. It is available through Kern House Publishing 700 Landing Drive St Augustine FL .Says Jim “Learn how we can close the gaps in our national trails, and join us in our mission to complete our trails by signing our petition”. Bringing my trail to a happy ending

1956 Class Notes March/April 2021

This is the year of our 65th reunion…where and how it will happen is still a “work in progress”. Yale is still unsure about campus visitations. Whatever we do, you should be a part of it. Recent notes from classmates include: Peter Braun who has giving talks on COVID 19 the latest of which to the Lexington Computer and Technology group, a video of which is captured on YouTube at https://youtu.be?OdsoTxazbak: Roger Daniels who has recently retired from his Internal Medicine practice at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia: Gil Leppelmeier who recently moved to Helsinki where he is retired with fond memories of his work with the Finnish Meteorological Institute helping to launch Via NASA Six ozone monitoring instruments one of which has for 15 years provided Daily global measurements of ozone and other related atmospheric gases.

Nine classmates have passed away.

Mel Schupack died in November in Walpole New Hampshire. He was energized by his Yale experience and continued on to Medical school at the University of Rochester and later at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute where he taught and served as President. When retirement brought him back to New England, he became dedicated to New Hampshire conservation projects. Robert Baker died November 22. He founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of National Realty Development Corp, one of the largest privately owned real estate development companies in the U.S. He was Executive Director of Gerald Ford’s presidential campaign for New York State in 1976. In 2018, Yale named a new academic, social and residential Hub for law students after him and his wife in honor of their gift towards its development. The Building was the school’s first physical expansion since 1931.He served as trustee and treasurer of the Guggenheim Museum and a Director of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is survived by his wife Christina.

Milt Gaines passed along the sad news of the passing of Bill Bourke as follows: “October 14th we lost our always positive and cheerful classmate, William Cummings Bourke. Bill exemplified, through his 86 years, a sincere compassion for everyone he met, without judgment and without expectation. Over a dozen years ago, Bill’s doctor told him he wouldn’t die of Parkinson’s that just had been diagnosed….an accurate prediction as it was pancreatic cancer that took him. We shared 68 years of enduring friendship including early days as housemates near Moffett Field (together with Dave Ingalls), to squadron Ops in the South Pacific, to regular gatherings of our expanding families and the vagaries of our developing careers. Throughout, Bill remained my closest friend. His immediate family (numbering 20) all live in the Bay Area nearby Teresa, his wife of 59 years.”

James Kimball King Professor Emeritus of English died April 26 at his home in Chapel Hill. He was a professor in UNC’s English Department for 40 years, as well as adjunct professor of Dramatic Arts. While in the English Department, he authored and edited thirteen books including a two volume edition of drama in the western world. He also received teaching awards and took students to London to study theater for 25 summers. He is survived by his wife Harriet.

Dr. Walter R. Hampton, a brilliant and well respected physician, passed away peacefully on December 8 at The New McLean Retirement center in Simsbury, CT under the care of the extraordinary team of staff there, including the Hospice Team. As one of the visionaries of the McLean Home, and as its first Medical Director, Walter, in a sense, died “at home”. Walter was a strong Athlete. He was a competitive swimmer, as well as a fantastic downhill and cross country skier, rock Climber and ice climber. Among his many accomplishments he had been selected, and acted as Ski Patrol for the 1980 winter Olympics in Lake Placid. He was a proud member of the Ragged Mountain Foundation, dedicated to preserving iconic places for climbing and hiking in Connecticut. Walter is survived by his wife, seven children and 20 grandchildren.

Paul Coburn died on July 9 th of Covidid19 at Mt Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach Fl. He had been suffering for some time from a severe curvature of the spine, and had declined rapidly in the months preceding Covid. Both he and his wife Judith contracted the virus from one of his caregivers, who hadn’t even realized she was sick. Both were admitted to the hospital where Paul died the next day and Judith remained for three weeks. Following a short stint in private practice, Paul spent many years at the NYS Department of Taxation & Finance as Counsel and as Secretary to the NYS Tax Commission. He is survived by his widow Judith, Two children, and five grandchildren.

Jack Flobeck Died December 10. He lived and wrote on the side of a mountain at 6,300 feet above the sea in Colorado Springs. He founded and managed a “think tank” named Aqua Prima Center for water research and conservation. His recent projects ranged from research into organic filters for water purification to SPACE applications where solar energy can be effectively used in Salt Water desalinization. He is survived by his wife Kathryn.

