Class Notes

July/August 2024

Note: Classmates' names in gold font are links to a pre-addressed email form (if your browser is properly configured). Other links (underlined) take you to more information about the topic. A shorter version of these Notes is published in the Yale Alumni Magazine. If you would like to write a guest column, please let me know. Do we have your current email address in our website directory?

This column of Class Notes closed some weeks before our 60th Class Reunion, so you’ll have to wait until June to read about our reunion on the Class website. The YAM version — while a lot shorter — will have a brief report about the reunion. If you haven’t registered yet, do it today (here)! The YAA Registration site will close this week on Thursday, May 16. As of today, we have a higher classmate registration — at 161 — than any Yale 60th Reunion since pre-COVID days. If you plan to attend, please send us your feedback about your experiences when you get back, along with any photos you took (with captions). If you were unable to attend, please send us an update about yourself, so we can include it in the next issue. We’d also like to hear your comments on the 60th Reunion Book that you received after the reunion if you requested one (the full PDF is now available for download here).

Reunion Chair John Evans has announced that the Class programming will be led by 19 classmates on topics ranging from Evolution to Artificial Intelligence: These classmates are Bob Archer, Len Baker, Tom Barnard, Dick Berk, Steve Bingham, John Doane, Sam Francis, Howard Gillette, Jon Greene, Jim Hart, Tony Lee, Edward Massey, Jon McBride, John Meigs, Paul Steiger, Ward Wickwire, Joe Wishcamper, Bill Woodfin, and John Wylie. Don Edwards and Steve Klingelhofer will lead a memorial service in Battell Chapel for the 90 classmates we have lost since our 55th reunion. Tony Lavely will emcee the Class Dinner during which Class Council and Class Officers will be elected. The always-popular Jay Gitlin Band will entertain after dinner. By now, you should have downloaded a PDF of our 60th Reunion Book created by Bill Galvin and Sam Francis. You can download it here. It contains over 300 essays by classmates. The stunning bound copy of the book will be delivered to you (if you requested one) in late May. I think you and your families will enjoy it for many years. Ted Jones has organized a golf outing on Thursday, May 23 at Tashua Knolls Golf Course in Trumbull, CT with 21 golfers expected. Steve Norman and Tony Lavely, co-chairs of the 60th Reunion Gift Committee, said “Reunion gifts are still being solicited, but we expect to announce a goal-breaking amount.” Finally, we thank the classmates who have made generous donations to the Class Treasury to underwrite a substantial portion of the reunion costs: Peter Bradford, Chip Brennan, Bob Buchanan, Will Elting, Dick Niglio, Jim Rogers, Ted Wagner, and Joe Wishcamper. In his Class dues reminder email in April, Chip Brennan explained that a significant portion of Class dues is used to pay for reunion costs. Some classmates simply overlooked the notice (understandable, given all the communications from Yale), and others confused Class dues with other donations to the Alumni Fund or the Class gift. The dues are their own separate entity, and we’d like to get the participation level higher. You can pay the modest $100 online here, before June 30.

While the Yale reunion programming for all reunion classes has not been published yet, Class programming will include highly-regarded speakers recruited by classmates, such as:

Tim Snyder, Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale, whose primary interest is the history of anti-democratic movements and states, especially totalitarianism in Europe and contemporary authoritarianism in Europe and the United States
William Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change
Steve Hamburg, Chief Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, whose research activities have focused on linking climate-change impacts to climate-change mitigation, including in the corporate sector
George Akerlof, American economist and professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown (married to Janet Yellen)
Paul Krugman, American economist who is the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and a columnist for The New York Times
Penny Laurans, recently retired Yale English professor and Head of Jonathan Edwards College (she also worked for President Richard Levin and was once called by former dean Richard Brodhead “the administrative equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife”)
Tony Leiserowitz, founder and director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment).

As I wrote earlier, it will be an agony of choices!

In non-reunion events, we can report that regional luncheon and Zoom groups stayed active in five areas. The Mory’s group, organized by Ralph Jones (usually on the first Wednesday of the month), met for lunch on March 6, April 10, and May 1. The Yale Club of NYC group, organized by Ted Wagner (usually on the third Wednesday of the month), met on March 13, April 17, and May 15. In April, Bill Galvin emailed Ted Wagner, “Very happy to hear that you are back in action, Ted, so we can talk with you and not about you!” They will be skipping the luncheon in June, since it would be right after the reunion. In May, while canvassing classmates for reunion attendance, Bill Morse emailed: “Doug Loud told me that he had heard of or was aware of a monthly luncheon in NYC (like our monthly Mory’s luncheon for Connecticut classmates). He would like to join the NYC monthly luncheon group. Could you contact him, let him know when that luncheon takes place, and make sure he is on the NYC luncheon email list?” Ted Wagner will happily add Doug to the NYC mailing list. The Northern California group, organized by Owen O’Donnell (usually on the second Wednesday of the month), had their Zoom calls on March 13, April 10, and May 15. The Boston-area group, organized by Jerry Flannelly (usually on the third Wednesday of the month), had their Zoom calls on March 20, April 17, and May 15. In April, Jerry Flannelly emailed: “Tony, I started the Zoom but couldn't participate, as I am on vacation with my family in Arizona. Glad it went well and was well attended.” These Zoom calls are very well attended, often and gladly by classmates (and some surviving spouses) who live well outside the geographic area. During the last three months, there have been almost weekly Zoom calls for reunion planning (John Evans), reunion attendance (Jerry Flannelly and Sam Francis), Reunion Book (Bill Galvin and Sam Francis), and Class gift (Tony Lavely, Steve Norman, and Ward Wickwire). In late February, Tony Lavely attended a Feb Club in Minneapolis. It was his last drink before spine surgery! Tony was amused by a Facebook post from Ken Stewart ’75: “As one of the original 28 Feb Club hosts in February 1975, I always get a kick out of seeing how the thing has stayed alive and grown. I’ve only attended one of the emeritus parties. I just haven’t lived in the right places. Maybe next year, we can get something going in Madison WI. Party on, my Yale buds!“ The focus in recent months has been on our Class reunion, but plans are in place to resume the Yale Authors Book Club Zoom series (organized by Edward Massey) in the third quarter of 2024 and the topical Zoom series (organized by Joe Wishcamper) in the fourth quarter of 2024. Looking at upcoming events, Yale Athletics has posted the 2024 football schedule, which shows non-Ivy games against Holy Cross (away on September 21), Central Connecticut, and Lehigh. Home opener is Cornell on September 28. Princeton at home on November 16, and Harvard in Cambridge on November 23.

Looking at Yale and classmates in the news during the past few months, there has been a lot going on. Voting for a Yale Alumni Fellow trustee is still open until May 19. Despite some of the controversy about the process, your voice won’t be heard unless you vote here. Perhaps the most entertaining Yale news story was on April 1: “Yale announces historic name change to refer to the fabled Yale of Beaufort,” the mythical creature that looked like a ram. Tony Lavely posted on the Yale Alumni Facebook page, “Have the words to the Whiffenpoof Song been changed to ‘We are poor little RAMS who have lost our way, Baa, Baa, Baa?” In the Class News section of our Class website, Sam Francis posted a video preview of his reunion presentation, “Evolution … from Soup to Nuts.” Other reunion presenters are welcome to make a video of their presentations (easy to do on Zoom) for posting after the reunion.

After hearing the news of Joe Lieberman’s death from a fall at home, Chip Brennan emailed Sam Francis and Tony Lavely: “Sam, In response to Joe’s tragic fall, a number of classmates shared their own experiences and the precautions they’re taking to avoid falls. I summarized these precautions on the attached paper. Sam, as an EMT, do you have any additional precautions against falls? Second, do you see any benefit in sharing the attached with the whole class?” Sam Francis replied to Brennan:

Recently there was email correspondence among 43 classmates concerning Joe Lieberman’s funeral, and Jon McBride shared that he suffered his first fall two weeks ago when he missed the bottom step while coming downstairs. Luckily, he was not injured, just shaken. I contributed the following to that email thread: ‘Regarding falls, as an EMT I’m acutely aware of the danger. Falls are the leading cause of 911 dispatches for my Squad, outpacing all other medical emergencies by more than a factor of two. The patient can almost never explain why they fell, which means they weren’t focusing on where they put their feet. As I age, I’ve become extremely careful on the stairs, watching where I put my feet to the point of obsessiveness. It’s all too easy to misstep on the way down, and then it’s a long way down to an uncertain ending. I also invited their attention to the sad fate of our classmate Dennis Upper, who fell down 13 stairs at age 76 and died the next day. I think your document ‘How to Avoid Falls’ (attached) is excellent (though change ‘sub dermal hematoma’ to ‘subdural hematoma’). But it’s not just head trauma that is the risk. Hip/femur fracture is a devastating injury in most cases. Up to 50% of patients with hip fracture die within six months. Also, I would broaden your advice concerning calling for help. Apple watches and mobile phones are useful, but only if you’re wearing/carrying them, which you don’t do in the shower, where the risk of a fall is enhanced. Medical alert devices are designed to be worn all the time. Apple watches are water resistant but not waterproof. Concerning sharing precautions with the whole class, maybe Tony would like to add some words of warning to his next blast.

