2022
I am very happy to report that the webmaster of our class web page, Bill Rees, has agreed to be our class delegate to the annual YAA Assembly and Convocation in November, which is always a stimulating and interesting event. He will serve for the next three years.
I recently contacted Roger Bullard in hopes we could see him while Mary and I are making a brief visit to Denver in late September. Unfortunately for us, he will be traveling. In fact, Roger travels a lot. He missed our reunion visiting Canterbury Cathedral; he fished the Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming, with his son and a fishing buddy from Greenwich in July; with a friend from Yale Divinity School, he took another fishing trip in August to Gunnison and Telluride, Colorado; and he has booked another trip to Calgary, Canada, in October. It’s nice to know that some of us can still enjoying travel and outdoor recreation.
Peter Braun wrote me back in August reflecting on the lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, which Peter attended during our reunion. Prof. Amar is a highly acclaimed constitutional scholar, teacher, and writer. Following the lecture, Amar passed out copies of his latest book, The Words that Made Us, the first of a three-volume history of the making and evolution of the US Constitution. Peter found the book to be a fascinating read and recommends it highly “at a time when our nation’s fundamental documents are of such great importance.”
Regrettably, I have more sad news to report. Ken Liebman advised me that Stephen Bonsal died on July 14 in Lewes, Delaware, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. After graduation from Yale and service in the army, he moved to New York City where he met and married his wife of 61 years, Betty Lord, who survives. They moved from New York in 1966 to Riverside, Connecticut, their home for 53 years. Steve spent his entire career at Chubb and Son, Inc., an insurance company, serving as vice president of its international division. He and Betty moved to Lewes in 2020. Steve was an avid mountain climber, having climbed Mt. Rainier in 1955 and practically all the mountains of the White Mountains in New Hampshire that were over 4,000 feet. He balanced that outdoor activity with his love of classical music, opera, reading, and sharing time with friends as a member of the Century Club in New York and supporter of the Greenwich Symphony.
Our class network is quite impressive. Dave O’Brasky, who lives in Arizona, reported that Dr. Carter G. Mosher, who lived in Carmichael, California, died on August 23. After Yale, Carter graduated from Boston University School of Medicine, with postgraduate training in medicine and neurology at Bellevue Hospital in New York City and University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. It was reported that his biggest case during his residency involved the removal and examination of the brain of Bobo, a West African gorilla, who died of a stroke in the Cleveland Zoo. During the Vietnam War, he served as the neurologist at the US Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, California, where he met his wife, Shirley, a Navy nurse. After military service, they moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Carter held a teaching position at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. They moved to Sacramento, California, in 1973 where he became chief of neurology with Permanente Medical Group. Retiring in 1999 from that position, he worked another decade at the VA Medical Center at Mather Air Force Base, Mather, California. He had wide non-medical interests, including traveling with Road Scholar and other groups, playing the piano, composing hymns and Irish songs, playing tennis, and many family activities.
George L. Unhoch died in his Marion, Massachusetts, home of 57 years on July 27. He was the first in his family to attend college, and it happened to be Yale where he played on the varsity squash team. After graduation, George joined his family business, the New Bedford Thread Company, founded by his father in 1953. He became president in 1970 and ran the company for 50 years until it was sold in 2019. From 1989 to 2001, he also owned and ran A. H. Rice & Co., a uniform braid business. He was an avid swimmer, doing daily laps in his pool up to ten days before his death. He also won many golf tournaments at Kittansett Club in Marion.
Stay Happy! Stay Well! Send Good News!
September/October 2022
Marv Berenblum continues to be recognized for his enormous contributions to Yale and its alumni/ae. In addition to his past service on the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors, he received the Yale Medal in 2014 for his service to Yale. A few weeks ago, he was recognized in the Yale Alumni College (YACOL) Newsletter for the leadership role he played in founding the organization which he continues to serve as chairman emeritus. He was further honored by YACOL at an event at the New York Yale Club on May 6. He has also endowed a scholarship honoring his deceased daughter for students to attend YACOL classes. Full details about YACOL and Marv’s role in its educational offerings for alumni/ae are contained in the YACOL newsletter and on the class website. It is most impressive! We should all be very appreciative of all Marv has done for our class and Yale.
