Class Notes

May/June 2020

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.

As I write these Notes in early March, the country and the world are gripped in the spread of the Coronavirus. I hope all classmates and their families are spared any contagion. As warmer weather approaches across most of the country, let’s hope that classmate gatherings may convene without risks. The Spring Golf Outing is scheduled for Thursday, May 14 on The Yale Course. Contact Ted Jones if you want to participate. Classmate lunches will be held in Boston (Jerry Flannelly), Chicago (Chip Brennan), New Haven (Chris Getman), New York City (Pete Putzel), and San Francisco (Owen O’Donnell).

The annual meeting of your Class Council took place on Saturday, February 8 with 24 Council members in attendance. New members attending were: Steve Hoffman, Bill Morse, and Robert Whitby). For the first time, the meeting was held at Evans Hall (named for Ned Evans) at the Yale School of Management. It was an inspiring venue! Bill Morse was confirmed as our Class Delegate to the Yale Alumni Association (YAA), replacing Don Edwards whose term expired. You can read much more about the meeting and surrounding events on the Class website in Class News. Notably, the Council renewed financial support for Urban Resources Initiative (URI) and Squash Haven. Among other decisions, the Class Council initiated planning for two mini-reunions: one in the Spring of 2021 in New York City with a focus on arts and cultural themes (Robert Whitby and Chris Getman); the other in the Spring of 2022 in Atlanta with a focus on civil-rights legacy and future (Howard Gillette and Tony Lavely). Please contact these organizers if you would like to get involved in the planning. The spirit of the Council meeting was best captured by Bob Buchanan when he emailed after the meeting: “I want to let you know how meaningful the time spent with our Class Council has come to mean to me. I’m also determined to spend more time on our Class website.”

In early February, I attended an event at Georgia Tech that was sponsored by the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (see an article). Dean Burke from F&ES introduced a panel that included my neighbor, Kim Cobb ’96. They discussed a new book, A Better Planet: Forty Ideas for a Sustainable Future. The Monday after our Class Council meeting, I attended a Yale Alumni Fund board meeting at The Yale Club of NYC. The featured speaker was Dean Deborah Berke of the Yale School of Architecture who spoke about their dynamic student body and curriculum.

The Class News section of our Class website continues to expand to report the coverage of classmates in general media and on social media. Forty new articles and stories have been posted in the new year, including extensive reporting from the Class Council meeting. If you are covered in a news story or if you see something about a classmate, please send it to me for posting so other classmates may enjoy it. One of the most viral of these stories was the one about Officer Tristan Kiekel whom the Council named an Honorary Classmate for her many kindnesses to our classmate Charlie Johnson. Another heartwarming story is about Sunrise Café where long-time supporters Marya and Terry Holcombe had recruited other classmates (Ted Jones, Edward Massey, and Tony Lavely) to serve early morning breakfasts to homeless and hungry people in New Haven. Don Van Doren commented on social media: “Great that Terry and Marya can do this on an ongoing basis. This kind of consistent support is ever more critical these days.” On their Facebook page, Yale Alumni Magazine recently featured photographs of both the Class of 1964 Gate (crafted by metal worker Zoltan Kovacs) and the Mary Anne & Len Baker Courtyard at Benjamin Franklin College.

Early January brought more seasonal greetings and updates from classmates. Rick Salomon: “Best for 2020 from Laura and me … and 12 grandchildren, two nieces, a nephew, and a very nice puppy.” Tony Lee wrote: “Margie and I still work at greening our community, from our organic backyard and community garden patches where we try to practice regenerative agriculture. We also support local growers like NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association).” Dick Berk emailed: “Susan is still working full time and thriving as a professor at Penn. Our son Michael is spending the fall of his Penn senior year studying abroad in Seville, Spain. He is fluent in Spanish, loves Spanish wine, and continues to play basketball at a high level.” Pat Caviness replied to Dick: “Glad to hear that your son is enjoying Spain. I assume he will return to Penn in the Spring to graduate and then on to a career helping people better understand our planet.” Now settled in a Norwalk CT apartment after their annual vacation on Drakes Island ME, Edward Massey and Anne wrote: “We attended a family wedding in Barcelona and then went to Kenmare, Ireland, for a reunion with Yale roommates.” Jon McBride sent a wonderful extended family photo with news of their “delightful trip to southern France, followed by a week in Prague and Budapest.” Dan Berman wrote: “Lorna and I are both active in registering voters, postcarding and phone-banking in support of the environment, human rights, and worker health and safety.”

