Yale University

Class Notes

September/October 2022

by Tony Lavely

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?

As I write this column on July 4th weekend, we have just passed the halfway point of the year in which many of us have celebrated our 80th birthdays, with more to come. There is a special album on our Class Website/Photo Gallery with celebratory photos of 48 classmates. Send me yours, and we’ll add it.

Classmate gatherings continued apace, some in person and many on Zoom. In chronological order: The Zoom minireunion on April 28 about China, organized by Mac Deford and Ward Wickwire and featuring Chas Freeman, was attended by over 80 people; you can view the recording on our Class Website/News. The Yale 1964 golf outing, under Ted Jones’s leadership, returned to the Yale Course on June 2 for the first time in two years. Fourteen classmates attended, joined by +1s for dinner at Mory’s. Chris Getman added his report, too. On June 14, Chris Getman and Terry Holcombe presented a special citation to Marie Coady at Mory’s for her many years of hospitality to classmates. Tony Lee assisted Jerry Flannelly with the Boston Zoom call on June 15 which featured Gus Speth and the climate threat. Twenty-six classmates and friends attended. The highlight of our birthday year so far was an in-person party hosted by Amy and Bob Rands at their home in Westwood MA on June 25. Amy presented Nancy Upper (surviving spouse of Dennis Upper) with a Y64 scarf for her help with promotion, classmate photo boards, and “recruitment;” over 24 classmates and friends attended, plus four overseas classmates who joined via a special Zoom link that Jerry Flannelly set up. Nick Danforth led us in “Midsummer Song” to celebrate his marriage to Robin Jones the day before, which was also Nick’s 80th birthday. On his flight to Boston to attend the Rands’ party, Tony Lavely was met by Margie and Tony Lee for a cruise on Boston Harbor and dinner in the North End. The Lees couldn’t attend the party due to a prior commitment to mountain biking in Vermont. Traveling from Amy and Bob Rands party to his own 80th birthday party in NYC on July 2, Tony Lavely visited with Toddie and Chris Getman in Charlestown RI and Marya and Terry Holcombe in North Branford CT. On July 14 we had our third 1964 Authors Book Club via Zoom with Syd Lea talking about, and reading from, his 13th poetry collection, titled Here. Pete Putzel moderated the discussion among the 30 classmates and spouses who attended. Our next Book Club will be in the first quarter of 2023. On September 28-30, there will be a classmate golf outing on Cape Cod hosted by Larry Capodilupo and John Evans at three courses: Eastward Ho, Cape Cod National, and Captain’s Port. You’ll want to save the date of December 1 for a Zoom event being organized by Howard Gillette on the affirmative-action case coming before the SCOTUS.

Regular monthly classmate luncheons were organized by Chris Getman in New Haven (on June 1 and July 6). Jerry Flannelly got the Boston group together via Zoom on June 15 and July 20. Owen O’Donnell gathered the Bay Area group via Zoom on June 23 to focus on “the most influential event in our lives” and again on July 20. Due to some migration, we need a classmate in each area to step up to reconvene classmate luncheons (or Zooms) in NYC and Washington D.C. In addition to classmate events, we watched Tony Reno team up with Zoe Chance and Barry Nalebuff (both SOM) on May 12 to discuss “Yale Leaders: Teamwork, Influence, and Strategy.” President Peter Salovey held his quarterly update via Zoom on May 17. Class reunions returned to the Yale campus after a two-year hiatus, so we have begun planning for our 60th reunion in May 2024, led by co-chairs John Evans and Ted Wagner. Contact John or Ted if you would like to work on the planning committee.

In Class News, we posted 30 new articles by or about classmates since the previous issue. You can use the links below or search by classmate name on the Class website or just scan the index:

We have also updated earlier articles with new contributions (favorite professor and World War II). In other news, Forbes ranked Yale as the #2 college on their 2021 list. Berkeley was ranked #1, and Harvard was ranked #7. On the Yale campus, the Afro-American Cultural House celebrated its 50th anniversary, with the theme “Renaissance & Revolution.” Another interesting Yale news article asked the question “Is Yale seeing the decline of the residential college?”

Now, I’m turning to the traditional “Notes” section of this column and proceeding in alphabetical order. Bob Archer, who is a regular on the Bay Area Zoom calls, conducts a webinar series about climate change. Recently, Bob emailed: “The webinar I give is for CCL volunteers. CCL limits the presentation and Q&A to one hour. I have to push each time to allow the session to run beyond an hour to accommodate questions. I was in Washington for ten days getting my house in shape to rent again and then to Asheville NC for a gathering of my Peace Corps group. Asheville has a lot going for it, given its population of 91,000.” Michelle Mead (surviving spouse of John Armor) had surgery recently, and we wish her a speedy recovery. Mike Austin is a regular on the Boston Area Zoom calls. Recently, we were reminded that Mike donated the Gold Medal he won at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 to Yale: “Yale is where my medal belongs,” said Mike. “It traveled with me all over the world, and it will be much better cared for in the Kiphuth Trophy Room at Payne Whitney Gym.” Len Baker emailed Ward Wickwire, the co-organizer of the China Zoom event on April 28, “I just watched the replay of the China event, that I had to miss due to a previous commitment at SOM. It was really excellent! I say that in part because I agree with almost all of it. Thanks so much for doing this event.” In June, Tom Barnard attended the graduation of the high-school graduation of his grandson in Falmouth ME. Commenting on Chris Getman’s report of the June golf outing, Jim Baxter emailed: “I’m glad Getman attended, so I could get an unbiased report of who ‘wins!’ ” Steve Bingham emailed, “Sorry I will miss the Bay Area Zoom about ‘significant events in our lives’ on June 22, but it will be midnight in France where I’ll be.” On an earlier call, Steve mentioned the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. He emailed, “My mother’s great grandfather came from a farm near Ballmoney, Northern Ireland, arriving in NYC in 1820.” In replying to the all-classmate email about Yale memorabilia, John Boardman sent the photo he took of motorcyclists emerging from Phelps Gate, which was used on the cover of Howard Gillette’s book, Class Divide: Yale ’64 and the Conflicted Legacy of the Sixties. John wrote: “I had forgotten Howard used this photo. I spent a good deal of time talking to him about the foreign service and political military affairs.” Bill Bowe posted his 80th birthday photo and said, “At my last (better to say ‘previous’) birthday party, I had a chance to tell family and friends why turning 80 was no bed of roses.”