Later, Sam Francis went a lot further, and wrote a highly informative article, “Dangers of Falls,” based on his years of experience as a EMT in his hometown. Douglass Lea posted it on his Facebook page and other classmates encouraged Sam to circulate it more broadly. It is indexed as a blast email (here). Right after he posted it, Douglass emailed Sam: “Sam, here's a comment I posted on my Facebook page last week: "I think the simple inevitability of aging is itself a serious risk for concussions. One of my best friends, also a doctor (now a retired internist and gerontologist), told me long ago that a very large percentage of the elderly who fail to survive a hospital stay originally got there as the result of a serious fall. Almost two years ago, as I was turning 80, I spent my first and only night ever on a hospital bed, the result of slipping and knocking myself out briefly on our little entrance mat. A battery of tests the next day cleared me for release, but I take the experience as a flashing-red warning. I'm much more cautious now. Many thanks, Sam, for your timely and comprehensive advice on a universal problem facing our cohort.” When Tony Lavely read Douglass’ post, he commented:

Sam, this is brilliant! Thank you for writing and circulating it. While I have shared some of my recent health episodes (spine surgery) with classmates, I spared most of them the details of causation and restoration. Most who saw me hobbling around the Class Council meeting in early February knew something was up. I had deliberately scheduled my spine surgery after the trip to New Haven in early February to give me time to recuperate by our reunion in late May. The overconfidence of my calculations was exposed by a serious fall I had on February 23, in which I broke my left thumb trying to break my fall. Needless to say, one thumb is not much of a ‘cushion,’ but it did help me avoid serious damage to knee, hip, elbow, and head … which all made contact with the concrete. Fortunately, my spine surgeon did not postpone my surgery five days later, though my thumb in a splint was as big an obstacle to my early rehabilitation as anything. Try to do a bedroll to get in and out of bed with one hand/arm if you think I’m exaggerating. The good news is that I’ve survived the worst of my rehab and am now walking comfortably with only a cane. Sam, you correctly called it, ‘obsessiveness’. Because of this experience, I now believe that my powers of concentration are perhaps my most important tool in health care. To wit, the first thing I think of every morning and the last thing I think of every night is, ‘Don’t fall!’ My father (at age 88) and my mother (at age 89) both died as a result of falls; not immediately, but too soon afterwards to ignore the connection. When I saw the causation of Joe Lieberman’s death, it hit me like a ton of bricks, especially as I had been exchanging joyful texts with him about March Madness just days before. I’m not asking for any sympathy these days but simply want to underscore your informed admonition to ‘Be Careful!’ and ‘Pay Attention!’ Cheers, Tony.

Dennis DeSilvey also commented on Douglass’ post: “I could write a book on fall prevention. Most falls happen in the home and can be prevented.” Later, Douglass Lea emailed, “Thanks, Tony and Sam, for your signal contributions toward helping to clarify the high stakes that accompany the simple act of falling, especially at our age. I've now opened Sam's advisory to a wider universe of readers in hopes it will reduce a few preventable deaths and injuries. Warm regards to both of you.” Patrick Caviness joined this email thread:

Sam, thanks for your comments about the danger of falls for classmates entering our clumsy era! Apropos your warning, Frederique recently woke up, got out of bed, tripped on the bedcover, and fell flat on her face. When I heard a thud, I called out to her. No reply. I got up to find her unconscious and her head in a pool of blood. All of this happened in seconds. Frightened that she had a concussion, I turned her over and was relieved to see all the blood was coming from her wide-open split lip. Having had and seen many a split lip, I told Frederique we had to immediately go to the hospital to have her lip stitched up. She protested until she saw the gap in her lip that allowed her to see her teeth. When we got to the hospital emergency room, I asked the doctor, ‘Does anyone here know how to do cosmetic stitching?’ To my relief, the attending doctor told me he was a plastic surgeon. Her lip has healed, and the stitches removed. You can hardly tell where she broke the skin. I'm not aware of how Joe fell. Do you have any details? I know that for the last few years, as I have become more aware of my own declining agility, I have practiced that old sailor's adage, ‘One hand for you, one hand for the boat.’ Walking down steps, including those in our home, I always have one hand hovering over the railing. I'm sorry we won't be attending our 55th reunion. I would have liked to see you and all our many friends, classmates, and teammates. A big hug to you from this small island on the far side of the world.

Sam replied to Caviness:

Patrick, I’m glad that Frederique’s fall had a happy ending. She was lucky that she encountered a plastic surgeon quite by accident (literally). As for the cause of Joe’s fall, we don’t have a play-by-play, but we did learn that he had an underlying medical condition. Six years ago, he was diagnosed with a form of bone-marrow cancer called myelofibrosis. His son Matthew wrote about it, and I added Matthew’s piece to Joe’s In Memoriam page (here). Frederique’s incident reminded me that I should have added one more precaution to my list, which is to remove any loose carpets and throw rugs from your habitat. Sorry not to see you at the reunion, but best wishes to you and Frederique for a long, healthy, and fall-free future.

Guy Struve ’63, secretary of the Class of 1963 (we regularly share our communications and experiences with them and vice versa) asked if he could distribute Sam’s blast email to his 1963 classmates. Later, after receiving and posting the article, Guy Struve emailed, “I’ve gotten a lot of favorable comments on Sam’s email — probably the largest number of responses to any of my emails in the last several years.” Jim Courtright ‘63 thoughtfully emailed: “Bob Myers, MD of '63, had dealt with the issue of his wife's mobility over several years. He has made a brief compilation of comments and mobility devices. You can read it here. A number of 63ers have had falling issues, and I am assembling a list as a possible addendum to your suggestions not yet posted. The Yale Medical School website has stats and age-related assessment tools relating to stability and mobility. Another member of 1963, Chris Reaske, emailed: “Sam, your summary and advice are really excellent, as I just wrote, and I think you might want to see if it could be published in the Yale Alumni Magazine or even some AARP or other journal. You write well and with a sense of caring that would be welcomed by a wider group. Best and thanks again, Chris '63 (Saybrook, writing you from Lexington, MA).” Don Edwards oversees our Class Support Network (classmates who volunteer to be available to any classmate in need of confidential advice on health-related or other quality-of-life topics. Don will post this advice on “Danger from Falls” in that section of the Class website, too.

In recent months, Chas Freeman has been very active in his writing and speaking engagements. In March, on YouTube, “In Israel, the US's foreign policy lies in ruins: MEMO in Conversation with Chas Freeman.” In April on YouTube, “What can we learn from our forever war in Ukraine.” And an interview in The Standard, a newspaper in Bratislava, on much the same subject. In late April, a speech at the University of San Francisco: “The Fruits of Discord: Seven Years of Sino-American Antagonism.”

Dan Pollack and other Chicago Bears fans were excited to read in Yale Athletics: “Offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie was the #75 pick in the NFL draft, the highest a Bulldog has been selected since 1982.” There were lots of comments on Tony Lavely’s Facebook post about the Elis in March Madness this year and their upset win over Baylor in 2016. Rick Salomon commented: “I had a nice exchange with Dave Schumacher and Hank Bryant about this over the last few days.” Dan Pollack commented: “I remember having lunch in Scottsdale with Susan and Bob Hannah enjoying the upset of Baylor.” When the Elis upset Auburn this year, Dan added: “Divine intervention. Keep shooting those 3s!” When he saw Waldo Johnston’s comment, “What a. great game.” Marya Holcombe (surviving spouse of Terry Holcombe), commented, “Sublime, especially John Poulakidas’ tribute after the game.” Ward Wickwire added: “Waldo, nothing can match an underdog win whether basketball or hockey. A lifetime event.” Patrick Caviness commented: “A great run! At Yale, real scholar-athletes still play the game and perform at the highest level.” Many of us enjoyed it when TNT commentator Kenny “the Jet” Smith wrapped himself in Yale insignia.

In February, Yale announced the results of its research and examination of “Yale and Slavery: A History.” One seminal result was the publication of a new book — Yale and Slavery: A History — by David Blight. The complete book is available online for free download as a PDF. In YAA news, Yale announced the new Executive Director of the YAA, Alison Cole ’99, to succeed Weili Cheng ’77 who retired after eight years in the role. Weili was a good friend to the Class of 1964, and she knew Terry Holcombe very well. We look forward to meeting Alison, an All-American lacrosse player at Yale, at our reunion. Many classmates commented on the news about campus protests in April and May. Yale issued regular statements about its incidents and policies. While there was a wide range of reactions, the consensus was that Yale seemed to fare better than many other universities.