A proud Branford Yalie, John Stephenson-Love writes: “My father, John D. Stephenson, graduated from Yale in 1930. He lived in the part of Harkness Quadrangle which became Branford College. This gave me a legacy to get into Branford. Five of us decided to room together, and we applied for a five-person room. Besides myself, the others were Don Gordon, Ken Liebman, Bob Hirsch, and Dick Streeter. My brother Leigh ’58 followed me two years later. My son Jack ’82 also lived in Branford. Leigh’s daughter, Sarah, now Sarah Keyes ’83, continued the Branford tradition as did my daughter, Elizabeth ’90. Sarah’s son Dawson joined the freshman class of 2025 last fall and immediately moved into Branford, because space was limited on the Old Campus. He will stay there, making him the fourth generation of Stephenson to live in Branford!”
Following that good news, I regret that I also have sad news to report—a practice that doesn’t end. George Litton died on March 25, 2022. George was born in Paris, France, on September 28, 1934, and came to New York City at age five. He attended Ethical Fieldstone School prior to coming to Yale. While at Yale he cofounded the Yale Russian Chorus, North America’s oldest Slavic choir. He majored in civil engineering and graduated as scholar of the second rank. From there he went on to receive a master’s degree at Columbia University. He is survived by his fiancée Alessandra Marino, his devoted companion for the last 15 years; and his son Andrew, the music director of the New York City Ballet.
Ken Mills died December 29, 2021, in his longtime hometown in the Santa Barbara, California, area, five days after his 87th birthday. Ken was a native of Saginaw, Michigan, and moved to California in 1962 after obtaining his MBA at the University of Michigan. He worked in sales and investing there for the remainder of his working life. He was very involved in his community and was known for volunteering his time and resources to many different causes, including Solvang Theaterfest, Santa Ynez High School, the Family School, Dunn School, Cottage Hospital Foundation, and the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation. He is survived by his three children, their spouses, and six grandchildren.
Dr. Bernard (Bernie) A. Lubin died on June 5. After graduating from Yale, Bernie obtained his medical degree at New York University Medical School. Following service in the US Navy, he moved to Richmond, Virginia, to complete his internship and residency in orthopedic surgery. Richmond became his home. In addition to materially improving the lives of thousands of orthopedic patients over the decades, Bernie pursued research in how chromosomal mutations cause breast and ovarian cancers in women of Ashkenazi-Jewish descent. He founded the Jewish Genetic Foundation (now part of the American Technion Society) and convinced other organizations addressing cancer to change their guidelines for the treatment of these diseases. For the past 25 years, Bernie resided in Naples, Florida, and was actively engaged in community and social activities there. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Bobbie, three children, and multiple grandchildren.
Robert (Bob) J. O’Flaherty died on March 16 in Hingham, Massachusetts. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he settled in New York City after graduating from Yale. It was there that he met his wife, Lucy. His career in international marketing encompassed developing technological channels for General Electric, Motorola, and Phillips. It also resulted in multi-year assignments in Venezuela, London, and Tokyo. He later lived in Lynnfield and Medford, Massachusetts, Waynesboro, Virginia, and Manlius, New York, with a summer house in Pocasset, Massachusetts. It was at his summer house that he hosted many for meals or cocktails at sunset on the porch. He is survived by his wife Lucy and his twin brother Thomas (Tom) H. O’Flaherty ’56.
Sabin Robbins IV said he’d be famous for two things: being the first boyfriend of Jane Fonda (they remained good friends), and “father-in-law” of NBC newscaster David Brinkley since he was the stand-in father of the bride at Brinkley’s marriage in 1972. Sabin died on June 1. Author, lecturer, and naturalist, he was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At Yale he became an All-American swimmer on one of Delaney Kiphuth’s famed swimming teams. Professionally, Sabin was in intelligence research at the US state department, a writer-editor at National Geographic, and a director of the National Zoo and the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. He led safaris around the world which included tracking tigers on elephant-back. In retirement, he was a popular lecturer on over 100 cruises from Australia to Zanzibar and 70 countries in between. He is survived by two sons and a sister.