Bob Buchanan emailed, “I think with internationally recognized leaders like Gus Speth and our Class appreciation for what Tony Lee and Tony Lavely have done to elevate the awareness and better understanding of the ramifications of climate change, this should be our theme going forward. On another subject, Sharon and I had an hour with Judy Woodruff before she spoke to the Schar School Graduates at George Mason University. She is so endearing you would never know she was the first in her family to graduate from college (Duke) and that she has a son who has severe medical disabilities.” Jim Carney offered some unsolicited advice: “You should do something socially useful like suing somebody. Whenever I am depressed, I start typing out a complaint against some defendant, preferably an important widow. The Bible says one should remember the orphan and the widow, and I certainly do.” Patrick Caviness emailed in early June, “Tony, let me know if you are considering moving to NYC. I know you have deep roots in Atlanta. Still, most of your expanding family now lives on the East Coast. I have been enjoying your daughter Vanessa's FB posts. She seems delightfully happy being married and being an expectant mother. I'm sure her father is equally as ecstatic. BTW, I just ordered the old book called True Blue: The Carmen Cozza Story. Jud Calkins read the book recently and recommended that I read it if only to finally get the REAL story about the 29-29 Harvard game. We're in count-down mode for our seven-week trip beginning on June 8. Not sure how many more international travel trips I have left. So this one is special.” Later, Pat emailed, “Frederique and I are in Mallorca with friends as we start the first day of our EU campaign.” Pat added a comment about Dan Pollack’s award from JCYS: “This is a worthy tribute to our classmate and teammate. Dan and Nancy deserve it.” Pat also commented on the football prowess of Dan’s seventeen-year-old grandson, Luke: “I was very impressed with Luke's training highlights. Luke has all the physical capabilities, good moves, and great hands. And the game has changed so much now that it hardly compares to when we played. It's pass-pass-pass all the time and run occasionally ‘to keep 'em honest.’ Is Luke planning on playing football in college?”

Swearing me to secrecy, Nick Danforth emailed in early May, “I’m having a very small family wedding to my partner of 32 years, Dr. Robin Jones (Yale ‘77), here at our family farm the day before the Rands’ party. The longest day of the year, Midsummer Day, which is traditionally celebrated on June 24, is also my 80th birthday.” With the leak of the SCOTUS decision, Nick added, “As the director of the small foundation in New York from 1970-73, which took an unknown test case called Roe v. Wade to the Supreme Court and won it 50 years ago — the case which will probably be reversed by time of the Rands’ gathering — I intend to mention it there, when and if appropriate. I also promise you that I’ll write a note in July for the class notes about this terrible judicial set-back, reinstating draconian and unconstitutional laws forcing countless American women back to the old days of forced, compulsory pregnancy.” When he saw the article in Class News about his recent literary award, Mo Dean emailed: “I have to confess, the award garnered by my ‘Goines On’ short story pleases me mightily, which I guess only goes to show how little else I have to crow about. Oh, well, I DID lay out a 35-foot garden path this morning and spread 12 cubic feet of cypress-blend mulch on it.” Later Mo commented on the question, “What did your parents tell you about World War II as a child?” “I’m amazed that ANY classmate born during the war can remember what their parents told them DURING it. (As you yourself pointed out: ‘Like most children, I don’t recall anything before I was five years old’.) I see, though, that quite a few classmates submitted SOMETHING (and things quite interesting) in response to the question.”

Jim Duderstadt forwarded an article from The Michigan Daily (via Terry Holcombe) titled “Jim Duderstadt: The former president who is reshaping higher education.” It’s a terrific summary of Jim’s distinguished career. Dick duPont, a prodigal classmate who has become very engaged, kindly gifted Tony Lavely an African carving titled, “Where Mothers Bend Above Them,” to remember Tony’s late wife whose nickname was the Swahili word “Bibi” (Beloved Grandmother). Dick emailed: “Tony Lavely and I have become pen pals of sorts. I recently sent him a small, highly stylistic African carved wooden sculpture of a mother bent over her child — because of the poem "Babies are still being born" that was featured on his WW II solicitation in the Yale Class of '64 monthly letter. The poem has an ending line in the first stanza that reads, ‘Where mothers bend above them.’ I read that little poem time and again, and I then kept looking at the carving on a table by the door. Finally, I said to myself, ‘That's it. This one goes to Tony.’ As you can see, his family's minister wrote it in 1942 and read it aloud at Tony's christening. It's a token of friendship which belongs to Tony more than me. It's where it should be. Pat Caviness, Sam Crocker, and Tony nudged me back into the fold after sixty years of ‘radio silence.’ I'm glad they did.” Dick duPont also remembers many classmates from his time at Taft: “Strachan Donnelley was in every game that Sam Crocker and I played against Hotchkiss, though I'm not completely certain about baseball. The Hotchkiss guys were great favorites of ours and vice versa. It was like ‘old home week’ when Strachan, Bruce Warner, and Peter Wyckoff joined forces with Sam Crocker, Toby Hubbard, and me. We finally all got to play on the same team together in the Whale. What a fine life Strachan led and what a great guy he was. Thanks for the link to his In Memoriam page.” Dick duPont received a warm email from Coach Dick Gagliardi’s son, Joe, when he read the tribute Dick had written: “The article you wrote about my father is amazing. Really fantastic. My dad would be humbled by such a heartfelt tribute.” When he read that Pat Caviness had sold his dream villa on Koh Samui, Dick duPont wrote: “I can't say enough about the beauty of Koh Samui. And your Shambala Estate is breathtakingly gorgeous. I realize that any time one builds a house and later leaves it, one cannot escape musing over ‘Paradise Lost.’ In fact, I kept two small, framed quotations just under my studio mantle at Lamborn, which I caringly reinstalled over my present studio fireplace here. Together they read, ‘But Past Who Can Recall … Or Done Undo?’ So even though we separate, we soon feel that same sort of comfort again, from the newness and beauty of our next place. The effort and creativity you two have applied is present everywhere. I love the setting, the tile roofs, the views, the easy flow from one room to the next. The furnishings and decorative objects and pictures that Frederique and you have chosen are delightful. What a fine house you two have found. What fine refinements you have added, including yourselves.”