Jon McBride announced that classmates contributed over $3,000 to Squash Haven which was matched by the Class Treasury for total support over $7,000. Working with Yale squash players, the Squash Haven mission is “to empower New Haven youth to strive for and maintain school success and physical wellness.” Executive Director Julie Greenwood brought four of the Squash Haven star alumni to our Class Council meeting last February. Urban Resources Initiative (URI) is the second worthy New Haven organization which our Class has long and proudly supported. Pete Putzel shared news that URI had pledged to plant 1000 trees in New Haven this year. At our Reunion Class Dinner, one of our guests will be URI board president Erik Pearson and Hillary Getman Pearson (daughter of Chris Getman). Thanks also to Colleen Murphy-Dunning, who has served URI for 30 years, who attended our Class Council meeting last February when we heard from our 2023 URI summer intern.

Classmates who were in TD have heard about a TD Archive Project to create both a physical and an online archive of Timothy Dwight College history. While you are in TD for the reunion — especially TDers — you will see quite a few T-shirts, sports jerseys, and photos already up in the Buttery as well as a display cabinet in the library. If you have some of your own TD memorabilia to contribute, contact Steve Updegrove ’74.

In this issue, we begin with the As for Class Notes and proceed alphabetically. In February, Bam Alling emailed: “Not so many years ago, I had no clue what CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) meant. Hell, not so many years ago I could still walk in the sand, swim in the ocean, and run our small boat. All gone now! Eileen and I have taken the plunge, downsized by 50%, and live in a wonderful bubble where others take care of the daily tasks of living, feeding us wonderful food, keeping us hydrated, and are unobtrusively there in case we need them. This leaves us time to enjoy each other, fix the world, and share memories with an expanding group of new friends. I highly recommend this transition and look forward to our reunion and hearing your solutions to the relentless march of aging.” Bam will probably add his testimonial to the discussion session being led by Jon McBride, “The Pros and Cons of CCRCs and the pig coming through the python.” Phil Anderson circulated a YouTube video by Sheryl Sandberg, “Screams Before Silence.” Phil added, “It will take a strong stomach, but it is an obligation to all humanity.” Bob Archer emailed, “Tilda and I went in to hear Fareed Zakaria talk at the Commonwealth Club about campus communities and the broader trends he sees and spells out including his new book. His observations on the last twenty years were quite interesting.” Michelle Mead (surviving spouse of John Armor) reminisced about a trip to Ireland years ago and posted, “John and me in Ireland. Happy memories! Funny story. We went to a shop that specialized in tweeds and Irish sweaters. John was rather grumpy and went off to wait while I shopped. When I joined him later, he had found a wonderful tweed jacket. I kidded him, because he had sworn he wasn't going to buy anything. He looked rather embarrassed and pointed to the shop owner, a rather stunning Irish lady. He mumbled, ‘She told me it made me look Irish.’" Later, Michelle posted another story, “Hooters, the restaurant chain, used to be a running joke between John and me. He used to chuckle and say, ‘I've heard they have really great wings!’ and I would reply, ‘I've heard it's more about their breast meat.’" Len Baker added, “Suggest you all read Zakaria’s new book Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present. It gives a lot of clarity to the mess that’s going on at many levels.” Note: Len Baker, with Joe Wishcamper, will be leading a discussion session about Yale governance at the reunion. Tom Barnard will be leading one of the discussion groups on AI at the reunion. While he’s there, he plans to tour his wife Carol around Branford College. I suggested he just wait by one of the Branford gates until someone with a key card comes along or call the office of the Branford Head. My Branford roommate, Dick Berk (along with Stan Thomas) is also leading a discussion topic on AI (a hot topic these days). Berk emailed, “I’m registered now and arriving by train at 11:05 on Thursday, staying at the New Haven Hotel (everything else was taken). I leave Sunday morning. When and where would you like to meet initially? Susan will stay at home, so it’s just me. It has been at least a decade. I’m looking forward to catching up in person.” In late April, Chip Brennan (our Class Treasurer who very generously underwrote some of the reunion costs) emailed: “Tony, I’m not sure that I ever mentioned it, but Mary had major abdominal surgery on February 1. Her recovery has progressed, but it has been slow. She has now decided that the reunion trip would be too much of a strain. Obviously, I’m reluctant to leave her on her own given the circumstances. Thus, we will not be at the reunion. We were both looking forward to being there.”

Patrick Caviness commented on Tony Lavely’s Facebook post about the Oscars, “Cillian Murphy was a shoo-in for Best Actor. When we left the theater here in Samui last June, I told Frederique the film, the director, and Murphy would win Oscars. I missed Robert Downey as the Best Supporting Actor. Of course, like you, I held fond memories of the young Paul Giamatti at Yale. He was my sentimental favorite for Best Actor.” Returning from his trip to Antarctica in late March, Patrick Caviness posted:

Home at last. We had flights and layovers of 35 hours to get back to Samui from Santiago, Chile. We arrived shattered and went to the doctor to discover that Frederique and I both had COVID. Between the jetlag and COVID, we slept for about five straight days. Several days ago, we tested negative from our bout with COVID and found our internal clocks were back on Samui time. We are reminiscing about our once-in-a-lifetime epic trip to Antarctica. Our first-ever cruise held many vivid memories. Big pluses: From our suite attendants, the servers, and the Antarctica professional lecturers, the ship’s crew was superb. A long, cold walk on a wind-swept deck was quickly followed by a waiter offering us a cup of hot chocolate on the observation deck. The vast and varied food in any of the five restaurants was a constant temptation. Performers sang and danced to Hollywood and Broadway songs every night. We watched excellent documentaries about famous early explorers. Someone picked up the laundry, returned it clean and pressed the next day. The private balcony offered us intimate views of massive passing icebergs, several with seals and penguins on them. Passengers and crew members routinely smiled and greeted us as we walked on the decks, hallways, and restaurants. A few negatives. Due to weather conditions, we didn’t get to go ashore for several vital excursions. Consequently, we saw whales, seals, and penguins galore but at a distance and only occasionally up close.

Later, Patrick Caviness was off again and emailed:

Knowing you, Tony, your back problems did not result from sitting on barstools but from pounding the pavement for decades. Does your operation include any metal or bone grafts? Tomorrow, Frederique and I will fly to Bangkok for a medical appointment. I have to have those little plastic tubes that have been in my ears for six months, removed. Plus, I have an appointment at the Hip and Knee Replacement Center at the Bangkok Hospital to see if, at 82, I’m a candidate for a hip replacement to my left hip. I now experience chronic pain when I walk longer distances. I have lost any ability to keep up with Frederique, even on strolls around town! I’m enjoying following you and Nancy on Facebook. Keep it up. I’m thrilled Yale advanced in March Madness.

And later still, Patrick Caviness posted: “Frederique and I are in the middle of a five-day Golden Spa experience at the Absolute Sanctuary. What a treat! Frederique was the model for the new program. Excellent food, well-planned activities, and beautiful facilities. Best of all, the staff members are highly skilled and excellent communicators.”

The March-April issue of Yale Alumni Magazine carried a nice article about Sam Chauncey ‘57, who was Davenport College Dean back in our day. We hope Sam can join us at our Reunion Class Dinner in May. Jim Currie emailed fellow-classmate pilot Dick duPont:

Hi Dick, If you are still planning to attend the reunion [he is], perhaps we could meet briefly at one of the events. I'll be arriving with flying buddy Phil Abrams in my little RV-7, staying May 21-22 at the Marriott, then Timothy Dwight, departing early on May 26 for East Coast friend visits before heading west again. Random attachments here include a ‘Christmas Letter’ from Irene (duPont) and Tom Light mentioning the 2023 passing of her Dad at age 103. Tom was one of my groomsmen in 1973; I attended their wedding at the Granogue Estate in 1966. We first met at Mory's in 1965 during a football weekend. Also, photos from ‘the crash’ in 1961 with an article from the Yale Daily News. I am on the left in one of those photos and the actual pilot (Tim White, also a classmate) is on the right. I recently corresponded with Tim about his Reunion plans but still not sure he will be there [he won’t]. He said he flew another 3,000 hours after 1961 without any similar incident. His last aircraft was a Jetprop. Finally, a January shot from my RV cockpit, approaching Sedona: we had a nice airport lunch there with your friend Ted Grussing.

Dick duPont replied, “I learned to fly at my cousin Kip's airport in Middletown, Delaware. There was a wonderful older fellow who was a gifted aircraft mechanic from years gone by. His name was ‘Smitty.’ He had scads of old aircraft photos on the wall of his little office. Prominent among them was a colorful framed picture of Bevo Howard's Jungmeister. Small world!”