65th Reunion Class Notes: July/August 2022
The Class of 1956 finally had an in-person reunion which began Friday, June 10, and concluded with a wonderful breakfast on Sunday, June 12. Though we had a Zoom reunion on schedule last year with 69 attendees over two days, seeing each other up close and personal a year later made a huge difference to us all. We had 50 total attendees, including 29 classmates, 19 guests, and 2 widows, gathering in Jonathan Edwards College for all the festivities. The staff of the Yale Alumni Association provided outstanding support in helping with the planning and execution of the events.
Ray Foote and Tersh Boasberg co-chaired the reunion and planned it exceptionally well. Even the meals served by the JE staff were outstanding. On Friday morning Yale provided several lectures by some of its most renowned professors, for all reunion attendees. Our program began Friday afternoon with a tour of the Yale University Art Gallery. Thanks to the influence of Elliot Schlang and Bob Shapiro, who serve on the governing board of the art gallery, we were hosted by Stephanie Wiles, Henry J. Heinz II Director of the gallery. The tour focused primarily on the Société Anonyme Collection, which was given to the gallery in 1941 by artists Marcel Duchamp, Katherine Dreier, and the Société.
Saturday morning, Yale once again provided many lecture options for all attendees at 9 and 10:30 a.m. Our very own class program began at 2 p.m. with a talk by Peter Conolly-Smith ’96PhD, professor of history at CUNY-Queens College, arranged for us by Marv Berenblum who had taken a course offered by Conolly-Smith through the Yale Alumni College which Marv founded. The talk focused on the outsized personalities of William Sloan Coffin ’49, ’56BD, and William F. Buckley Jr. ’50, and their heated and opposing political views while maintaining a close personal friendship.
That talk was followed by the personal recounting by Es Esselstyn as an oarsman on Yale’s varsity crew and its participation in the 1956 Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, in November of that year. In addition to telling of his development as an oarsman, his talk featured his personal commentary of the final race, the playing of an audio tape of the race, and excerpts from the television airing of it by the Australian media. Even some 65 years later, it was exciting! Yale won over the favorite Australian crew “by a nose.” I believe that the Yale crew of 1956 was the last college crew to win the Olympics, as all crews since have been put together with oarsmen from around the country.
The final session of the day was a presentation by John Eaton via Zoom and television tape of a concert he had performed several years ago. While John now resides in a retirement community, he has not lost his wit and ability to entertain, as evidenced by his live comments during this presentation. A fitting end to three delightful and informative programs.
Our class dinner Saturday night opened with a recognition of all who have died since our last reunion and a moment of reverential silence in their honor. After dinner, Joe McNay, cochairman of the class reunion gift with Jack Silliman, reported on the success of their fundraising efforts in which our class gave $22.7 million to Yale against a goal of $20.56 million. This is the fifth-largest 65th reunion gift in Yale history. Overall, our class has contributed $157.7 million to Yale. The dinner concluded with remarks from yours truly thanking the class for naming me class secretary and imploring everyone to send news about themselves and classmates so I don’t have to just write obituaries.
Correction: In the May/June issue of the Yale Alumni Magazine I reported that Jay Haft graduated from Harvard Law School. One of his Yale Law School classmates informed me that Jay graduated from Yale Law School. Sorry, my mistake.