When he saw the article about Joe Lieberman being a question on “Jeopardy,” Sam Francis emailed: “Bobbie and I also watch Jeopardy! every evening at 7:00 pm. Bobbie was on Jeopardy! five times and won three times, if I remember correctly. Her ‘tenure’ goes all the way back to the original host, Art Fleming. She was on with Art four times and with Alex Trebek once.” Sam Francis also exchanged emails with John Wylie about his essay that was recently published in Russia. Sam wrote: “I will read your essay with pleasure, John. Evolution is one of my strong interests. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins is perhaps my favorite book (he is one of my heroes), and I’m currently reading Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan and his wife — another masterpiece. I’ll turn to your essay after I’ve dispensed with Sagan. The origins of cooperation and altruism have long been a puzzle to evolution scientists and philosophers, as you know much better than I. If we do another ‘Kaleidoscope of Passions’ at our 60th Reunion, I may find a way to do a 6-minute talk on some aspect of evolution.” Frank Franklin emailed: “Tony, I trust you are well and enjoying our beautiful southern spring. I’m hitting 80 on June 19 — quite remarkable that my birthday is now a national holiday — nice recognition especially since most national holidays are for dead folks — plus it’s Father’s Day — a triple header — looking for a special gift — but will be happy to sign a one-year lease on life — used to be we would sign long-term leases — but will be joyous that it’s not a month-to-month lease. Cindy and I returned yesterday from a Road Scholar trip to Los Angeles with visits to four art museums with lectures. We added several days for four comedy shows in the Netflix Comedy Fest, two dramas, two immersive exhibits, and too much good food. Highly recommend their trips. Their Civil Rights Movement Trip may interest classmates. It includes Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham. We would enjoy dinner at our home with classmates who do that trip or other trips that visit Birmingham. Have recently completed four excellent six-week online theater courses in the Yale Alumni College. We are looking forward to London in October for a week of drama with Professor Murray Biggs through the Alumni College. Likely will offer an online Life Course Nutrition course in the Alumni College. Continue doing clay sculpture weekly with a good instructor and online improv storytelling with a partner in Austin TX. We’ll travel this summer to Charleston SC for the Spoleto Festival and to Montreal for the comedy festival.” Frank added, “Cindy just celebrated her 79th birthday, ‘The body may be 79, but the lips are like fine wine.’ We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

John Evans posted a photo of a custom birthday cake with golf and skiing decorations that read, “Happy Birthday John! S-o-o not old!” Following the Uvalde TX massacre, Chris Getman emailed: “Maybe I’m bringing up a raw topic which might provoke partisan and unpleasant discussion, and if so, let’s avoid the conversation. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay and hunted ducks and geese for sport. While clouds and trees were the major victims, we ate what we shot. Furthermore, the federal government, through careful research, determines how many migratory birds (ducks and geese) should be harvested every year in order to maintain a reasonable balance. Were they not culled, ultimately they would starve for lack of food when back in Canada. When I was a teenager I belonged to the NRA, which was established to educate people on the safe use of guns. I haven’t belonged since the late ‘50s but deplore the direction in which the NRA has moved since then, probably due to the influence of monied lobbyists. To me, the use of and defense of assault weapons, as determined by some to be permitted by the Second Amendment in order to ‘defend oneself,’ is absurd. Likewise, the right to carry for self-defense is also ill-advised and will lead to future violence and unnecessary carnage. To my way of thinking it’s all about the role of money from the gun lobby to influence Congress and not about reasonable procedures.” Chris Getman follows Yale Athletics closely and was pleased to read the announcement of Brian Hamm as the new head baseball coach, “Hamm looks like the real deal.” Later, when he read about the death of Jake Cakebread, Chris Getman wrote Tony Lavely, “I’m sure that you don’t remember [I did] telling us, when we were in Napa, to go to Cakebread Vineyards, and we did. Great advice. Did you see that Jack Cakebread died today? [I had.] Really interesting story. From auto mechanic to oenophile superior.” In April, Chris Getman attended a Yale Club lunch to hear David McCullough ’17 (grandson of the writer) discuss a new program he’s started which enables kids of different backgrounds to interact with each other. Chris commented: “It was excellent. He’s a remarkable young man.” Chris also wrote to Terry Holcombe on his birthday, “Happy birthday, Terry. We missed you at the Mory’s lunch today, but the consensus of the eleven of us who were there was that once a person turns 80, he’s entitled to forget things like lunch dates which he remembered at breakfast. The group sends its best wishes and wants you to know that the box of Depends and the engraved drool cup are at the front desk under your name.” Once again, in April, Chris Getman did the National MS Society Walk: “Consistent with the weather this spring, Sunday broke cloudy and chilly. It was definitely a long-sleeve-and-vest day for yours truly. I’m pleased to say that over the last five years significant progress has been made in finding a cure for MS.”

