Class Notes

January/February 2019

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.

By early November, classmates should have received the special September-October YAM supplement with Class Notes. My email inbox really lit up in early September when YAM arrived without Class Notes. Despite the fiasco, it was heartening to find out that classmates are looking for the column! All classmates also received a postcard mailing about our 55th reunion, May 30-June 2, 2019. Going forward, all communication about the reunion will be via email; 673 classmates have email addresses known to us out of 776 members. Our co-chairs, Tony Lee and Jon McBride, sent blast emails in October and early November, and it’s encouraging to see that over 80 classmates (about half of the projected attendance) have already pre-registered. You can see “Who’s Coming” via a link on our Class website. Steve Norman has agreed to lead the Reunion Special Gifts Committee. In October, you should also have received the annual class dues letter from Chip Brennan; if you haven’t already done so, you can pay the modest class dues online at https://alumni.yale.edu/classes/dues.

There were a host of special events this fall. The Fall Golf Outing at the Yale Course took place on October 11 but was swamped by a heavy rainstorm. Chris Getman (who is almost back to full strength following his heart surgery) posted a vivid account on our Class website to recognize the hardy souls who played. Neil Hoffmann had to stand down from his organizing role when his wife Nancy had a serious heart attack, so Martin Padley stepped in to announce that a reprise was scheduled for November 1. Tony Lee graciously decided not to attend, which virtually guaranteed a gorgeous fall day. Pete Putzel reported that the October 23 Class table at the Yale Club of NYC was attended by 10 classmates, including first-timers Jim Mandel and Harry Howell. John Evans attended a Whiffenpoof reunion at Mory’s with Jon McBride and Al Rossiter. John Ogilvie is off to Patagonia until March. Al Rossiter reported that the October 24 classmate luncheon in Boston (their second) was attended by 11 classmates. If you’re not on their email list, contact Edward Massey. Sadly, Dennis Upper had planned to attend but died from a terrible fall only days before. Nancy Upper emailed: “Dennis loved Yale and thought your idea to gather Boston-area classmates was terrific.” Nancy has graciously volunteered to assist Jan Truebner to invite surviving partners to our 55th reunion.

Peter Jokl announced that on November 2 Jim Duderstadt gave the Wayne Southwick Lecture at the Yale Orthopaedic Association in Saybrook College. Jim’s title was “Docs and Jocks,” addressing the moral and academic conflicts in major college sports. A week later, on November 9, Gerry Shea was a panelist at Sterling-Sheffield-Strathcona Hall at an event celebrating the introduction of American Sign Language to the Yale curriculum. Gerry talked about his book, The Language of Light, and the history of the deaf and signed languages in Europe and America. The same day, Chris Getman emailed that he would be attending a memorial service for Carm Cozza in Coxe Cage on Saturday morning before the Princeton game. Chris was a former assistant to Cozza. Many football teammates remember Carm visiting our 50th Reunion and saying, “Your team was instrumental in me getting the head coaching position the year after you graduated.” Chris Getman also helped organize a 1964 contingent for The Game in Fenway Park. November 17 will also be the 50th anniversary of the infamous 29-29 tie.

There are two additional items in News on the website, in addition to the ones already mentioned: Russell Sunshine wrote an interesting essay about falcons, “A P.G. Story with Wings.” Tony Lee wrote a letter to the editor, published in the September 29th edition of the Boston Globe, during the Kavanaugh hearings, “Someone in lying.” Not surprisingly, these hearings put a spotlight on Yale Law School, Yale College, and DKE. In this context, I think it’s appropriate to express my personal policy when writing Class Notes. I receive hundreds of emails and posts from classmates expressing strong political views from all points of the political compass. Unless the view of a classmates is published (in which case, I post it in its published form), I do not include these views in Class Notes, so as to avoid any hint of partisanship. There is also the practical matter that to do so would fill an entire issue of YAM, not just the 1200-word column allocated to me. The past two years have seen a significant increase in the frequency of viewpoints on political issues among classmates. Frankly, it feels like the 1960s again! Maybe we need to persuade Howard Gillette to write a sequel! Just in the past month I’ve been included in a private email thread among 16 classmates dealing with all sides of the immigration issue and the health care issue. I understand there may be small group discussions on issues like this at our 55th reunion.

Finishing up the “events” section of this column, I report my own personal “Yale Week” last September. On September 17th, I attended the Yale Alumni Fund Board meeting at The Yale Club of NYC where a new Volunteer Website was launched. We heard a nice presentation by Dean of Yale College, Marvin Chun. Later, I had dinner with Stan Thomas’ son Chip Thomas in Manhattan. After taking in a Red Sox-Yankees game in the Bronx, I drove to New Haven to attend a Branford College Fellows meeting. It was my first opportunity to meet the new Head of College, Enrique De La Cruz and also touch base with two students that I’m mentoring and one Alumni Schools Committee matriculant. Weili Cheng, head of YAA, emailed: “Thanks for letting your classmates know how wonderful today’s students are; they are the reason we all work so hard, so Yale can make a positive difference in the future.” I even caught up with Tony Lee and Jon McBride who were there for a reunion workshop. I made time to meditate on Bart’s Bench on the Old Campus (no doubt making the Red Sox Championship secure) and to see the Leonardo exhibit at the Yale Art Gallery. I envy classmates with easier access to campus resources!