During February, with the CDC in the news, I posted a remembrance of Ward Cates and the great work he did there for many years. Pat Caviness commented, “A beautiful acknowledgment of Ward’s achievements and contributions to public health. Ward was passionate about his role at CDC.” Marya Holcombe commented,” We miss Ward’s infections laugh (no pun intended)!” John More added: “Another example of how our class sent forth members who served fellow humans.” Waldo Johnston said, “Ward was another giant.” Tim Bachmeyer added: “We miss him dearly.” At about the same time, I received an email from Len Gaffga. “I am writing to report that my middle son, Nicholas Gaffga, has been promoted to the rank of O-6 in the uniformed corps of the Public Health Service at the CDC. He travels the world and is now in Senegal, Africa. Last year he went to Guinea, Bissau to help fight the Ebola epidemic. He and his family did a four-year tour of duty in Angola (two years) and Lesotho (two years) where I had a chance to visit him the year that Nelson Mandela died. Naturally I was thrilled to put on my uniform once again and do the honor of pinning on his extra stripe.”

Jim Currie visited friends in Santa Barbara and posted: “I love this state, the great weather, and green green green! We had fun strolling the Sunday art show on the waterfront.” Bob Buchanan emailed: “After receiving the ‘put out to pasture’ award (Urban Land Institute Lifetime Achievement Award) in November 2018, I have been cutting back a bit from my various endeavors promoting regionalism and economic development in the Greater Washington area. I still enjoy the work, however, and hope my health and energy level allow me to continue to be a factor. Travel and trying to keep up with nine grandchildren and one great grandson nicknamed ‘The Tornado’ make for a full life.” When the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies changed its name to the Yale School of the Environment, I asked Rick Kroon, whose gift named Kroon Hall, for his view. Rick replied, “I listened to a preview of the change with interested alumni who were positive. My family likes it.” Rick added: “Great to see that your daughter, Vanessa Lavely, has joined the Deerfield Academy Board.” Paul Balser continues to do great work on the board of the Hudson Guild. a community-based social services organization focused on the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Following the Class Council meeting in February, I bumped into Chip Brennan at the Yale Club. He was just returning from an afternoon at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, where they were showing English setters, of which he has two. Bill Bowe posted a terrific nighttime photo of his hometown of Chicago, as seen from the International Space Station. On a more ominous theme, Bill also posted a photo of the Chicago lakefront with the headline “The City of Chicago is Sinking.”

Frank Franklin posted from Birmingham, “We enjoyed a very good production of ‘Thurgood’ by Steel Magic Theatre at Alabama School of Fine Arts. The play ends with a portion of Langston Hughes’ powerful poem, ‘Let America be America Again’.” Later, Frank posted, “The ‘mighty’ Cahaba River as viewed from our back deck is at flood stage.” A close student of civil-rights history, Frank Franklin also posted: “Very insightful visit to Medgar Evers’ home in Jackson MS. Later we visited the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum which complements the civil rights museums in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Montgomery.” Pat Caviness reminisced about his high-school class, known as “the lost class of 1959. We were denied our senior year because Governor Faubus closed all Little Rock schools in what came to be known as ‘the Little Rock Nine’.” Over the holidays, Pat Caviness posted photos of our friend Chuck Lubar ’63 and family visiting him in Koh Samui. “We talked about Chuck’s rock band at Yale, called ‘The Thunderbirds’.” Pat added: “Frederique added to her hand-painted art on the beach barrels, with some great images of bulldogs! She’s also appearing in a live play in March, ‘The Memory of Water & Five Kinds of Silence’.” Pat and I had another video FaceTime call to catch up. Sam Deloria posted: “Had a great dinner in Tucson with SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed). No photos of food were posted, but you’re welcome to come to my house and look at my cell phone.” Sam also reminisced about his mother: “My mother had a heck of a time getting me to write thank-you notes. Eventually, it got done, but I wish I had understood at the time how important it was.” After attending a luncheon at the University of Arizona about research and protection of human subjects, Sam Deloria posted: “I like to remember the issues we’ve been wrestling with for decades. Some of the hardest stuff to think about and understand.”