A number of classmates have picked up the daily Wordle habit. Nortin Hadler emailed: “We are a family that Wordles together: particularly Carol and me as well as Noe (a Berkeley High granddaughter) and Oliver (one of the D.C. twins). It’s fun! We’re in D.C. now for the twins’ middle-school graduation and to celebrate Eli’s transferring into the sophomore year at UNC. We’ll all get together at the beach house in July. What pandemic? What economy? I’ll focus on what’s good.” While the wildfires raged in New Mexico, Bob Hilgendorf emailed: “Santa Fe seems completely out of harm’s way, but I do own a cabin and acreage near the town of Angel Fire (across road from town a few miles away) and near the Vietnam Memorial. Those areas are listed as in ‘ready’ status, meaning that they could be threatened depending on winds. The head of the firefighting effort was quoted in the paper today that the risk could last for weeks and even months until significant rainfall occurs. So, the worry will remain. We are headed to Bozeman MT on Monday for a road trip to Yellowstone, Jackson, and maybe eastern Montana. Some snow there yesterday, and a big snowstorm in central Colorado but warming trend starts next week. I got a new fat-tire mountain bike to celebrate my 80th birthday on June 5. I put in all this detail in hopes to hear from some of my Santa Fe classmates!” Later, Bob Hilgendorf emailed: “Ling and I celebrated my 80th birthday by doing an amazing driving trip through Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the Black Hills. When I looked at the odometer after our eight-day trip, I noted that we logged 2,046 miles and saw the most spectacular landscape and animals in the world.” Bob included a birthday photo of himself eating snow on May 30 in Wyoming. Later, he included a photo “On my grandfather’s land in eastern Montana which is being ranched by a third generation Montana family.” On a group email thread, Neil Hoffmann commented: “I reread the Essays of E. B. White. What writing! A different perspective at our age and a step back in history. Not everyone loves E. B. White as I do. Many of his essays are set in coastal Maine and Manhattan and the Florida Keys, places I know and love. I find I can visually recreate his descriptions quite successfully and enjoyably. Very personal.” Later, Neil wrote, “I think I can say that in spite of being in our dotage we have what must be one of the most current and interesting websites of any Class. For example, there was a Class golf outing at the Yale Course on Thursday, which was interrupted by a bear.”

Neil Hoffmann and some other classmates (Mo Dean, Nortin Hadler, George Pickett) and friends had a stimulating email thread during June in which they discussed the merits of the book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, by Reza Aslan. Neil emailed, “I downloaded the free sample of Aslan’s ‘Zealot’. The Author’s Note about how he was converted to Christianity from Islam at summer camp, how he fell away from the church as a result of all the unreconcilable contradictions in the Bible, and how that caused him to pursue an academic and professional career attempting to understand the differences between Jesus Christ, the religious figure, and Jesus of Nazareth, the historical person, in the context of an extraordinarily violent time in Palestine under Roman rule. Also included in the sample is the Introduction which outlines pretty conclusively why the historically constructed Jesus of Nazareth in his narrative is very different from the faith-based Jesus Christ modern Christians, including you and me, would recognize. There are reasons why the title is ’Zealot.’ I don’t want to upset anyone so I can only suggest that you read the sample to see if you want to challenge what are probably lifelong beliefs about the life and convictions of Jesus of Nazareth.” On Terry Holcombe’s birthday, Marya posted, “I bet you remember some of those sand toys from Terry’s collection. Do you think he secretly sneaks down and plays with them? Terry’s high-school photo prompted this comment: “Wow, so you finally found him? We learned via various sources that he actually once voted Democratic and later participated in an opening ceremony at Ruth’s Chris in Providence RI.” Memories of photos of a different kind (black-and-white “posture” photos in Payne Whitney Gym) elicited this from Terry: “My PWG photo would be too scary. Actually, I took the rap for legally ordering the PWG photos to be destroyed.” After its release, Terry Holcombe commented on Edward Massey’s latest book, Forever Sheriff: “Ed Massey’s latest in his ‘High Mountain Sheriff Series’ is a great adventure. Classmates will be interested to read of the antics of characters named Roger Thompson and Robert Whitby, members of the Cattlemen’s Cooperative, and a rather sleazy banker named Terry Holcombe. Lastly, Terry submitted a cartoon which we named “Yale Man” and posted in the 80th Birthday Photo Gallery.

In June, John Howells joined Tony Lavely for pizza and beer in Atlanta. That’s where “the Beast” reminisced about his final Yale water polo match at West Point. Candy Johnston posted a photo and commented: “Our granddaughter graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University today.” Later, Waldo Johnston posted, “Please read or re-read George Orwell’s 1984. We are there.” After “Classmates’ Favorite Yale Professors” was posted, Ted Jones commented: “I loved reading what so many of my friends perceived as truly challenging and engaging professors.” Later, Ted Jones commented on Chris Getman’s parallel report on the Class golf outing, “Of course, I have read all of Chris’ golf stories. Each and every one bears the imprimatur of unshakeable veracity.” After “attending” Amy and Bob Rands’ party via Zoom, Blaine Krickl emailed: “It was entirely worthwhile. It’s the on-going Zooms and the sort of one-off gathering at Rands’ home last evening which make for class cohesion and reunion turnout. I found it very fulfilling.” In May, Tony Lavely’s daughter Vanessa was selected “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for defending Elon Musk in the Tesla-Solar City Deal. Vanessa will give Tony his first grandson in July. Tony Lavely celebrated his 80th birthday in Tribeca with all his children, including godson Chip Thomas (son of Stan Thomas). Tony Lavely asked, “Was Willie Nelson singing about us in “The Highway” when he crooned “So what about old handsome Johnny / And the Class of ’64?” Douglass Lea posted, “The title to the first chapter of the Zhuangzi, ‘Free and Easy Wandering,’ can be read as a proposal for how to live such a free and easy life, one that rejects the very idea of use, and instead suggests we consider a life of wandering or ‘play’.” It struck a chord with Patrick Caviness who commented, “Frederique and I are going to wander around Europe for seven weeks in search of uselessness.” Later, Douglass Lea posted a photo of his dogs, “Pictured here are the beauteous Hollywood-ready Sparkie and her at-beach boyfriend, Buddy, her at-home boyfriend, Monty, who in this candid moment modestly keeps out of sight his flamboyant tail, the accessory that drives females of all species mad with sexual excitement. Last and least is her obedient manservant, Judicious Douglass, who models his deportment on that of the immortal Jeeves, of course.”