In September, Doane Perry posted, “We’re proud that our son Curt has an MD and PhD in cancer Immunotherapy from Yale. Some of our friends have gotten better using this technology.” When he saw my post about a new Italian restaurant in New Haven, Ron Parlato posted, “My family is from New Haven; my grandparents lived on Wooster Square, the heart of Italian life and food. But the food was gloppy, oversized, and as far from good Italian cuisine as anyone could imagine.” In September, Douglass Lea posted, “Tropical storms are still raging, deer ticks still marauding, and ignorant fools still in charge, but it’s never too early to sign up for my annual War on Christmas.” Sam Low tracked the voyage of the Polynesian sailing vessel, Hikianalia along ten ports on the California coast. In September, Denny Lynch’s wife Ann Marie emailed, “Dennis can’t attend the 55th Reunion for medical reasons, but he will always remain a proud member of the illustrious Class of 1964.”Toddie Getman’s doctor, David Hafler was recognized by Yale for his world-renowned work in multiple sclerosis.

In October, Rick Salomon posted: “What better way to spend an hour on a rainy afternoon in Seattle than the aquarium on Toddler Day!” Patrick Caviness was in San Francisco waiting for a heart procedure but managed to utilize both rentable city bikes and electric scooters. He posted: “Are these GPS scooters going to replace venerable old pedal bikes in crowded cities?” Later Patrick emailed: “Successful procedure! Circulation restored with two stents. Heading back to Koh Samui in a week and can start workouts again in a month. Very relieved!” Despite a challenging medical procedure facing him, Robert Whitby emailed: “I should have this all over before Christmas and hope to be skiing by February.” Jim Currie emailed: “I’ve started work on my private Pilot Certificate after a lapse of almost 60 years. One of my last flying events was the Great Freshman Year Plane Crash with classmates Tim White and John Bermon. I was not the pilot in command!” Just before the Yale-Penn football game, Dick Berk emailed: “My loyalties are mixed. I have some Penn football players in my classes, and they are great kids. The Penn team has a higher GPA than Penn undergraduates as a whole.”

Marya and Terry Holcombe posted: Along with other classmates, we had a fantastic concert by the Duke’s Men at Mory’s. Later in October, the Holcombes posted: “Another tremendous William F. Buckley Program with George Will; we are going!” In response to the publicity about college admissions, Jim Rogers emailed: “I thought the shift in the 1960s was to geographic distribution which is how I got in. It could not have been meritocracy, or I would not have been accepted.” A current Yale student contacted me to ask about “vintage football cheers.” Other than having my 1960 copy of The Yale Songbook, I didn’t know where to direct her. Who were the cheerleaders in our Class? There’s nothing in our 1964 Yearbook. Urban Resources Initiatives, a not-for-profit organization that our Class supports, did a special tree planting near Phelps Gate in October. John Wylie posted a great photo of himself “holding up” one of the 5000-year-old Neolithic rock structures in the Orkney Islands. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies posted: “Stop by [Rick] Kroon Hall to see the beauty of sustainability in action. Gorgeous flowers attract pollinators and help turn runoff water from Science Hill into water used in the buildings.” Karl Ziegler organized an October dinner at the Queen’s Tennis Club in London for classmates and friends. In November, Nancy and Dan Pollack toured Zion, Bryce, and Capital Reef National Parks in Utah. They posted: “What a beautiful part of our country!”

There are no new conventional publications to report in this issue, but four of our Class bloggers are as active as ever: Jim Rogers, Paul Ruden, John Wylie, and Ron Parlato. Check them out on our Class Website in Publications.

As we canvassed classmates about the 55th reunion (led by Attendance Chair Sam Callaway), we learned, sadly, of previously unreported deaths. Where available, full obituaries and remembrances are posted on our Class website In Memoriam. We learned that Eric Hansen died in November 2017 in New Haven. Eric was an architect who specialized in rehabilitation of older building. Butch Hetherington reported that Bob Tanner died on March 16 in Charlottesville VA. Bob spent most of his oil-business career in Kentucky but was studying American History at UVA at the time of his death. We also learned that Brice Voran died in September in Northern Michigan. Brice practiced corporate law and retired to Walloon Lake MI. As previously reported, Edward Massey notified us that Dennis Upper died in September after an accidental fall. Dennis had a brilliant 50-year career in psychological services. His 2007 memoir, Long Story Short, is listed on our Class website. Honorary Classmate Vivian Donnelley died in October in New York City. Following the death of her husband Strachan Donnelley, Vivian was very helpful with reunion planning. Finally, we report that Larry Capodilupo’s wife Jan died in October shortly after a diagnosis of brain cancer.