Nick Danforth emailed: “Thanks for all your terrific efforts, Tony. I'm registered for the reunion with Robin and paid my class dues. I also might try to organize a small gathering of a few classmates who were members of Saint Anthony Hall — for drinks at our bar (across from Woolsey), during a cocktail hour to be determined. I'll handle the invitations myself, just wanted you to know.” Steve Delman posted on Facebook: “I do not authorize META, Facebook or any entity associated with Facebook to use my photos, information, messages or posts, past or future. With this statement, I notify Facebook that it is strictly prohibited to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. Violation of privacy may be punishable by law.” [Hopefully, Steve made a exception for Tony Lavely’s use in Class Notes.]. Later, Steve emailed Tony about Class dues: “I know I paid class dues back around December. Are those the dues for the fiscal year ending June 30 that you are referring to?” Tony replied, “Yes, so you probably got the reminder by mistake. Thanks for supporting the class!” Delman: “Thanks for getting back to me. I look forward to seeing you at the reunion!”

Initially, Sam Deloria had trouble getting a hotel room for the reunion, but finally succeeded. He and Vivian Arviso will be at the reunion. Later, Sam reacted to a Facebook post that said, “The greatest illusion of modern society is that freedom is purely individualistic, when in reality, our freedom is deeply interconnected with the well-being of everyone.” Sam commented: “Not to go all-Indian on you, but that is generally a tribal concept. That individualistic stuff is from another culture altogether.” Dick Devens emailed:

Tony, I just sent you a photo of two books that might be of interest to class members who majored in architecture. It was a program by which seniors could complete their first year of graduate work. It was discontinued the following year. I wonder how my classmates made out. Vincent Scully was my favorite teacher at Yale, and one day when I was down and out, he agreed to have coffee with me. He actually listened to me. I had started a journal at the beginning of my sophomore year, and looked for an entry about this, but didn't find one. This sometimes happens to journalists. Mr. Scully had a very interesting career before and after our meeting. I recommend it to my classmates. I paid my dues, using my Discover card. On the form there was a request for a 4-digit number. I finally figured out that my 3-digit Security Code number was what was required. It was still easier than writing out a check. Thank you for the terrific job you've done as Class Secretary through the years!

Dick duPont, who reaffiliated with the Class of 1964 last year, has been self-publishing some of his hunting and fishing adventures and sharing them with fellow adventurers Patrick Caviness (his Taft schoolmate) and Joe Wishcamper. duPs will definitely be at our reunion, his first, and participating in Edward Massey’s author’s workshop. Here’s a recent email thread. From duPont: “Here’s my write-up, ‘My 50th Anniversary Hunt: You Just Have to Take It as It Comes’.” Wishcamper replied:

What a good story, well told and well-illustrated. My Lord Derby adventure in CAR became a misadventure. The year was 2007 or 2008 and the Lord’s Resistance Army was pillaging and killing in eastern CAR. Every camp except ours was evacuated shortly after I arrived. We knew this and were on alert. I had a bad experience with my guide early on, and when we got on a big bull after about a week of hunting, we were not getting along. That was only the second time in dozens of hunting trips that I had any problem with my guide. Eland are walkers and hunters know they must often walk miles trailing a bull before even getting sight of him. In my case, we walked over 15 miles in intense heat, sighting him only twice but getting no shot opportunity. This was after a number of prior days of long, hot walking. We finally had to leave the track because we lost our daylight, and getting to our vehicle added a number of miles of walking. I collapsed at the truck, and later became violently ill, with a high fever and violent vomiting and diarrhea that persisted for several days, until a supply plane came to camp, and I caught a lift back to Bangui where I holed up in a hotel room for three days, got diagnosed with heat stroke at the clinic at the French Embassy, and finally caught the weekly commercial plane to Cameroon, and then on to the US. The result was no Eland, an extended recovery and a head full of “coulda-shouldas.”

Caviness replied:

Dear old hunters, Not knowing the hunter’s lingo for an Eland antelope, I had to look it up. I didn’t realize you were hunting a domesticated animal. The common Eland is used by humans for leather, meat, and milk and has been domesticated in many areas. Eland milk contains more butterfat than cow's milk and can be kept longer without pasteurizing!!!! Just kidding. Joe's description of the Eland he was tracking must have been one of those maintaining its famous 14 mph all-day long “trot!” Joe, I admire your tenacity in staying after the Eland you were tracking. Looking back on your experience, would you have broken off your pursuit a little sooner? I think pushing yourself to incredible extremes may have put you in a near-death situation.

Later, duPont emailed:

Thank you for your kind words, Joe. Great to hear from you and I'm tickled to death your Cuba trip went so well. (Practice makes perfect.) My email to Tony below sums up my medical situation. Just to make sure, my cardiologist, Dr. Sarter, put me on a home monitor for a week. Also, I go in for an Echocardiogram on April 24th. I researched the Louis Paul Jonas Studios - Lord Derby eland sculpture. They quit production of a wide variety of painted African and North American painted sculptures in 1971. Some are better than others. I will send you printouts of various auction results. The best ones are not too expensive if you can find what you want ($200 - $700). A patient, full court press (and hunter stalks) of the auction houses should produce one - especially in Texas . I had one of two oryxes settling a dispute which I was fond of. It was damaged so I let it go when we downsized. However, I kept the Eland, a greater kudu and a sable - all of which I still enjoy each day. I'll join you on one or more Jonas hunts, if you like! I will complete my Yale reunion registration April 15th. My faithful linemate, Sambo, is ‘GO’ on his Crocker Family Inn near Redding, CT.

Later, in an email to Caviness, duPont wrote:

Thanks for the up-date, Patrick. Where do you think you picked up the COVID? Chile Boat, Chilly Boat, On the Ground, In the Air? I'm not surprised by your decision, and I am happy you chose to stay put for a while. To quote Moliere: ‘It's not only what we do, but what we do not do, for which we are held accountable.’

Caviness replied:

duPs, it warms my heart to know you fully understand how much our little Foxy means to us and how frightened I was about almost losing her! Foxy follows us everywhere we will let her. She goes into a fetal position when she knows she's not getting in the car with us. A fine photo of your doggie. But small. Send some more! Foxy, and it sounds like your doggie, have that ability to look you into your eyes and see your soul. They are precious beings in our daily lives. Their devotion is as true as the North Star. I know we got COVID the last full day on the ship before we departed. That last night I was waking up short breathed. I noticed that virtually all the crew were wearing masks when we were leaving the ship. The 35-hour flight and layovers exhausted us when we finally got home. The next day, we went to a clinic and tested positive for COVID. It took us a good three to four weeks to get back to everyday life. And yes, sometimes staying put is a beautiful time, especially if you live in a place often referred to as ‘our little paradise.’ Your quotes anchored that feeling. We are experiencing an unusually hot April. Normally, we enjoy a consistent breeze that softens the heat. For many days now, we have had damn little breeze. I'm scheduled to go back to Bangkok for an MRI later this month to see what's going on with my back and how best to treat it. In the meantime, I've been doing daily stretching exercises focusing on my back and walking differently on the treadmill. I’m adjusting to the fact that I don’t need a hip replacement. Tomorrow, we will go on an afternoon sail on a large catamaran with our friends who own the boat. Do you remember the saying, ‘It's always important to know someone who owns a boat and someone who owns a pickup?’ Well, we own a pickup but no boat. We haven't been sailing for some time, so we're both looking forward to it and hoping for a cool breeze on the sea around the island.

In early May, Will Elting invited Joe Wishcamper, Edward Massey, and Marya Holcombe (surviving spouse of Terry Holcombe) to a William F. Buckley, Jr. Institute dinner in NYC. Marya was having an eye operation but is still planning on attending our 60th reunion. In March, John Evans managed to take a break from his heroic organization efforts on the 60th reunion for a skiing vacation with his grandchildren in Colorado. In April, John emailed: “We saw the Rossiters in Boston last week. Al seems fine and in good spirits, but tires easily due to the chemo. We are in Chatham at the moment … back to CT tomorrow.” Celeste Finn (spouse of Eric Fossel) is an avid film fan and followed the Oscars closely. She posted: “I am torn, this year, whether to fill my bracket with my guess at who will win or, with righteous indignation about the courtesy nominations of ‘Zone of Interest’ and Bening in ‘Nyad’ and any Scorsese; my favorites this year. By a wide margin. Usually, I don’t have this dilemma. I will throw away the odd category like for Kathryn Hunter in ‘MacBeth’. And I did go for both ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘1917’ against the odds. But I just had *no* feels for some of this year’s hottest tickets. Even though I admire the teams that made them.” Celeste and Eric Fossel will be at the reunion.