Tony Lee is a champion for climate-change awareness, most recently on his “Let’s Talk” series. In May, Tony wrote: “There are so many entrances to the climate change crisis. In growing up our family always vacationed at the seashore. I had three years at sea with the Navy and many trips to beautiful beaches around the world for windsurfing. Plus, Massachusetts is going to get hammered along with Florida and Louisiana by rising seas. To a lesser extent I’m connected to the wildfires in the Western states’ mountains. We’ve hiked and backpacked through many of those wilderness areas. Your comments about our ‘Let’s Talk’ series are very helpful. We chose six very different topics, ranging from hard technical science to soft and fuzzy feelings. It will be interesting to see the results. I don’t know if you attended the Yale Environment School’s session on ‘Trees and Forests’ last week with Mary Evelyn Tucker, Alison Deming, and Kathleen Moore. Near the end they talked about grief and despair in the climate-change movement. Margie and I thought it was fascinating. If we do another ‘Let’s Talk’ series of six, I will push hard for one of them to be about grief and despair.” Later, Tony Lee wrote about the Outer Banks of NC, “We see the shoreline erosion every time we go down there. They are literally living on a sand bar that moves toward the mainland every year. Highway 12 gets flooded regularly and when a hurricane comes, the locals know to move their cars to the highway because it’s built up a few feet. Many dismiss climate change, but they can’t deny its impact. The response of the locals is defiance, but the real-estate folks are selling properties as quickly as they can.” Tony Lee commented on Tony Lavely’s recommendation to read Influence is your Superpower, by SOM professor Zoe Chance: “Thanks for the recommendation. A good book with lots of useful suggestions. With your extensive corporate background, I can see where many of her comments would be really exciting for you. I, on the other hand, operated out of the third bedroom of our house for over 25 years. My greatest ‘corporate’ success was winning the Employee-of-the-Month parking space for over 500 consecutive months. I read Chance’s ten misperceptions right after you, and I exchanged views about preaching to the choir and the importance of talking with all different kinds of people in the Six Americas spectrum: #4 Becoming influential involves persuading disbelievers and bending resistant people to your will. No, the success of your great idea depends on enthusiastic allies. Your efforts to find, empower, and motivate them will go much farther than your efforts to overcome people’s resistance.” Later, Tony Lee emailed, “Sorry to miss you and other classmates at the Rands’ collective 80th birthday party. That weekend had already been booked. We leave early Friday morning for Kingdom Trails in East Burke VT for four days of mountain biking with a group of about twelve. It’s my favorite weekend of the year. If you are in the Boston area on Thursday June 23, we would like to take you on a Boston Harbor Cruise and take you out for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant in the North End. Margie and Tony Lee did meet Tony Lavely at Logan Airport, and they spent a delightful afternoon on Boston Harbor capped by dinner in the Italian North End. Tony Lee kindly gifted Lavely a poem by Gus Speth, “The Evening News,” and a book by Katy Z. Allen, titled A Tree of Life.

After Ron Sipherd's prompting, Dave Libby shared his memories of the Jonathan Edwards printing press. You can read it here along with lore about JE. In June, Joe Lieberman was in Atlanta for the graduation of his granddaughter Willie. Matt Lieberman posted, “Scenes from Willie’s graduation from Emory. High honors with a 4.0 cumulative average. Knowledge, and even more so, wisdom extracted.” When he saw the post in “Yale Facebook Authors” about Howard Gillette’s new book, Sam Low commented, “Howard is one of the smartest men I knew at Yale. I did not get to know him well enough.” Later, Sam Low posted about the epic, Hawai’iloa: “Here is the story, beginning three decades ago this year, of the building of Hawai’iloa and the coming together of two indigenous nations, the people of Hawaii and the Tlingit from Alaska.” Jon McBride reported strong support again this year from a cohort of classmates making personal and matched contributions to Squash Haven. Neil Mitchell sent some photos for the 80th birthday photo gallery: “Here are two fairly recent photos of Laura and me. Laura has never forgiven me for the rafting photo, because she thinks I deliberately maneuvered my raft in front of hers. It‘s no secret that I don’t have that speed or dexterity.” John More emailed: “Summer is going well. Spent last week opening our house in Maine. Somewhat amazed by having COVID with almost no symptoms a couple of weeks ago. Was able to take Paxlovid, and it may have helped.” Later, John More posted: “Ospreys are already on their nests on Portland Harbor, so I guess we are not too early fixing up our nest on Cushings.” John also posted: “This is one of Livy’s found-wood-pieces collages welcoming folks to Cushings at Government Dock.” Colleen Murphy-Dunning, the URI coordinator at the School of the Environment, wrote: “We are just gearing up with our new intern team. We have hired Claire St. Peter ‘24 as the Class of 1964 intern for the summer of 2022.” Steve Norman emailed: “I am late to hearing about the series of thefts from Yale Medical School totaling $40 million, perhaps the largest theft from an American university in history. I am shocked, stunned, enraged, and hugely disappointed at such a grievous lack of financial controls on the part of the Yale administration that allowed such a huge and long-running embezzlement to continue. What poor governance, what lack of oversight, what culpable naivety, what asleep-at- the-switch sort of culture persists on the part of the Yale senior leadership? Where were the internal auditors, what checks and balances exist in the purchasing areas?”