Ed Gaffney posted: “It was a very cold and windy February morning in Santa Fe today. Susy and I went up to the National Cemetery for the interment of an old friend from Los Alamos. We also visited my folks’ grave.” When Joe Lieberman was asked about the candidacy of his son Matt for US Senate in Georgia, Joe said: “My son has apparently inherited a peculiar genetic defect from me. Nevertheless, I’m very proud of him.” I’m hoping to see Joe in March when he comes to Atlanta for a fundraiser. Alan McFarland joined the club of classmates whose offspring are running for political office. Alan emailed: “My ex-Navy active-duty daughter, Fiona, is running for the Florida House from Sarasota.” Angus Gillespie sent an announcement of “An Evening of Gospel Choirs” and wrote: “I founded this event at Rutgers in honor of Black History Month in 1982, where it is now the oldest and best attended event.” Marty Gerstel posted a photo of himself standing behind the US Presidential Seal podium at the White House. You’ll have to ask him to explain! Don Van Doren emailed: “Scanning the Class Notes in YAM, it seems that our class is one of the most active and engaged. Diane and I are just back from a trip to Cape Town. It’s a stunningly beautiful country with excellent food and wine, though an appalling disparity of wealth and privilege.” Don Haggerty emailed: “After enjoying our 55th reunion, I’m back to reality here in Argentina, hoping the situation will improve with the new administration.” After I connected Martin Padley to another Yale alumnus who had seen his wedding announcement on our Class Website and researched a family connection, Martin wrote him: “This is wild! We were in Zurich this summer and stayed at the Dolder Grand where my father was the golf pro in the 1920s. I never heard your grandfather’s name, but there he is in the photo with my father.” (See the article.)

When I posted something about daffodils on the Yale campus, I got an unexpected response from classmates who enjoyed them, too. Pat Caviness replied: “Daffodils are so uplifting.” Ron Sipherd said: “One of my favorite flowers.” Marya Holcombe said: “Terry confirms that the daffodils were a gift of the Vietor family. What a magical tribute to keep a memory alive all these years.” The same thing happened when I posted the tradition of having candles in the home. Dennis DeSilvey commented: “We also dine with candles every night. Probably close to 47 on hand.” John More replied: “We light ours with a hand-held gas lighter.” Ed Gaffney posted a photo with caption: “Our six in the candelabra have just returned to the mantle after holiday decorations were taken down.” Ron Sipherd said: “We had candles for many years but gave up because of the soot. Now we use LED column lights.” We were very gratified to hear from Gerry Shea that “Claire’s entire lymphatic system is free of cancer. The treatments have worked!” After receiving the blast email with Class Notes in January, Stephen Greenblatt emailed: “Thanks for this remarkable snapshot of our class, aging but still amazingly active. My wife and I are going to Rajasthan to talk about books at the Jaipur Literature Festival.” Peter Hicks wrote: “I read as much as I can thanks to the great library system in Nashville. Also, it’s a great joy watching my grandson play baseball.” Ted Jones visited Waldo Johnston and Candy in Vero Beach where they enjoyed plenty of tennis and golf with Martin Padley. Martin emailed: “In the interest of dispelling even the slightest whiff of Fake News, I should confess that prior to holing a 51-foot putt, I missed three four-footers. Later Waldo demonstrated his culinary skills by grilling some chicken.” Earlier Ted Jones posted some photos of baking pastries with his granddaughter. Marya Holcombe commented “As one who had experienced the wonder of your culinary expertise, I’m glad to see you’re passing the tradition along.” Ted Jones also posted photos of his grandson’s hockey team at a tournament in Nashville, where he also caught some live Bluegrass. “We even did a little indoor skydiving!”

With San Francisco in the Super Bowl this year, I couldn’t resist posting my memories of the late Jim Klint and his five Super Bowl rings. Sam Low posted: “I’m appearing on a panel at a Hawaiian Early Education symposium, where I related some of the history of my grandfather as a Hawaiian paniolo (cowboy).” Douglass Lea posted: “To learn that the Houston Astros cheated their way to a World Series victory carries me back to Lance Armstrong who cheated so many times in the Tour de France. Maybe, just maybe, predatory capitalism needs a bit of a rethink?” Then Douglass brought things closer to home when he posted: “Bored with the desultory routines of everyday life? Recreational planking may be for you. (The Guinness record is 8 hours.)” John More, who holds my admiration as arguably our most cultured classmate with his D.C. appearances, posted: “Just attended a talk at Politics & Prose by Diane Ravitch about her new book, Goliath Slain, a defense of public education.” Later he posted: “Great evening at St. John’s last night with a discussion about the history of slavery in the District.” Still more (no pun intended) with this: “Interesting evening at the Kennedy Center with the Havana Lyceum’s production of Mozart’s ‘Clemency of Titus.’ ” And more: “Incredible evening of Joyce DiDonato singing her program ‘From War to Peace,’ a search through music and song for peace amidst the chaos of today’s world.” John also noted that he is on the board of the Rachel Carson Council where he works with Bob Musil (the head of RCC) and “provides training for interns.” Michelle Mead (surviving spouse of John Armor) is recovering from a serious fall on ice this winter. At least, she’s back on the keyboard.