Jerrold Post, terrorist expert and psychiatrist who produced profiles of foreign leaders such as Sadam Hussein, died in hospice care November 22 from a Covid 19 related symptoms. Dr. Post spent 21 Years as founding Director of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior, an interdisciplinary behavioral science unit which provided assessments of foreign leadership and decision making for the President and other senior officials. Dr Post came under fire from The American Psychiatric Society for violating the Goldwater Rule which bars a member from offering a professional opinion about someone without interviewing the person or getting that person’s consent. An accomplished Jazz pianist and tournament bridge player, he was the author of scores of medical articles and 14 books. His latest book, “Dangerous Charisma”: The Political Psychology of President Trump written with Stephanie Doucet, and published exactly a year before our recent presidential election. He is survived by his wife Carolyn.

January/February 2021

From the city where “bad” politics are reputed to occur, and votes are cast or “stolen” with impunity, but where the final nail in the coffin of the president was driven, I wish you a happy new year or, at least, a better new year than we just endured.

Regrettably I must report on the passing of five more classmates. Bob Peck a long time teacher at the Haverford School died August 22 at Dunwoody Village in Newtown Square PA. Bob began his teaching career at Princeton University and then Union College before Haverford. An avid reader of literature, poetry, and history he served as Secretary of the Shakespeare Society of Philadelphia. Bob is survived by his widow Leila and three children. Don Erickson died September 14 in Green Bay WI. After a 33 year career at Proctor & Gamble Don Landed in Green Bay where he worked for 9 Years at HiTech. Don was preceded in death by his wife of 37 years Joan, and he is survived by two children and five grandchildren. Jim Frazer died August 26 in his home in Rossmoor CA. His entire career in various sales and marketing jobs with IBM. A long time golf and bridge enthusiast, Jim was married for 32 years to Patricia Fruehling and is survived by two children. An email from his wife Teresa forwarded the message that her husband Bill Bourke had died October 14 at his home in Larkspur, CA. “This has been a long road she said since June when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which seemed unfair to add to his Parkinson’s”. Bill had a gift of friendship that included so many Yale classmates. A pilot for United Airlines, Bill spent a pilot’s off time to become both an attorney and a wine expert. He persuaded a professional consulting wine maker to join him in the creation of Meredith Vineyard Estate to produce the acclaimed pinot noir with it distinctive label. For fifteen years the vineyard sold up to nearly 25,000 cases a year and was placed upon every list of the 30 “Master Sommeliers” of America.. This amazing man is survived by his wife Teresa and four children. As his son Sean put it, “He died well and there is joy and feasting in heaven, a now even better and brighter place, with his arrival”. Another class legend has died. Joel Daly, a trusted Chicago news anchor for nearly 40 years and one of the pillars of a WLS-Channel 7 news dynasty died October 22 at his home in LaGrange, Illinois.He had been diagnosed last year with vascular Parkinsonism, a condition that led to mini-strokes. One of his co-anchors was the talented Oprah Winfrey. With an on-air persona that was polished, but warm, erudite, yet down home, he radiated intelligence, and always appearing at ease. He won five Chicago TV Emmys for his reporting and writing. He was also a talented yodeler who charmed audiences with his side gig as a singer with the Sundowners country band. Ms Winfrey praised hin as a generous and supportive colleague and once called him “the best yodeler I ever heard”. When he retired from WLS in 2005, newsroom colleagues, noting that. he’d already had become a lawyer and pilot, joked that he was probably going to start medical school. One of his Yale roommates, Don Chatfield, recounted that Joel taught him to yodel during the time the two of them teamed up in a weekly comedy spot on WYBC .According to Don his roommate’s wit was quick, his knowledge deep, his capacity for work astonishing, his perseverance exemplary, and his joy in life contagious. “I was privileged to know him. We shall not see his like again”. I close with an appreciation of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Written by our class music master John Eaton that I think you will all appreciate.

“On the afternoon of May 14, 2008, I found myself standing beside the piano in The Great Hall of the Supreme Court acknowledging and basking in the applause of the justices and their guests. I had just completed my performance at the Court’s Spring Musicale. This proud, and for me improbable, moment had been made possible through the kindness of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,. She had heard me in a concert earlier in the year, and afterwards came up and asked me if I’d like to play at The Supreme Court. For any performer, this was an especially rare dream come true. Reflecting on the experience after 12 years, and mourning the loss of this great lady, I realized that the true significance of all this is the way she, Justice Ginsburg, had had helped
me to increase confidence in what I do, to believe in myself and my talent. More broadly speaking this,in its way, is what she has done for every citizen in this country, through her extraordinary life and example”

Right on John!