Martin Padley commented on Chris Getman’s account of the Class golf outing: “It is not necessary for Getman to be on the course to write a detailed account of the round.” In May, Nancy and Dan Pollack posted: “The Chicago Botanical Gardens is celebrating 50 years of welcoming visitors from near and far. Danny and I couldn’t resist having our picture taken here.” Dan added his voice to the debate on guns laws, “I’m furious that the government refuses to enact strict guns laws. How many children have to die?” After being honored at the JCYS benefit, Dan emailed: “The benefit that Nancy and I were honored at this weekend was a tremendous success and set a record for money raised. Our entire family from Seattle, Napa, and Chicago attended with our grandchildren. Sherry Reum (surviving spouse of Bob Reum) and her son Jim were there, too. Just having all of them there was reward enough.” Later, Nancy posted, “Popsi celebrated his 80th birthday. Jake and Max were on hand to share this special day. We had lunch with grandson Luke earlier in the day. Wishing my husband continued good health.” Later, Nancy posted a photo of Dan Pollack wearing a black cowboy hat, “Danny is getting ready for the Calgary Stampede. The Canadian Rockies are waiting for us to see their glorious splendor!” Following his 80th birthday in June, Pete Putzel emailed, “Life on the other side seems eerily similar to life during the first 80 years.” Pete also commented on the SCOTUS leak (his father was Reporter of Decisions for SCOTUS in the 1960s-1970s), “No lawyer who ever clerked for a judge, at any level, can fail to grasp the importance of confidentiality within judicial chambers.” In July, Pete Putzel moderated the Yale 1964 Authors Book Club on Zoom, featuring poet Syd Lea. Amy and Bob Rands were most generous hosts at their lovely Westwood MA home on June 25 for the Boston Area group. A splendid smorgasbord was capped by Yale-decorated birthday cakes and cookies. Professionally, Bob is a close student of economic and political trends, and often circulates expert viewpoints to others in the Boston Area group. Amy dotes on her grandchildren: “As far as I can see, grandchildren are God’s best invention. I tried to explain to mine that there are a lot of great colleges in the Northeast, but they opted for the Sunbelt.”

Paul Ruden emailed: “I am pleased to make this one-time only announcement that I am today standing up Ruden Editing Service. If you have a need for the services available there, I will be pleased to provide them. If not, but you know someone who might benefit, feel free to forward the information. You will not receive this promotion again unless you are also a LinkedIn contact or Facebook friend, in which case you may have already seen it. The themes of Ruden Editing Service are ‘where clarity rules’ and ‘say what you mean.’ I have chosen this line of work because I have long experience with it, and believe I can do it well. The service covers virtually any work of written expression with a few noted exceptions. For example, I will not write papers for original student assignments. There are people who will do that, but I am not one of them. My goal is simply to help people express their written thoughts clearly.” Later, Paul Ruden posted: “Some years ago, Dina Marie and I chanced upon the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford VA. This seems like a good day to post these photos.” Dina Marie posted, “This is a perfect day in NYC. We visited the Met and saw a spectacular performance of Swan Lake at Lincoln Center.” In late May, Dina was with Paul Ruden at Assateague Island State Park and posted: “After two weeks of COVID isolation and recovery, my wonderful husband took me to see the wild ponies.” Rick Salomon posted a photo of Laura and him boating, “This is a beautiful evening on Gardiner’s Bay and Shelter Island.” Gerry Shea sent his photo for the 80th birthday photo gallery: “Here I am, sailing off Marblehead to nowhere in particular. The photo was taken by my son Alex who captured this moment of bliss. It brought to mind John Masefield’s line from Sea Fever, … ‘all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying.’ ” In June, Mike Sherwood, a regular on the Bay Area Zoom calls, emailed: “Sorry I missed the Zoom get-together today. I had it on my calendar but then got to working on one of my beehives and just plumb forgot. Seems to happen more and more since I turned 80.” Ron Sipherd summed up his milestone, “I suppose past 80 one learns to sum things up quickly. Time’s winged chariot and all that. Reminds me of Sen. Claude Pepper’s line to a guy who wanted to sell him a long-term investment, ‘Listen son, at my age I don’t buy green bananas.’ ” When Paul Steiger saw the news about the SCOTUS leak, he emailed, “I retired last year from ProPublica. I think Politico is terrific, and in fact they got an amazing scoop today about the Supreme Court's draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The founders of Politico are two friends of mine — Jim VandeHei and John Harris. I was the founder of ProPublica, the non-profit investigative reporting outfit. Actually, Jim once worked for me, when I was the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, and he was a reporter in our Washington Bureau. Jim then went to the Washington Post, where he and John Harris became pals and left to form Politico, which quickly became a very smart and profitable news organization. Jim later left to form another news organization called Axios, while John stayed at Politico and expanded into Europe, adding Politico Europe and related entities to their US operations. More recently, John and his colleagues sold a major interest in the global Politico to Axel Springer, which is the largest news organization in Germany, for a reported $1 billion.” Russell Sunshine, an avid blogger and a regular on the Bay Area zoom calls, emailed: “Thank you, Owen, for rounding up the aging steers. Unfortunately, Nancy and I will be driving south for my younger brother's Celebration of Life. My brother Don was a good man; I’m sorry he is gone. I'll submit a couple of advance responses to your Roe impacts question before we leave.” Chip Thomas, my godson and son of Stan Thomas, released a new song in honor of Juneteenth. “I wrote ‘My People’ with thoughts of summer BBQs in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Hot weather, hot food, hot music, and sweaty bodies laughing and dancing with each other. ‘My People’ is a celebration of Pride, Black Music, and the Vibe.” Are any classmates in touch with Earl Thompson? I received a handwritten letter from him with no email address. Earl wrote: “I accelerated into the Class of 1964 and would like to be put on your mailing list. I’m thirsty for news!”

