Class Notes

November/December 2006

by Tony Lavely

As I write this column, Chip Brennan informs me that forty-three classmates are scheduled to attend the Chicago mini-reunion on September 28-30th. We'll have news from that gathering in the next column. Thanks to Chip, George Covington, Harry Howell, Bill Moeller, and Bob Reum for organizing this event. Looking forward, Terry Holcombe has scheduled a Class Council meeting in New Haven for Saturday, February 17th. We'll be attending the Harvard-Yale hockey game the night before. You should also know that Waldo Johnson is chairing our 45th class reunion in 2009, so contact him with any program suggestions. Terry also told me that last fiscal year our class raised $243,000 for Yale, with a record 53% of classmates participating. Thanks to all the volunteers and donors who made this possible! Terry and Marya Holcombe also had a two-week stint in the Galapagos, visiting a barrio in Guayaquil where they built some houses with their granddaughter last year.

Sam Francis, our venerable webmaster, reports that after retiring from Bell Laboratories, he's been consulting for two years with the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. Sam would have become the first Director of Advanced Research for DHS, until the White House asked about his party registration and voting record. Check out Sam's travel website at www.franciscruises.net.

Ed Massey sent a great e-mail: "On May 19th, all of our Calhoun College roommates with spouses, save one, created our own little mini-reunion over the weekend in Kent/Sharon, CT … four lawyers, one cardio-thoracic surgeon, one Ph.D. research chemist, and me. Not a bad group. Per Wickstrom and Elaine live in Duluth where he is head of the cardio-thoracic surgery program he created when he went there about twenty years ago. Except for being a little thinner than he was when he was all-Ivy, he is remarkably preserved and still sort of makes you wait for each sentence, but not as much as Jim Shanklin, who came with Carolyn. Jim has retired from his life as a corporate chemist and is now teaching full-time at a local university in Cleveland. He did not turn Pete Putzel upside down in a waste basket to shut him up as he did during exams. Pete's all suffering wife, Anne, had no better luck, but we all needed to thank him for pressing forward until we did this. He even succeeded in luring out Bill DuRoss who rewarded us with magnificent wine pairings at dinner Saturday night. Bill still protects the management side of labor disputes in D.C., but sustained longevity at a law firm was won by Charles Warner ("Boom-boom" for those who remember the Yale band) who continues to practice in the same law firm he joined his first day out of law school. Betsy, who continues to stay more active than normal human beings, only slightly rolled her eyes when Boom-boom produced a couple of articles honoring our classmates. Our final lawyer, Pete Giblin, has not practiced for some time for the very good reason that he has found honest employment … in business. Mostly he consults in human resources and is an adjunct professor at a London Business School. Maritza reports that they expect all their children to move back to England to live near them. Some of us had not seen each other for 42 years, some not for a month, but it was great for all to be together again." Recently, Ed has organized a fund-raiser for Joe Lieberman, with the support of many classmates.

Pat Caviness wrote that he just returned from a wonderful trip in Northern Italy and Southern France with John Bowen (class of 1963) and his extended family: "Two days later we drove into southern France and stayed at a small farmhouse in the wine country for four days … farm had vineyards and a swimming pool … very quiet and comfortable … delicious food … beautiful area. From there we drove further west and stayed at an absolutely elegant home in the mountains just outside St. Tropez. We came back to Hong Kong last week but are leaving again from Koh Samui. Jimmy Rogers was in Hong Kong with his wife, Paige, and their child, Hilton, and we had dinner together. Jim is considering moving here so his child can grow up in a Mandarin-speaking city."

John Witherspoon wrote: "Just got back from motorcycle-mania trip to Maine and back to Nashville … now off to Doctors Without Borders and Operation Smile adventures."

Blaine Krickl reported, "Some of the UK-based members of our class recently attended a luncheon hosted by Mark Sullivan. The group of classmates Baskey, Sherman, Nagel, and Ziegler enjoyed a lively and amusing time in the City of London with exchange of news and much reminiscence … photographs are posted on the Class Website."

I'm happy to report that my roommate and teammate, Stan Thomas (who died in 1995), had another granddaughter. Aiden Rae Cohen was born to Beth Thomas Cohen on September 9, 2006.

Sadly, the wife of John Henderson, Barbara, passed away on July 23, 2006, in New Haven. Along with John, Barbara was a founding member of the Yale Alumni Chorus.