Class Notes

July/August 2008

by Tony Lavely

The dates for our 45th class reunion in New Haven are now confirmed: June 4-7, 2009. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend as this promises to be our best reunion ever! This coming June, several members of the reunion committee will be attending the 45th reunion of the Class of 1963 for observation and ideas on programming and logistics. Waldo Johnson, our reunion committee chair, has called a meeting of the reunion committee for Saturday, June 7th for further program development. John Evans, program committee chair, will be there, too. Please call or e-mail Waldo, John, Terry, or me, if you have additional suggestions for programming.

Tony Lee reports that plans and attendees are now set for the golf outing in Bermuda in late October. Opening "ceremonies" will be at Ed Trippe's Tucker Point Resort. There will be news from this event in the next issue of class notes.

Phil Hinkle wrote from Cincinnati that he "got smart three years ago and retired, so I could help my wife in her successful real estate business." Phil had hip replacement surgery in March and says, "Playing tennis every day is easy now." Richard Campbell has retired as a secondary school teacher in Brooklyn and wrote: "I continue to be part of NYC Chess World." Phil is "working on Alekhine, a Russian chess hero, and teaches free chess lessons to beginners, young and old." Paul Levengood continues to be active in the Yale Club of Madrid and reports: "Applications for the class of 2012 are the strongest from Spain in many years." Stephen Delman wrote from New Jersey, "The class dinner at the Yale Club of NYC last October was great! A job well done [by Ed Massey]." From Bryn Mawr, PA, Neil Hoffmann echoed the praise for the NYC mini-reunion and added: "Three cheers for the golf outing last October, too." Bob Sexton, in Lexington, KY, has been named to the board of directors of the Center for Teaching Quality, a nonprofit advocacy organization that focuses on advancing the teaching profession. John Evans and I discovered a mutual connection to Chatham, MA, and will be getting together there in August. John continues to be an avid student of investment trends. Stan Thomas' son, Stanley B. ("Chip") Thomas, is enjoying success with his band in NYC, PaperDoll and has just released a new album. Tom Rowe and I exchanged e-mails about my daughter Vanessa's graduation in May from UCLA Law School, where his wife, Susan, is on the faculty. Earlier this year, Tom and Susan made a two-month trip through South America. Writing from his new position at Tribeca Square Press, Jethro Lieberman reminded me that Dan Lowenstein is on the faculty at UCLA, too. Here in Orlando, Laird Smith e-mailed: "Peter Parson, class of 1960, is trying to raise awareness concerning the nearly unimaginable atrocities in the Philippine theater of the Second World War." Richard Rosenkranz (who was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in history for his book, Across the Barricades, 1971), is executive director of World Tibet Day, with the encouragement and support of the Dalai Lama. Richard also founded the Interfaith Call for Human Rights and Religious Freedom. I am enjoying the new book by Dennis Upper, Long Story Short, which includes many reminiscences of our undergraduate years at Yale. Gus Speth organized a small gathering of classmates in NYC on May 1st with Strachan Donnelley and Vivian, at their home. Classmates attending were Terry Holcombe, David Plimpton, Wendell Motley, and Pete Putzel. Chris Getman has also seen Strachan frequently in recent days. By the way, Wendell Motley stepped down as Minister of Finance for Trinidad and Tobago about five years ago and is now an investment banker in NYC. Jim Rogers e-mailed: "I have [reclaimed] my status as having the youngest child in the class. Beeland Anderson Parker Rogers, know as "Baby Bee," arrived on 18 March 2008 in Singapore. She is a lot of fun so far; ask me again when she is 15!" Jim and his other daughter, Hilton, rang the opening bell at the Singapore Stock Exchange on April 11.

In March, I attended a reception in Orlando at which Tom Beckett, Yale Director of Athletics, gave an impressive presentation on Yale athletic facilities and programs. From earlier class notes submitted by Will Elting, our class AYA representative, you will recall the theme of a recent AYA Assembly, "Yale in a Green World." Useful tips were provided on how you could practice a more "green" and sustainable lifestyle at home. On a lighter note, you may want to check out the new online game GoCrossCampus (GXC) created by students in the Yale Entrepreneurial Society and the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute. To find the game, browse to Yale Club of Silicon Valley and scroll most of the way down the page.

Ward Wickwire, chair of Alumni Fund agents, reports that with only six weeks remaining before the June 30th close, our class has raised $169,229 from 313 donors.

Enjoy the summer and please send news of yourself and classmates for the next issue!