Jan Truebner (surviving partner of Peter Truebner) continues to do a wonderful job communicating with surviving spouses (those for whom we have email addresses) and encouraging them to engage in class events. In May, she wrote “Springtime greetings! Spring has definitely arrived in Connecticut! The dogwood is in bloom and the azaleas are about to pop. Hope it's beautiful where you are and you can curl up and read Tony's latest email, including the Class Notes for July-August.” Nancy Upper (surviving spouse of Dennis Upper) helped a lot with the Rands’ party planning, including collecting classmate photos and mounting them on display boards. Nancy even developed a Word table of classmate birthdays, residential colleges (for name tags), RSVPs, and photo captions, plus optimistic quotes about aging. “Tony, feel free to use the quotes in your Class News and Class Notes.” Nancy has also attended many of our Class Zooms on climate change. A talented designer herself, Nancy offered this view: “Here is a provocative title from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. “Every brand Is a climate brand these days, and that’s terrible for the environment. Amid a sea of dubious climate messaging and images, can design find visual languages for the climate crisis that leads to real action? The article urges graphic designers to fight climate change visually.” Don Van Doren discovered an even older Class Secretary than me … Stanley Flink ’45W. Don emailed, “Some quotations from Stanley Flink ’45W were buried in the article in the Yale Daily News that accompanied ‘Classmates remember what parents told them during World War II.’ Mr. Flink is still going strong, as Secretary of the Class of ’45W. His column, in each issue of the Yale Alumni Magazine, is always a marvelous rumination about current events, growing older, and the state of the world. I encourage classmates, as they are paging through the magazine, to pause at ’45W and read his fine commentary. Stan’s column deserves a wide audience, hence my suggestion that you mention his column to our Class. Stan is an inspiration!” Tony Lavely replied: “I agree. I met Stan Flink many years ago at a Branford College Master’s ‘Tea.’ I learned that he worked for Life Magazine in the 1950s and was credited with approving the first nude photo of Marilyn Monroe in Life. (Are you paying attention, Ron Parlato?) Later I met Stan at one of Chris Getman’s Yale Bowl tailgates. Stan is one of a kind. Chris Getman added, “Stan is a longtime friend who just turned 98. He lives at Evergreen Woods where Terry Holcombe and I also have places. Stan is 98 years old except for his eyesight which is suspect … especially on the tennis court.” Don Van Doren concluded, “Chris, I came across Stan’s column many years ago, and read every installment. I have written to him to thank him for his insights but would like to meet him someday when I’m back in New Haven. Maybe in 2024 when I’m back for the reunion. Please pass on my regards to him. I trust you and Toddie are well, conditioned by the infirmities that seem to accompany making it into the ninth decade. Diane and I are well and enjoying life here on our remote mesa in New Mexico. We have started traveling again — some overseas trips and a six-day hiking and camping trip in Bears Ears National Monument. My business partner and I are winding down our consulting business, and I’ve been ‘term limited,’ so I am off the Board of Performance Santa Fe for a year. Diane hopes it’s longer! Thanks to you and Tony for the further information about Stan.” Don Van Doren also wrote about the wildfires in New Mexico: “There are devastating fires, especially east of Santa Fe. The biggest has burned across almost 500 square miles, including miles of hiking and camping territory, and is still expanding. Unfortunately, the fire has decimated some of the old Spanish villages where descendents of the incursions back to the sixteenth century have lived and farmed for generations. Diane and I are not affected, as we live south and west of Santa Fe. But we could plainly see one of the smaller fires in the southern slopes of the Jemez Mountains to the west of Santa Fe, and just west of Los Alamos. It’s 70 square miles, and located about 25-35 miles from us, but is now 85% contained. New Mexico is having its worst drought in 1200 years, exacerbated by climate changes. The landscape is parched, and the fire season has started earlier than normal. It’s going to be a rough summer unless the monsoon rains kick in with more gusto than we have seen in recent years.”

Roger Webb posted, “I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to all the lovely folks who sent me birthday wishes today. It’s easy to forget how many friends you have out there, and an occasion for a reminder is good. This birthday got to me a little and having friends sending good wishes means a lot.” When Dick duPont congratulated Joe Wishcamper for surviving his close encounter with a bear, Joe replied, “The bear now resides in the trophy room in my barn. My wife was so furious at me for my misadventure that I very nearly ended up in the barn, too. Fortunately, I was allowed to stay in the house where today we are marking our 56th anniversary. I did seven hunting trips to Africa, four of which were bowhunting adventures. I want to do one more before it is too late, but I have sworn off hunting dangerous game, so it would need to be a plains game hunt, likely in West Africa. I have five hunts scheduled for this fall in Western states, so the 2022 calendar is full (as is the trophy room, which presents a rearranging challenge). Saw you briefly at the last reunion and hope to know you better at the next, God willing.” Joe Wishcamper regretted to the Rands party in June, “Nancy and classmates, sorry but I will be in Chicago for the weekend visiting a Yalie, Henry Wishcamper, ’95.” Carol Wishcamper posted from Camino de Santiago: “Day 6. Pilgrimage complete. Santiago from Sarria 100K. Feeling full … feeling fulfilled … feeling awe … feeling a lightness of being … feeling grateful for the blessings of health and stamina.” Later, back home in Maine, Carol posted, “Home to the magic of high spring in Maine. Home to the incredible beauty and the incredible atrocity and suffering this world asks us to hold at the same time. Tears of horror and sorrow for those senselessly taken yesterday. Tears of gratitude for the privilege to be alive and to continue my Camino walk on Wolfe’s Neck in Freeport.” Jeremy Wood frequently circulates interesting music links, like James Brown, Chuck Berry, and the Rolling Stones. For more contemporary music, there’s David Wyles and his rapper son Rio. John Wylie, philosopher extraordinaire, emailed: “I was sharing my morphs with Owen O’Donnell by email, and he agreed that the class would get a kick out of seeing them. Here is a collection I have assembled. PS. Tony, it’s just great that your daughter is having a baby!” Karl Ziegler emailed after the Rands’ party (which he joined via Zoom at 11:00pm London time): “It was our pleasure to join the group via Zoom last night!”

There you have it: the Class Notes from A to Z!