Michael Nagel (who has great travel timing as later developments unfolded) emailed from Wuhan, China: “Until Coronavirus, very few Westerners had ever heard of Wuhan, where the revolution began in 1911!” In January, Dan Pollack and Nancy had brunch at Boulders Resort in Scottsdale with Courtney Reum (whose father was Bob Reum). My own visit with Chip Thomas (Stan Thomas’ son) in February reminded me how important these ongoing friendships can be. Ron Parlato was reminiscing about the visit and performance by the Supremes when we were undergraduates. Al Rossiter was unable to attend our Class Council meeting due to a serious fall the week before. Happy to report that Al is now on the mend: “The leg brace comes off soon. The experience is teaching me patience!” Rick Salomon posted: “Laura and I went to a fascinating Georgia O’Keefe exhibit at Norton Museum of Art, with insights into her influences as they shifted from Brooklyn to the desert.” Later, they were spotted at The Breakers Palm Beach at the annual benefit for the Everglades Foundation: “This year’s event was especially energetic thanks to the performance of Pitbull and his entourage.” After reading the last issue of Class Notes, Neil Hoffmann emailed: “What incredible notes! I’m inspired to think that whatever occult formula the Yale Admissions Office used to select our Class, the results were remarkable. Though I haven’t joined Facebook, I do particulate in active email chains with a dozen classmates on various themes.”

Bill Lear ran up (on the down escalator) the 96-story John Hancock Building in Chicago with his daughter Anna. Later, Bill attended a special HBS event where a Kellogg professor reviewed the Super Bowl commercials. Charlie Thomson emailed: “Thanks for the recent Class Notes. I now live in Jackson Hole. Come visit!” Doane Perry posted a photo of his airline-pilot son inviting his mother, Karen Carmean, into the co-pilot’s seat. Carol Wishcamper posted a warm message from NPR which reminded me of our relationships as classmates: “Social relationships can change your cardiovascular and immune systems. Here’s to thriving together!” In early February, David Wyles posted: “I fell down our front steps and broke my neck last Saturday. Regained consciousness in the ICU at UCLA Hospital. I’ve got to wear a neck brace, but they think I’ll be out in a couple of weeks.” While I was on the Yale campus for our annual Class Council meeting, I took the opportunity to visit the Yale Center for British Art to see the spectacular portrait of Queen Elizabeth I in the “Britain in the World” exhibit. Later, I walked over to Sterling Memorial Library to see a special exhibition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the nave. Many of the photos and documents were from his visit during our commencement. I envy classmates who live near the campus and get to see these kinds of exhibits. John Nathan honored a Yale Law School classmate with a scholarship and memorial plaque (read more). John Tully, a member of the Yale faculty, was recognized by the National Academy of Sciences with the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences (read more).

Classmates are still publishing books, articles, and blogs at a lively rate. There is a private Yale Facebook page for Yale Authors (any classmate can join it). I’ve been posting one classmate book a week since the year began. Even at that rate, I won’t cover all the classmates who have published books! Bill Packwood has published Two Revolutionary War Privateers, William and Joseph Packwood of Connecticut, about his direct ancestors. Syd Lea recently published his thirteenth book of poetry, titled Here. Syd added: “I still live in upper Vermont and am delighted that all seven of my grandchildren do too.” John Wylie emailed: “I cordially invite you to cruise my layered ‘organic’ book-site to see if this stuff interests you.” Edward Massey is publishing his new book, Founding Sheriff, next August. Contact Edward if you would like an advanced readers’ copy. Sam Low is working on a new book about his grandfather, “a famous Hawaiian cowboy, or as they say in Hawaii, a ‘paniolo.’ I’m staying at the ranch he started in 1893, called Puuwaawaa, which means ‘furrowed hill’.” Sam also posted: “I donated a copy of my film, The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific, to a fifth-grade teacher in Kea’au on the Big Island to use in her classes.” Separately, Sam posted,” I had the honor of working with composer Michael-Thomas Foumai who used my book Hawaiki Rising as inspiration for his symphony. Chas Freeman wrote a major article in The Nation, “The US Appears to Validate Foreign Policy by Assassination.” Both Timothy Breen and Bob Kaiser wrote impressive book reviews in The New York Review of Books (here and here, respectively). John Ashcroft was cited many times in a new book, In Hoffa’s Shadow, by Jack Goldsmith. (more on this)