You’ve already read about the impact Sam Francis’ documentation on “Danger from Falls” has had. Sam was also indispensable to the 60th Reunion and Reunion Book efforts. Nevertheless, Bobbie and Sam Francis were able to spend a week in Hawaii at their timeshare. In addition to his early email exchange with Douglass Lea, Sam Francis emailed: “Below is Douglass Lea’s reply to my falls email, and my reply to him, in which I refer to a time in 2017 when I sailed in to Bequia, the Caribbean island where he lives. I had Waldo Johnston on board, so the two of us looked Douglass up and had a nice mini-reunion. See some photos from that trip here.” Cathy Gaffga (spouse of Len Gaffga) posted the cover of Len’s book, Following on Seas of Glory: Adventures at Sea and Around the World, with a caption, “Good Reading.” Ed Gaffney posted about Antoine Predock “who was an Albuquerque-based architect who became internationally acclaimed for buildings that resonated with the landscape of the American Southwest. He died at 87.” Sam Deloria commented: “He's the guy who came up with the fantastic innovation of having a development where the houses were clustered fairly close together, surrounded by land owned communally. Brilliant!”

Bill Galvin, editor of our stunning 60th Reunion Book, spent a week in Norway with Ellen before heading for the reunion. You can download a PDF of the entire book now, while waiting for the bound copy to arrive. We expected Harvey Geiger to be a presenter at our 60th reunion until he sent this message: “I had a heart ‘event’ and spent eight days in hospital waiting for an operation in early March. I was going to attend and was to be a presenter but reviewed the venue and travel and decided not to go. We still have our home on Vinalhaven in Main, and we now travel ‘private,’ two hours and twenty minutes from Hilton Head to Rockland and then a twelve-minute flight to the grass strip on Vinalhaven. Otherwise, not much has changed. I have too much money and no way to spend it! Good problem to have.” We wish Harvey a speedy recovery.

In March, Marty Gerstel emailed Ward Wickwire: “I owe a great deal to Yale — which I attended on a full scholarship — it totally changed my life for the better. Therefore, since graduating I have attempted to support the University as much as I could and intended for Yale to be a major beneficiary in my estate. However, I now live in Israel, and following the absolute silence by the administration following the outrageous resolution passed by the Yale student council condemning Israel, I began to understand that this is probably not the Yale that I knew and admired.” Ward Wickwire replied: “I decided that there are a number of things that, over the years, Yale has done or not done with which I disagreed. But there are also a number of other things that I consider real strengths in the realm of higher education. I decided to do a stretch gift in honor of our 60th Reunion and to direct it to the Jackson School of Global Affairs. This not only supported something I believed in (need for diversity in global affairs) but did not imply that I supported every policy or action of Yale. My late-stage career in middle-market cross-border M&A convinced me that our increasingly global world needed the kind of multi-disciplinary background that the Jackson School offered. I also respected Yale’s late entry into an otherwise crowded field of foreign-affairs graduate schools.”

In early April, Stephen Greenblatt emailed, “Tony I'm happy to hear that you are recovering well from the surgery. Will it give you enhanced mobility? With severe spinal stenosis and several herniated discs, spinal surgery is something I will need to contemplate, but I've been putting it off, since I am still mobile (though not without some annoying pain). But all such woes are put in perspective by the loss of Joe Lieberman and other friends. I may have told you that I had an honorary degree from the ancient Complutense University in Madrid, but I don't think I sent you a picture of me looking ancient myself in the crazy outfit they put you in.” In May, Stephen Greenblatt will release a new book (see Publications) and also participate in Edward Massey’s Author’s Workshop at the reunion.

In March, Bob Hilgendorf emailed Joe Wishcamper about his reunion gift: “Joe, you may remember that after my younger brother Bill died, Yale set up a fund for summer-travel grants. Our family — my father of course — contributed some stock to that fund and it grew to a significant size and is still being administered by Yale. I plan to make a bequest to Yale to add to that fund as a legacy bequest. I was told that such a gift could be counted as a reunion gift, but I am not sure of that. I just wanted to let you know of this plan and have you send a copy of this email to Ward Wickwire in order to explain that I am planning this kind of gift rather than making reunion gifts to Yale. The fund is the Howard William Hilgendorf memorial fund and to my knowledge Yale has kept it going for some 50 years.” Joe Wishcamper provided additional background: “Bob Hilgendorf’s younger brother Bill was class of 1967. He was an all-Ivy linebacker on the Yale football team. Bill was an outstanding student and was secretary of his class. Bill was selected to go to Hong Kong for the Yale in China program. Two weeks after arriving, he fell off a mountain near Hong Kong and was killed. Bill was a true leader, and his death was an indescribable tragedy.” Bob Hilgendorf will be at our 60th reunion.

Neil Hoffmann, as he often does, commented on a mid-Atlantic classmate email thread. In April, he wrote this about the Israel-Hamas conflict: “I agree with some comments, and disagree with others (e.g., some ‘truths’ are not ‘truths’ but beliefs, or just strong opinions). My two cents (what my views are probably worth): The goal to destroy Hamas was destined to fail. It made good ‘one-liner politics’ but a lousy military objective. The method — to bomb Gaza into a non-functioning urban/rural area — was wrong, for the same reason that the goal itself was unattainable. This was and is a war of city streets and tunnels. Destroying 80% of the buildings in Gaza was neither going to kill all the Hamas nor destroy all the tunnels. Israel would have been much smarter to launch some intense but narrowly focused counterstrikes and continued the daily exchange of Hamas rocket attacks and Israeli interceptions.”

In May, Marya Holcombe (surviving spouse of Terry Holcombe) posted a great photo of herself at Wicked Tulips Flower Farm. She commented, “My 80th birthday trip to the tulip farm with my daughter Kerry!”

John Hunsaker, who tirelessly canvassed Trumbull classmates to encourage reunion attendance, commented on his personal motives for attending to persuade classmates who disagree with Yale policies: “Thanks, Ron Parlato, I can't gainsay your hitting-the-nail-on-the-head conclusions. But I have benefited from your blog for a long time, learning from your provocative perceptiveness and vocabulary: anyone who writes of ‘flapdoodle’ and ‘skid marks’ can never be far from persuasively captivating the nitty-gritty. But unlike you and others of like mind, I am going to the 60th to engage friends on whatever comes up, including the gravamen of your current writings on Yale. Thanks for your precatory hope. Sorry to miss you and others, including Bill Kridel and Tony Thomson.”

Before they departed on their spring/summer RV trip across the country, Candy and Waldo Johnston posted from Florida: “Our daughter Crickett just completed the London Marathon in 3:46. She’s now done four of the major world marathons, with two to go.” Later, writing about their grandchildren, Candy said, “We eagerly await their arrival for months and, then poof, the week is done. This year was all about pickleball and Kennedy Space Center. Such good times, such good memories.” Later, Candy posted about Waldo’s favorite pastime, “My favorite time in the pool yard where Waldo’s orchids are now in bloom.” Later, they posted a photo of them together, “This evening we enjoyed the fabulous singing, dancing, and acting at Riverside Theater's production of ‘Kinky Boots.’" Now, Candy and Waldo Johnston are on another RV trip through the Midwest. Candy posted along the way:

Yesterday was drizzling so we didn’t mind staying in our Pathfinder as we navigated Vicksburg Military Park. Extremely impressive was the terrain which isolates Vicksburg from attack on all sides as the Confederates held high ground against the Federals for the 48-day siege. Lincoln ordered Grant to take the crucial river port, whatever the cost, which was high. Monuments, monuments everywhere. // The Cairo Gunboat Museum was equally interesting. Suggested time is three hours, however, for mobility-challenged old folks, three days might be more appropriate as there was so much to see. // Waldie wonders why this MS region is called the ‘Delta.’ Here's why according to Wikipedia: The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. The region has been called ‘The Most Southern Place on Earth’ (‘Southern’ in the sense of ‘characteristic of its region, the American South’), because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history. // Today's visit to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS was interesting because I know nothing about the Blues. The museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing public access to and awareness of the musical genre known as the blues. I observed significant, blues-related memorabilia, art works portraying the blues tradition, and lots of guitars, gold records, and musician bios. Due to copyright restrictions, visitors to the Delta Blues Museum are prohibited from photographing or video recording any portions of the Museum. // We're camping in Arkansas, my 49th visited state, so here's a little local news. Statues of civil-rights leader Daisy Bates and musician Johnny Cash will replace obscure existing 100-year-old statues representing Arkansas at the US Capitol. // Arkansas is one of the few states where average per capita farm income exceeds non-farm per capita income. Arkansas ranks first in the nation in rice production, producing close to 50% of the nation’s rice. Most of today's drive is on Interstate 55, which needs resurfacing. Limit is 75 mph. // Livestock, corn, and forestry are the agricultural drivers of Missouri's economy. Again, the fields are wide and flat along the Mississippi. // We left the Arkansas and Missouri flat agricultural fields to cross the Mississippi into the rolling forested hills of Tennessee. We miss the spectacular wide-open vistas. It was dangerously windy as we crossed the river. // We've arrived at a secluded gem of a campground at Columbus Belmont State Park right on the Mississippi where we'll sit back, relax, and bike for three days to recover from driving and museum visiting.

We will miss Candy and Waldo at our reunion but wish them safe travels.