May/June 2022
Marv Berenblum continues to be recognized for his enormous contributions to Yale and its alumni/ae. In addition to his past service on the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors, he received the Yale Medal for his service to Yale in 2014. A few weeks ago, he was recognized in the Yale Alumni College (YACOL) Newsletter for the leadership role he played in founding the organization which he continues to serve as Chairman Emeritus. He was further honored by YACOL at an event at the New York Yale Club on May 6. He has also endowed a scholarship honoring his deceased daughter for students to attend YACOL classes. Full details about YACOL and Marv’s role in its educational offerings for alumni/ae are contained in the YACOL newsletter at our class web page – click here. – It is most impressive! We should all be very appreciative of all Marv has done for our class and Yale
A proud Branford Yalie, John Stephenson-Love writes; “My father, John D. Stephenson, graduated from Yale in 1930 . He lived in the part of Harkness Quadrangle which became Branford College. This gave me a legacy to get into Branford. Five of us decided to room together, and we applied for a five-person room. Besides myself, the others were Don Gordon, Ken Liebman, Bob Hirsch and Dick Streeter. My brother, Leigh (Y’58), followed me two years later. My son Jack (Y’82), also lived in Branford. Leigh’s daughter, Sarah, now Sarah Keyes (Y’83), continued the Branford tradition as did my daughter, Elizabeth (Y’90). Sarah’s son, Dawson joined the freshman class of 2025 last fall and immediately moved into Branford, because space was limited on the Old Campus. He will stay there, making him the fourth generation of Stephenson to live in Branford!”
Following that good news, I regret that I also have sad news to report – a practice that doesn’t end. George Litton died on March 25, 2022. George was born in Paris, France, on September 28, 1934, and came to New York City at age five. He attended Ethical Fieldstone School prior to coming to Yale. While at Yale he co-founded the Yale Russian Chorus, North America’s oldest Slavic choir. He majored in civil engineering and graduated as scholar of the second rank. From there he went on to receive a Masters Degree at Columbia University. He is survived by his fiancée Alessandra Marino, his devoted companion for the last 15 years, and his son, Andrew, the Music Director of the New York City Ballet.
Ken Mills died December 29, 2021, in his long-time hometown in the Santa Barbara, California area, five days after his 87th birthday. Ken was a native of Saginaw, Michigan, and moved to California in 1962 after obtaining his MBA at the University of Michigan. He worked in sales and investing there for the remainder of his working life. He was very involved in his community and was known for volunteering his time and resources to many different causes, including Solvang Theaterfest, Santa Ynez High School, The Family School, Dunn School, Cottage Hospital Foundation, and the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation. He is survived by his three children, their spouses, and six grandchildren.
July 2022: Addendum to June 2022
Dr. Bernard (Bernie) A. Lubin died June 5, 2022. After graduating from Yale, Bernie obtained his medical degree at New York University Medical School. Following service in the U.S. Navy, he moved to Richmond, Virginia to complete his internship and residency in orthopedic surgery. Richmond became his home In addition to materially improving the lives of thousands of orthopedic patients over the decades, Bernie pursued research in how chromosomal mutations cause breast and ovarian cancers in women of Ashkenazi-Jewish descent. He founded the Jewish Genetic Foundation (now part of the American Technion Society) and convinced other organizations addressing cancer to change their guidelines for the treatment of these diseases. For the past 25 years, Bernie resided in Naples, Florida and was actively engaged in community and social activities there. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Bobbie, three children and multiple grandchildren.
Robert (Bob) J. O’Flaherty died on March 16, 2022 in Hingham, Massachusetts. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he settled in New York City after graduating from Yale. It was there that he met his wife, Lucy. His career in international marketing encompassed developing technological channels for General Electric, Motorola, and Phillips. It also resulted in multi-year assignments in Venezuela, London, and Tokyo He later lived in Lynnfield and Medford,. Massachusetts, Waynesboro, Virginia, and Manlius, New York, with a summer house in Pocasset, Massachusetts. It was at his summer house that he hosted many for meals or cocktails at sunset on the porch. He is survived by his wife Lucy and his twin brother Thomas (Tom) H. O’Flaherty, Y’56.
Sabin Robbins, IV, said he’d be famous for two things: being the first boyfriend of Jane Fonda (they remained good friends); and “father-in-law” of NBC newscaster David Brinkley since he was the stand-in father of the bride at Brinkley’s marriage in 1972. Sabin died June 1, 2022. Author, lecturer, and naturalist, he was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At Yale he became an All- American swimmer on one of Delaney Kiphuth’s famed swimming teams. Professionally, Sabin was in intelligence research at the U.S. State Department, a writer-editor at the National Geographic, and a Director of the National Zoo and the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. He led safaris around the world which included tracking tigers on elephant-back. In retirement, he was a popular lecturer on over 100 cruises from Australia to Zanzibar and 70 countries in between. He is survived by two sons and a sister.