Ron Sipherd wrote a letter to the editor, “Who’s on the walls,” that was published in the January-February 2020 issue of Yale Alumni Magazine. Ron has also assembled a stunning collection of his photography (typically with a botanical focus, though recently he included one of the Wolf Moon) which you can find here. Gus Speth co-signed a letter to the editor (“How fast can Yale stop producing CO2?” in the March-April 2020 issue of Yale Alumni Magazine. Dick Berk was interviewed in a New York Times article about the use of algorithms in criminal justice. Though it was not written by a classmate, a number of classmates have recommended the new book, Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy league Giant, by Anne Gardiner Perkins. Many of you will remember Sam Chauncey, a Davenport Dean in our time, who was instrumental in transforming Yale to coeducation. Thank you Howard Gillette for this excellent recommendation! Doane Perry and Karen Carmean have rebranded their Facebook Page, “Art in the Berkshires.” Paul Ruden added to his blog, “Adult Guide to Attending Broadway Shows.” And the always-prolific Ron Parlato added to his blog, “Surviving the Corona Virus: Notes from a Hong Kong Flu Survivor.” Another classmate blogger, Bruce Driver, regularly adds state-by-state analyses of elections, the most recent of which was Kentucky. Nancy and Russell Sunshine added “A New Life Chapter” to their blog “Agile Aging.”

Recently we expanded this Publications section to include podcasts. If you originate or are included on a podcast, please let me know. Peter Salovey has added a monthly podcast, “Yale Talk,” to the Yale podcast library. Peter emailed: “Thank you for sharing the presentation about your Class website and for your enthusiasm about my new podcast. I am also inspired by your dedication to exercising the body and mind.” (I had told Peter that I listened to his podcast in the gym.) In addition to Peter’s podcast, you might also be interested in the Yale Environmental Dialogue Podcast and the Yale Athletics Podcast, “This is Yale.”

Since the previous Class Notes issue, we have learned about the deaths of five classmates. You can read their full obituaries at In Memoriam. David Meltz died in February 2019. David was an internal medicine specialist in Newton, NJ where he practiced for 48 years. John More and Sam Crocker (who is the Class Secretary for Taft) informed us that Dick Campbell died in August 2019. There was no obituary, so I especially encourage any classmate who knew Dick to send us a remembrance of him. William Schmidt informed us that his roommate, Jim Reece, died on December 15, 2019, in Ann Arbor MI. Jim taught at Harvard Business School and later at the University of Michigan. Thoughtfully, William Schmidt bought a Mory’s Memorial Brick in Jim’s name. Dan Harris died on January 8, 2020, in Princeton NJ. Dan had a distinguished career as a Jewish leader and also taught poetry and published his own poetry. Bill Fink died tragically in a house fire on February 10, 2020, in his Bodega CA home. Bill was widely known as the man who saved Morgan Cars in the US, as their champion and sole distributor. Terry Holcombe emailed: ‘Bill lives on in infamy in my family. He visited us in Branford CT in a Morgan car.” When Barbara Howson saw the obituary of her husband Red Howson, she emailed: “Thank you so much for posting this. I didn’t know about the Class website. I’m very glad to know it is there.”

Having just seen Waldo Johnston at our Class Council meeting, we were stunned to learn of the tragic death of his son, Cory, in a skiing accident on February 25, 2020, on Mount Hood in Oregon. Candy and Waldo’s many Yale friends have reached out in support at this unimaginable time.

As we continue to remember our departed classmates, I ask for your support in three ways:

Send a personal remembrance that we can post on our Class website, especially when there is no published obituary. We want all classmates to be remembered.
Connect us to the surviving spouse/partner/children, so we can continue to connect with them. On behalf of the Class, Jan Truebner regularly sends Class Notes and Class News to surviving spouses/partners, but we need their email addresses to do it.
Donate a Mory’s Memorial Brick. Here’s how. At our recent Class Council meeting, the Council unanimously affirmed the lifetime goal of having a Mory’s Memorial Brick for every departed classmate.