When he read about John Kissick’s death, Steve Klingelhofer emailed, “John and I were both in D.C. after graduation, when I met my wife, Diane. Strange connections.” Steve added: “I was ordained at the Washington National Cathedral in 1980, and took part in several funerals, weddings, and various other services from time to time, but never had a position there. I was Rector of a church in Georgetown during the '80s. Tony. how is it that you're so familiar with the Cathedral? BTW, it's been my ‘spiritual home’ since I was 15.” Lavely explained: “My daughter Hillary was married in the National Cathedral in 2005, so I spent some rehearsal time in the high altar.” Steve will lead the memorial service for classmates at our 60th reunion. In early May, Bob Kaiser emailed, “Tom Powers and I will be in New Haven for dinner Saturday and lunch Sunday, both with our Elihu group. We long ago arranged for kosher lunch Sunday for Joe and Hadassah, sadly. On a happier note, Tony, your Facebook posts reveal wonderful good fortune in your second marriage! It's heart-warming to read your accounts. Congratulations!” Earlier, Bob Kaiser posted: “Good vibrations is what I get from FB birthday greetings. They remind me of what a rich and rewarding life I’ve squeezed into 81 years, and what wonderful people I’ve met along the way. Thanks to all who wrote. You helped make my day.” Claude Lauck wrote an interesting letter to the editor in the March-April issue of Yale Alumni Magazine: “I very much enjoyed your article on the Institute of Sacred Music as a remarkable collection of extraordinary and diverse talents. I was surprised, however, that there was no mention of Christian Wiman, a poet and writer on spirituality with a wide enough following that the New Yorker recently did an article on him.” Their reply: “Christian Wiman is indeed an important part of the ISM community. You can read our feature about him, published when he joined the faculty in 2013, here.—Eds.”

Tony Lavely appreciated the many words of encouragement he got when he posted about his spine surgery in late February. “My PT is on track to enable me to travel to and attend our 60th reunion, albeit using my handmade Irish cane.” Marya Holcombe (surviving spouse of Terry Holcombe) emailed on St, Patrick’s Day, “Praying for you and know you will be doing the Irish jig next year.” Later, Marya wrote, “I’m looking forward to seeing you at the reunion and hope your recovery continues to accelerate.” Martin Padley posted, “Chill today JIG tomorrow!” Dick Niglio messaged, “Hang in there, Laves! You’ll be calling the plays and throwing the passes again in no time. Remember my adage, ‘Ah Youth, if only we could recapture it.’ During the first two months of his rehabilitation, Tony Lavely didn’t shave so as to cut down on standing time. Patrick Caviness was the exception to all other opinions. ”I like your lumberjack look, Tony.” Tony Lavely also appreciated the good wishes from classmates on the birth of his second grandson, Lio Roberts Camacho, in early April. Ron Sipherd wrote: “Mazel tov, as they say in Manhattan.” Sam Low greeted the new arrival, “YES!” Waldo Johnston said, “I'm happy for you and your family!” Honorary classmate Jan Truebner commented, “Congratulations to all! Grands are the best!” Bill Drennen added, “Heartwarming.” Douglass Lea posted, “I've spent the last three hours practicing John Cage’s three-movement composition 4'33" It's grueling but also rewarding insofar as my sense of musical competence is growing by leaps and bounds. My tutor warns me, however, against becoming unbearably smug and arrogant.” Douglass regularly posts island photos and observations about his dog Sparkie, such as “The evolutionary concept of punctuated equilibrium manifests suddenly here today as a canine escapes his earthly shackle to soar into the gossamer realm above.” Later, “Sparkie-whispering, a giant step for interspecies communication.” On a somewhat weightier subject, Douglass posted an article about a new book by Yale historian Carlos Eire who evaluates once-common accounts of seemingly impossible phenomena — and challenges readers to suspend their own disbelief.” And Douglass couldn’t resist commenting about the worm in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s brain: “One dead worm in his brain? Only one? Christ Almighty, where's the news in that? I got a million of 'em, but I don't see Clark Kent running down Broadway, screaming for somebody to stop the presses. What a world!”

George Levendis notified us of Steve Swanson’s death in February and took the occasion to encourage roommates to register for our 60th reunion, “Note the invitation to the current class reunion (60 years) in New Haven on this May 23 - 26. (Teri has been to previous reunions with Steve.) I plan to attend, and I encourage you to do so, as well. Even though a lot goes on, attending on Friday afternoon until Sunday morning gives you the ‘full flavor’. I encourage you to bring the children. I brought mine from time to time, and it always was a great experience for them. If you cannot find the details and registration process online at Yale University / Class of '64, I will try to send you an appropriate link (recognizing, as you will, my lack of facility with websites. etc.).”

After Taylor Swift released her new album, Sam Low posted, “Okay, all right already … I am a Swifty!” Later, from the beach at Long Point on Martha’s Vineyard, Sam posted, “Long Point … Friday …absolutely gorgeous. Try it next time you put your feet up.” Later, the Tisbury Council on Aging posted a photo of Sam, “We’re waiting for you in a not-too-distant Monday future, Sam, ‘cause we know you can dance!” For the tenth anniversary of Wicked Good Rocking Reviews, Sam wrote: “I won’t miss this. I got tickets.” Responding to an invitation to the classmate luncheon at the Yale Club of NYC in May, Alan McFarland emailed, “I’ll try to make it on May 15. Complicated, but it would be neat to see the usual suspects.” At a dinner in Wayzata MN with Nancy and Tony Lavely in early May, Dick Niglio reminisced about our classmates, Ed Hamway and George Hanley. Dana and Dick Niglio will be at our 60th reunion. In replying to the February blast email about the 60th reunion, Bill Manuel wrote, “This email has served us well. Christy and I are looking forward to seeing our friends. Thanks for doing so much to keep us in touch. We are in the Courtyard by Marriott from Thursday PM to Sunday AM with a pre-trip visit to our daughter in Boston. How did your surgery go, Tony?” Commenting on Bill Bowe’s post of a Chicago street map, Ron Parlato wrote, “Three things to do in Chicago: (1) Leave.” Later, in a warmer mood, Ron Parlato posted, “Thank you, to all my Facebook friends, for their wonderful, thoughtful birthday greetings. It’s wonderful to be part of this community. Again, many, many thanks.”

Nancy and Dan Pollack traveled to New Zealand in February and posted: “Starting off our New Zealand adventure by visiting with Dana, who was an exchange student at our daughter’s high school. They became good friends and have kept up.” Later they posted: “A wonderful New Zealand experience! As the sun set, we walked across 27 suspended bridges!! Several areas, along the way, were illuminated with interesting artistic shapes! It was so quiet in the forest. The trees are California redwoods and some of the trucks were eight feet wide! Awesome!” And again, “Look at us!!! We went zip lining on our trip in New Zealand. It was so much fun!! We have loved our Tauck tour of this beautiful country. All of our experiences were just great and our group of travelers has enjoyed each other’s company. Time to return to the good old USA, after 16 fabulous days!” And finally, “Today is the last day of our wonderful trip to New Zealand. After 16 days of traveling around this beautiful and welcoming country, we are returning home. Several days ago, we had lunch with our fellow travelers at Baduzzi. The meal was excellent! So, we decided to return there for our last dinner in Auckland. We had a fabulous meal, walked around a bit, looking at boats in the harbor and returned to our hotel. All very exciting!!!!!” After returning, Dan Pollack followed Yale in March Madness, “Danny Wolf has great potential and Coach Jones is a true professional — what Yale needed were more outside shooting opportunities and less fancy dribbling. I’d like to know why #4 Poulakidas did not play in the first half. He scored 25 in their first playoff game.” In another March Madness comment, Dan said, “Bob Reum's wife Sherry and his family have become close friends. Nancy and I enjoy lunch with Sherry when she's in Chicago. Sherry attended out 55th reunion with her son Courtney. All three of her kids live in LA. Her son Carter is married to Paris Hilton.” In his own. athletically gifted family, Dan Pollack posted, “My grandson Luke Pollack is a recruited wide receiver at Iowa. I’m very proud.” Later, “My grandson Jake is a high-school basketball junior. He been invited for a Yale recruiting weekend after our reunion. Maybe we’ll have a Yalie after all.” In April, Nancy Pollack posted, “Celebrating our 56th anniversary with our grandson, Jake (such a sweet young man) at Bob Chinn’s Crabhouse!! One of our favorite restaurants for great food!! Danny and I have been together for 58 years…. Yep!!!” Later, from Arizona, Nancy posted, “Absolutely beautiful day to visit the Desert Botanic Garden, with Danny’s college roommate, Bob Hannah and his wife, Susan. Our docent was Danny’s high-school friend, Barbara, who was fabulous!! It was so much fun being with friends from different times in our lives!!! This cactus, which is 15 feet high had the most beautiful crown I have ever seen!!! The holes on the cactus are where birds have built their nests. There is a Botero exhibit at the garden. The sculptures are gigantic, and the video of his life was amazing.” Amidst all this excitement, in late March Nancy Pollack was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and they returned to Chicago for medical tests. Dan Pollack messaged: “Nancy walked four miles and did yoga yesterday. We would appreciate any doctor referrals and learning about classmates’ experiences with this disease.” In early May, Dan Pollack emailed Tony Lavely, “We look forward to seeing you and Nancy at our 60th reunion. As I mentioned before, we're having dinner with Marsha and Dave Kalayjian Wednesday evening May 22. You and Nancy are welcome to join us.”