March/April 2022
The good news is that our 65th reunion is scheduled to be held beginning the afternoon of Friday, June 10 through Sunday morning, June 12. By now, you should have received information about registration and the informative and entertaining program which has been developed by Ray Foote, Tersh Boasberg, and Marv Berenblum. I hope to see you all there.
Another item of good news and a thumbs up is for the marvelous autobiography that Ted Robb wrote and published late last year – The Other Side of This Life – available on Amazon. He spent most of his career in public service focusing on affordable housing in Philadelphia and environs. Ted’s career is just another example of how our classmates are leaving a legacy for all to follow.
Several years ago, Ken Liebman organized a monthly gathering of classmates for lunch at the Yale Club of New York City on the third Wednesday of the month. With COVID impacting in-person gatherings, Ken moved these gatherings to Zoom which allowed participation from across the country. Ken invites everyone to join in.
Just let him know of your interest by contacting him at kwliebman@aol.com.
I regret to report that I continue to receive information about those whom we have lost. Bob Cumings died in Boston June 21, 2020, though I just received that information. Bob only spent a year with us before joining the Marine Corps and later graduating from Boston University in 1959 where he captained its basketball team that made it to the NCAA Elite Eight. He was active in both the private and public sectors in Boston, owning New England Brass and Tool Co. with his wife and serving as President of the Greater Boston Convention & Tourist Bureau.
Reeder Fox died February 13, 2022. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1959 and began his law practice with Duane Morris in Philadelphia where he stayed for 56 years until his retirement in 2015. He was a corporate and commercial litigator specializing in the representation of architects, professional engineers, and other design professionals as well as construction companies. In doing so, he made a major impact on the development and skyline of Center City Philadelphia. Reeder was a trustee of The Lawrenceville School and served as photographer for his wife Marion, a well-known travel writer.
Dr. Robert Kleiger, a noted electrophysiologist in the Cardiovascular Division of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, died January 21, 2022. He obtained his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1960 and received additional professional training at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Barnes Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health, and Stanford University School of Medicine. Through his philanthropic contributions to the Cardiovascular División of the Washington University School of Medicine, an endowment was established to support the division and an annual lectureship in his honor. He was an avid bird watcher and traveled widely to interesting places such as Antarctica and the Gobi Desert.
Another distinguished lawyer, Jay Haft, died February 7, 2022. After graduating from Yale Law School, Jay began his practice with a major New York firm but left after several years to start his own firm specializing in corporate law. He was known for his innovative approach to difficult transactions and developed approaches that became commonplace in the field. He later left law and became involved in international venture capital and technology finance. He was active in leadership roles in several organizations in Florida including the Florida Commission for Government Accountability to the People, the Miami City Ballet where he served as a trustee and treasurer, and Florida International University Law School, among others.
Jim Rae died December 15, 2021 having been predeceased by his twin brother Jack in 2014. Jim was an All-American swimmer under Bob Kiphuth and qualified for the Pan American Games. He obtained his law degree from Harvard Law School and began his practice in New York specializing in international corporate law. He gained expertise on Middle East transactions which led him to travel in that area extensively. Ever the athlete, Jim enjoyed squash, tennis, and golf; but he was also an avid gardener.
Don Riley died on January 16, 2022 in The Villages, Florida. He graduated from Yale with a B.S. in chemistry which led him to a career with Mobil Oil Corp., working in New Jersey, Texas, Arkansas, and ending in New York. Following the death of Ruth, his wife of 49 years, Don established a memorial scholarship in her name at the Yale School of Nursing. In retirement they split their time between their home in Brookfield, Connecticut and Marco Island, Florida, before he moved to The Villages, Florida, He was known for his collection of antique tools and attended tool shows around the country.