Ed Price replied to an invitation to the Yale Club of NYC luncheon in May, “Unfortunately, it will still be a couple months before I can get back to social activities. Hope everyone enjoys the lunch and the reunion.” Pete Putzel emailed, “We visited Toddie Getman (surviving spouse of Chris Getman) in Rhode Island in February. We’re looking forward to seeing her at our May reunion.” Commenting on the post of Tony Lavely’s February dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Minneapolis, Pete Putzel wrote, “No, No, No. You can’t eat crab cakes at Ruth’s Chris!” Bob Rands, a regular on the Boston-area Zoom calls who will also attend our 60th reunion, periodically writes a review of the world economy. In April, he wrote: “Higher interest rates good for some high-end consumers, but not so for lower ones. I am cautious with higher cash reserves in most family accounts.” Later, Bob circulated a warning about PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”) in our water systems. Still later, Bob asked the Zoom group, “Is anyone using Perplexity for Search?” Dick Roskos called Tony Lavely from Texas to say that he was planning to attend our 60th reunion, “My wife Dale died six months ago.” Al Rossiter is recovering from cancer surgery and will be unable to attend our reunion. Al wrote this about his fellow Whiffenpoof, Jamie Park: “Jamie is the first member of our 1964 Whiff group we have lost to death. He was not only a gifted singer, but also a fine musician, who cared deeply about the quality of our singing. I will always remember him as a good man and a loyal friend.” Paul Ruden posted in March, “Dina and I are on a cruise to Panama and Costa Rice.” Earlier, Dina posted from New Orleans, “Adventures in New Orleans. I’m here for a conference, and I have a roommate of sorts. This peregrine falcon hangs out on my window ledge.” In March, Laura Landro and Rick Salomon posted, “A great evening celebrating honoree Nancy Goodes for her incredible advocacy for The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. In a room filled with her family and friends, especially glad to be with this crew, some of whom go WAY back with our girl.” Later, Laura posted from Palm Beach, “Look sharp! Great evening at the benefit for the Navy Seals Foundation, where we got to meet some of these incredible military heroes, learn about their history, and witness a pretty cool demonstration of some of their capabilities.”

In early May, Gerry Shea emailed: “Tony, many thanks for calling and writing, and greetings to Jon McBride and Jay Huffard, too. Wonderful that your back is improving, Tony, and that you and Nancy are both well. I’m writing from the hospital in Paris, here overnight for two days of heart tests. I fainted at home making breakfast a couple of weeks ago. No serious damage, just head, back, and hip bruises. But the fainting has raised cardiac concerns. I’ll have a full heart accounting this evening. I may need a new aortic valve because of calcification. The mitral valve has a problem too, but perhaps handled medicinally. Not sure of the general timing. I do feel fine, but all this shows the dangers of singing as opposed to football. Will keep you all posted. Whether I come to the reunion, of course, will depend on the medical advice.” Jon McBride replied, “Popo, we're wearing your heart on our sleeves in the hopes that your physicians give you a green light to come to New Haven! ‘Stay strong, Gerry,’ says it all!” Jay Huffard added, “Been there. Done that. Scary stuff. Hope all goes well and this will only be a small bump in the path ahead.” In early May, Gerry Shea was strong enough to write a letter to the editor of The New York Times about college campus protests. To quote one portion of his letter: “Those of us who condemn the protesting students are missing the forest for the trees. The trees are the American discomforts at Columbia and other universities and institutions generated by the protests. … We are averting our eyes from this havoc we wreak abroad. This is not a ‘war’ as so many have misleadingly asserted. It is a massacre. It is time to listen to our children.”

When he saw a Yale photo of Harkness Tower in a post, Ron Sipherd, photographer extraordinaire, commented, “Love it. I’m trying to get a fix on the perspective here. The Harkness clock appears to say early afternoon, so the Tower is lit and viewed roughly from the SSW. Was the photographer shooting from within Branford College?” In another study of proportion, Ron Sipherd commented on a Yale post about residential-college mascots that depicted his beloved Jonathan Edwards spider: “Now that’s more like it! Except make the spiders bigger.” In another post where Tony Lavely showed his broken thumb, Ron Sipherd commented, “Well, I see at least you have not lost your grip on a wine glass, Tony!”

In March, Chip Thomas (son of Stanley Thomas and godson of Tony Lavely) posted, “I’m as excited as I’ve ever been to announce my first solo album: “Smile”! I wrote, recorded, played all instruments, sang, mixed, and mastered the entire album. It was quite a fun process. The album is full of rawness and mistakes, but I see it as an archive of where I am in my career (and life).” Later, in a mood of profound gratitude, Chip posted, “Today marks one year since my skiing accident, and I easily could not have been here to celebrate it. Things could have gone another way. I’m incredibly thankful to the ski patrol and medical teams at Hunter Mountain and Greene County, the crew at Albany Medical Center, my Bern helmet (wear ‘em people!) and my friends and family. It was a long and painful recovery, but I’m back and stronger in every way. I celebrated this day by (safely) skiing Stowe VT, and I had an epic day.”

Tony Thomson protested the Yale Alumni Trustee election: “Since the candidates will be pre-approved for their 'soundness,' why vote? — like voting in a Russian election — a pointless gesture — why bother with this shameful nonsense?” Later, Tony Thomson commented on John Hunsaker’s email thread about “Drafting Guys Over 70.” Tony wrote: “There is much to be said for this proposal! — just as there is for getting the colonels and generals up in front, preferably on a white horse, as in the Civil War — I particularly like the tale of General Sedgwick, the highest-ranking Union officer killed in the war. I never saw our divisional general during the near year I spent in the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam — probably fighting bravely out in the bundu?” Nancy Upper (surviving spouse of Dennis Upper) is a regular on the Boston-area Zoom call. After Bill Woodfin (who calls in from Texas) circulated a New York Times article, “Beyond pizza and Yale: What to see, eat, and do in New Haven,” Nancy emailed, “Thank you, Bill! Perfectly timed for our Zoom tomorrow and for the reunion.” Peter von Braun wrote a hand-written letter in April. “We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the first time I was made a knight. The second time I was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and changed my name to von Braun. In the interim, I lived in Greenwich CT and raised two kids, both of whom are a great joy.” Joe Wishcamper, who will be attending and also presenting at our 60th reunion, was reminiscing about Lyn Hinojosa recently, “In my high-school senior year, I saw Lyn run wild in a state all-star game. It was the next fall when I met him as Yale and watched him perform in the Yale Bowl, that I realized who the guy was. Amazing!” Ray Haas heard us talking about Hinojosa on a Northern California Zoom call, and emailed: “Tony and Joe, I didn't know Lyn Hinojosa at Yale, but your conversation yesterday took me back to high school. Tony, you probably can't imagine how important high-school football could be to the local populace, but as a native Texan, Joe probably can. Anyway, when Joe said that Lyn played for Spring Branch, it struck a chord, and I decided to look it up. And when I checked it out, sure enough, my high school, the W. B. Ray Texans, beat Spring Branch 26 - 0 in the first game of the 1959 season, our senior year in high school.” Recently, Joe Wishcamper who knows that Tony Lavely is an avid Celtics fan, messaged: “Tony, I was given two tickets for playoff game two against Miami in the first row on the floor. Never have had that vantage point before and never again. It did not even matter that the Celtics lost that game.”

In Publications, Stephen Greenblatt published a new book in May, Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud. One reviewer wrote, “In this fresh investigation, Stephen Greenblatt and Adam Phillips explore how the second chance has been an essential part of the literary imagination and a promise so central to our existence that we try to reproduce it again and again.” Stephen will be one of Edward Massey’s featured classmate authors at our 60th reunion. Bill Bowe published his first book, Riots and Rockets, “about battles won and lost in an America upended, from the political revolution of the Sixties to the revolution of the Digital Age.” Tony Lavely emailed Bill: “Congratulations on your new book. I believe you are the 91st classmate author who collectively have published 296 books. P.S. Hopefully, we’ll have some more authors emerging as a result of Edward Massey’s session at our reunion!” Later, Bill Bowe posted on Facebook, “Recently at The Cliff Dwellers in Chicago, family, friends, and a number of Club members helped me celebrate the publication on Amazon of my memoir Riots and Rockets. The book looks back at my Army days during the riotous 1960s and '70s, Chicago politics in the 1970s, and my lawyering life dealing with collectors' plates and the MacArthur Foundation, the newswire service United Press International, and Encyclopaedia Britannica in the Digital Age.” Recently, Sam Low posted on Facebook, “Here is the story of the filming of my film, ‘The Navigators,’ from Sea History Magazine.” Later, Sam posted a YouTube video, and commented, “The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra composed a wonderful piece of music about ‘Hokulea’.” Syd Lea was quite active on his Substack Newsletter in recent months: recommending the essay, “Old Man Still Howling at the Moon;” a new poem from “What Shines;” an essay from “Such Dancing as We Can;” and a “formally self-forgiving Sonnet.”