Jim Tuggle died December 30, 2021. He enrolled in Yale in 1950 but left in 1952 to enlist in the U.S. Navy where he became a Corpsman serving in Bremerton, Washington, during the Korean War. He returned to Yale in 1954 and graduated with our class with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. He went on to obtain an M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1958 leading to a career that would take him and his family on a thrilling crisscross journey across the country culminating in a partnership with Arthur Young & Co. (now Ernst & Young). Jim and his wife enjoyed an expat life for two years while he consulted with firms in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Tbilisi, Georgia, acquiring a love of Asian art while there.
January/February 2022
As I write this set of notes, Nashville is enjoying its first winter weather of the new year, and we are just three days in. We awoke to two inches of snow on the ground this morning, and all the trees were beautifully covered. So much for the sunny south.
Our Class Executive Committee met on November 20 with limited attendance. Those present were Marv Berenblum Tersh Boasberg, Ray Foote, Ken Liebman, Bill Rees, Elliot Schlang (by phone), Jack Silliman, and I. The agenda focused on planning for our in-person 65th reunion to be held June 10 to 12. Following The Game that afternoon, those above together with Peter Braun, Jim Downey, Werner Gossels, Joe McNay, and several significant others attended our annual class dinner. While the number of participants in both events was small, we had a productive meeting and enjoyed being together.
Mike Altschuler sent word that he has moved from his home of the past 53 years in West Hartford, Connecticut, to an independent living facility nearby. The move was prompted by the loss of his wife of 52 years who died in 2020. Mike retired from The Travelers after 37 years following the firm’s acquisition by Citigroup in 1993. He then became a consultant which included spending a year in Atlanta, but now he is “fully loafing.”
Roger Bullard achieved a very impressive career change in 2020 by obtaining a Master of Divinity at the Yale Divinity School. He had a preaching “gig” at Emmanuel Church, Newport, Rhode Island, where a fellow divinity school classmate serves as rector. Having lost his wife in 2018 Roger moved this past December from his longtime home in Greenwich to Denver to be near his children who live there. He intends to remain active, and I expect he will.
I am certain that we all hope our lives will end having created a legacy that will live beyond us whether with family, community, or some creative endeavor. Rev. Frank (Skip) Vilas has done that at least twice, not counting his career as a caring priest in the Episcopal church. Forty years ago, while serving on President Carter’s Commission on Mental Health, he obtained a grant to establish housing for mental patients in Brooklyn. The organization he created is now known as Brooklyn Community Housing and Services, providing housing for a thousand people each year as well as training for their re-entry into society. That effort was followed by the creation, 30 years ago, of GreenFaith, a global organization based in New Jersey that has trained several decades of interfaith leaders in environmental stewardship. He notes that “many congregations of all faiths have been transformed by this work.”
We have lost several more classmates. Henry Elstein died August 18. A graduate of both Yale College and Yale Law School, Henry was a partner in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, law firm before founding another with his soon. He was a life-long learner, lover of classical music, devout Yankees fan, witty joke teller, experienced European traveler, and certified Chevaliers du Tastevin.
Steve Greenberg died at his home in Pawling, New York, on October 20. He, too graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, but added to his credentials by obtaining an MBA at Columbia University. His law practice focused on the alcohol beverage industry.
On October 27 Ken Hales passed away. Following graduation from Yale, he went on to receive a master’s degree from MIT and a PhD from Stanford. With these impressive credentials, Ken enjoyed employment with GE, TRW, Boeing, and Unisys, retiring in 2000. Those jobs resulted in his moves from east to west coast several times, though he also found time to travel abroad and pursue his passion for Sierra Club trips, backpacking, skiing, and scuba diving adventures. The love of the outdoors was first developed as he attained Eagle Scout status in the Boy Scouts.
Jim Kingsbury died December 13 in New Haven after a long battle with colon and liver cancer. Jim was known for his wonderful melodious voice as a proud member of the Yale Glee Club, the Whiffenpoofs, and the Yale Alumni Chorus. He was a recipient of the Yale Glee Club Medal of Honor in recognition of his talents and support of Yale’s vocal groups’.traditions. After Yale, Jim graduated from the NYU School of Business and became an investment advisor, a career he enjoyed for over 60 years, serving a few key clients up until his death. He was generous with his time and held many volunteer leadership roles over the years, including several for Yale.