Later in this column, we will capture some of the abundant comments reacting to the death of Joe Lieberman. Here, we want to add some of the articles written about Joe by his son Matt. In April, Matt wrote a most thoughtful article in the Wall Street Journal (which is posted on Joe’s In Memoriam page), “How My Dad Died,” which explained some of Joe’s underlying medical conditions and Joe’s courage in battling on. During March Madness, Matt wrote on his Substack Newsletter, “Whether we win or lose, I know the UConn Huskies have one more fan pulling for them tonight from on high. Here’s a C-SPAN video clip of my dad doing the Husky cheer on the floor of the US Senate during the men’s first national championship in 1999.” Later still, Matt wrote, “Saying the Kaddish at Yankee Stadium: Last night, nine of my family went to a Yankees game. My dad wasn’t strong enough to join us, but baseball is something we bonded over as father and son. Here’s a photo of us from July 2023 when we were at a Yankees game together.”

Our many classmate bloggers were active leading up to our reunion. Ron Parlato came up with some intriguing titles, “Goin’ Cracker – Yale Just Ain’t Worth It;” “The White House – The Racist Name Must Be Changed;” and “Sex at Yale — A Social History of Getting Laid.” Ron will be at our 60th reunion. Ron Sipherd, photographer of northern California, emailed, “With the change of seasons comes the quarterly posting of selected images to my website. The year is off to a good start!” Russell Sunshine, who is currently on a cross-continent train ride heading for our reunion in New Haven, posted a new blog on Agile Aging dealing with the question: “How can we preserve a tranquil private life while keeping informed about turbulent public affairs?” A number of classmates from the Bay Area Zoom Group contributed. There will be several sessions at our 60th reunion dealing with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Just for fun, I entered “Yale 1964” as a query on ChatGBT. The instant AI response was: “Class Divide: Yale ’64 and the Conflicted Legacy of the Sixties is a book by Howard Gillette that chronicles the experiences of Yale’s class of 1964, the first class to enroll in the 1960s.”

In the days leading up to our 60th reunion, we were saddened to learn about the deaths of six classmates. Brad Lane died on January 25, 2022, in Bedford, NY. Brad majored in economics and then served in the US Marine Corps following graduation. His essay in our 50th Reunion Book is heartwarming. Dan Northway died on August 3, 2023, in Topeka, KS. Dan took a year off after sophomore year but affiliated with 1964. He worked in medical research in NYC and then attended and graduated from the University of Miami where he got his B.A. and B.S. Hood Franks died on February 10, 2024, in Scottsdale, AZ. Douglass Lea messaged us on February 11, “Late last night, I was notified that Hood Franks, my Yale roommate and a retired oncologist in Scottsdale AZ died, as a result of a very rare, possibly genetic, heart weakness that he only discovered in the last few years. Earlier, Hood and I had held yet another of our hours-long interesting, informative, and humorous conversations via the FaceTime video chat platform. I believe today is his 82nd birthday. Beneath these words, I’m cratered by one of my best friends for 65 years.” A few days later, Paul Salmonsen emailed Hood’s obituary to us, which we always appreciate on a timely basis. Paul wrote, “Hood’s obituary was forwarded to all his Baylor Medical School classmates. Hood was one of the five of us from 1964 who went to Baylor, the others being Rick Kaminsky, Bill Woodfin, Jon Dora, and myself. Hood was a great person, respected by all.” At Yale, Hood majored in Religious Studies. Later, he received his M.D. degree from Baylor College of Medicine in 1968 and then completed his medical training with an oncology fellowship at Baylor. Terry Moulton died on February 19, 2024, in Blue Hill, ME. After graduation in 1964, Terry entered the U.S. Marine Corps and spent 13 months in Vietnam, where he was a much-respected platoon leader and left with the rank of Captain. John Kissick died on February 29, 2024, in Pacific Palisades, CA. His surviving spouse Kathy Kissick notified us that John died after a long battle with frontotemporal dementia. Later, she added an obituary which is posted on John’s In Memoriam Page. At Yale, John majored in Economics and then graduated with highest honors from Standard Business School with an M.B.A. in Finance.

Joe Lieberman died unexpectedly from a fall at home on March 27, 2024, in Riverdale, NY. After hearing the news, Sam Francis authored and posted a very informative article “Dangers of Falls,” based on his years of experience as an EMT. Tony Lavely posted, “In my last conversation with Joe, he was cheering on the Yale men’s basketball team and their star Israeli center during March Madness.” There was an outpouring of admiration and remembrances for Joe in the weeks that followed. The Yale Daily News (where he was chairman in 1963-64) reported his death. Joe’s memorial service (attended by a Who’s Who of Connecticut politicians) was recorded and posted on our Class website. Joe will also be remembered by his Yale Law School class during our reunion weekend. Even President Peter Salovey emailed, “Joe was a great friend to many of us. I’m still in shock.” Bob Kaiser notified us that there will also be a gathering of their Elihu Society over the reunion weekend. Later, In June, there will be a memorial service in Washington, D.C. Joe’s eldest son, Matt Lieberman ’89 (whom I had the opportunity to get to know in Atlanta) wrote extensively about his father’s death and life. Dan Pollack wrote Matt: “I will always remember your dad’s wonderful eulogy at John McCain’s memorial. service. Joe was one of only very few honest, devoted public servants.” At Steve Klingelhofer’s request, Matt will read the Hebrew Kaddish at our reunion memorial service, something Joe had planned on doing. Many classmates commented on Tony Lavely’s Facebook post about Joe. Sam Low commented: “This is awful news. Joe was one of a kind … smart giving, empathetic, wise, and much more.” Pat Caviness commented, “This is a touching tribute to Joe, Tony. I was shocked to read about his death from a fall. He will be greatly missed at our reunion.” Michelle Mead (surviving spouse of John Armor) commented, “Joe was such a wonderful man. He and his wife Hadassah were always so gracious to me at the reunions.” Waldo Johnston commented: “Another huge loss for our class. What an inspiration Joe was!” Ron Sipherd commented, “So sorry to hear this.” Karl Ziegler commented from London: “Very sad news to hear overnight. Jane and I have such happy memories of dining with Joe at an earlier reunion. He was a great credit to our class. Our love and condolences to his family.” Don Van Doren commented, “Joe will long be remembered for living his faith and his values, even while engaging in the political area, as a Senator, as a Vice Presidential candidate, and lately as a leader of ‘No Labels,’ where he tried to bring some rationality to the increasingly divisive divisions into which our country is splintering.” Bill Kridel added a remembrance to Joe’s In Memoriam page on our Class website; he wrote in part, “Joe Lieberman was a gentleman, a Humanist, a Centrist, a Patriot, and a kind person whose sharp mind never got in the way of his wonderful, big heart and strong value beliefs. At Yale, he loved to debate political ideas and was a leader of The Party of the Left whilst his fellow classmate John Ashcroft was on the Right, and I found myself in the Center.”

Obituaries and remembrances of these men are on our Class website/In Memoriam, along with information on how to donate a Mory’s Memorial Brick in their name. In other remembrances, Susan Floman (surviving spouse of Steve Floman) donated a Memorial Brick in Steve’s name. Brooks Carder’s son, Bert, added an obituary to Brooks’ In Memoriam page. They will each be remembered during the Memorial Service at our 60th reunion, along with 83 other classmates who have died since our 55th reunion. The service will be recorded and posted on our Class website. Al Rossiter, Jon McBride, and John Evans wrote: "Along with other members of the 1964 Whiffenpoofs, following our 60th class reunion in New Haven, we will visit Jamie Park's surviving spouse Betsy on Sunday, May 26, in Amenia, NY, for an afternoon gathering of family and friends to remember and celebrate Jamie's life. Betsy has asked that if any other classmates would like to attend they should reach out to her, Betsy Park, at sandanonahounds@aol.com to RSVP, and she will provide the full address, the timing, and other details for the occasion on May 26. Ted Jones emailed: “If you’re back in New Haven for our 60th reunion, stop by Mory’s and ask at the host stand to see the locator guide to Mory’s Memorial Bricks on the Rase Garden Patio.” You can also contact Ted Jones to donate a Memorial Brick in the name of any classmate.