Before I mention specific books and articles by classmates, I want to point out that there is a slideshow on the Class Website/Publications (where you can find links to all books published by classmates since 2000) that highlights books by ninety classmates on the Facebook page “Yale Facebook Authors.”

Soren West wrote Northbound with Theo: A Man and His Dog Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail at Ages 75 and 8. Howard Gillette wrote The Paradox of Urban Revitalization. Syd Lea wrote Seen From All Sides: Lyric and Everyday Life. Syd Lea also posted “Three Very Short Essays” on Substack. When Tony Lavely emailed Syd to tell him how much his poetry collection Here meant to him, Syd replied: “Wow! That response is worth more to me than a positive review in the Times! I really mean that. To know that someone is actually touched and even helped by my efforts … well, yeah, wow! That's as kind and bracing a note as I have ever gotten.” Edward Massey wrote Forever Sheriff, the third in his High Mountain Sheriff Series. Edward posted: “Forever Sheriff was released one month ago. The conclusion of The High Mountain Sheriff Series has received a delightful response from readers. True West Magazine featured Forever Sheriff in their recent June edition. Sue Ready of EverReady Book Reviews notes: ‘Massey is adept at keeping the storytelling authentic and well-paced. Readers are immersed into the turbulent lawless times of cattle rustlers and meat-packing monopolies.’ ” Dick duPont has privately compiled five booklets about his world adventures, especially in Africa. Neil Hoffmann’s wife Nancy has released a Kindle edition of her book Refrigerator Tales. Neil emailed: “It’s the stories of raising four kids and a husband over thirty years in Philadelphia and Maine. It will take you back.” Frank Hotchkiss writes a regular column in the Savannah Morning News which reviews popular movies. Frank emailed: “The Academy Award-winning film ‘My Cousin Vinny’ took place in Alabama but used Jasper County, Georgia as its backdrop.” Mo Dean writes a prolific blog, “Moristotle & Co,” with a series of vignettes titled “Goines On.” Mo emailed: “Perhaps some of our surviving Yale ’64 classmates can relate to Goines’ concerns?” Recently, Mo added one of fellow-blogger Ron Parlato’s blogs to his index, “God’s Greatest Irony: Unremitting Sexual Longing Well Past a Man’s Pull-By Date.” Mo commented: “I discovered ‘God’s Greatest Irony — Unremitting Sexual Longing Well Past a Man’s Pull-By Date’ from a Yale Class of 1964 news item and recognized immediately how much it resonated with the thoughts of my own character Goines. It was written by a classmate whom I had not had the pleasure of knowing at Yale. He published it on his blog, ‘Uncle Guido’s Facts,’ on March 23. I am grateful to him for permitting me to republish it here.” Mo concluded by asking, “Hey, beloved classmates, is our Yale Class virtually the only group of 80-somethings with such a robust website?” With the political season heating up, Bruce Driver is writing a regular newsletter with local race analyses. Russell Sunshine, another regular blogger, reported the Bay Area Zoom discussion, “What is the most influential event in your lifetime?” Russell added: “I’m three years into this senior project. I still have more to learn about getting the balance right. A work in progress. Never give up!” John Wylie added: “Progressivism’s Deep Biological Roots” to his blog, Why We Became Human. Though the book is not by aYale author, Tony Lavely highly recommends The Shattering: America in the 1960s, by Kevin Boyle. “It vividly documents the incidents and years of our youth.”

Since the previous issue, we have been notified of the deaths of five classmates: Brian Mullins died on May 2 in Pittsburgh PA. His surviving spouse, Polly Mullins, noted “his thoughtfulness. compassion, ability to fix anything, and his sense of humor.” Polly added: “Brian and I were married for 59 years. We spent our first year of marriage at Yale (after Brian was in the Army Reserve). He returned to Yale to finish his senior year. Plus, he had his best grades that year! We had a ‘super-duper’ year at Yale and returned to Pittsburgh, where we spent the rest of our years together. We have three daughters and six grandchildren. We gathered with the family on Saturday, June 4 to celebrate Brian’s good long life. I appreciate being invited to your class reunion in 2024.” Don Strayer died on May 6 at his home in Pasadena. A physicist, Don spent most of his career at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California. Don’s passions were photography, birding, sports, astronomy, and woodworking. Don’s wife Joy wrote: “Thank you sincerely for your response and for the care taken to remember those we have lost. The death of someone you love changes your world in an instant. Hopefully memories which are difficult now will become treasured gifts with time. Don and I have a daughter named Hillary, who graduated from Yale. What a wonderful thing your Class does to create a memory page for departed classmates.” Adrian Wilkins died on May 29 in Pelham MA. Adrian attended Yale on a Navy scholarship. Following graduation, he was assigned to the USS Calcaterra as a lieutenant and served in the Antarctic. For many years, Adrian, with his wife Connie, were the owners of The Mercantile stores in Amherst and Northampton MA. Prentis “Rusty” Hale died in late May in rural Oregon under tragic circumstances. Robert Whitby died on June 26 in Greenwich CT. Robert was married to his wife Kathleen for 58 years, and they had two daughters, Michelle and Annabelle. Robert had both a distinguished consulting career and was vigorously adventurous. He was also a class leader, who served on the Class Council and co-chaired the “Yale Canon” minireunion in October 2021.

It saddens me deeply to convey the news that Gerry Shea’s wife Claire died on July 11, following a recent hospitalization.

As an Associate Fellow of Branford College, Tony Lavely got to know John Merriman when he was Master of Branford. He was a distinguished professor of French and Modern European History. Merriman died on May 22. Peter Giblin’s death on April 11 was reported in an earlier column. With the help of Sam Francis, his sons Peter, Jr. and Kevin streamed Peter’s memorial service on May 12. Peter, Jr. wrote: “I like to think that my dad would have enjoyed the service, Tony. Amazing thing you and Sam have coordinated to get the recording up so quickly. I have no idea about the Mory’s Brick tradition. Can you tell me about it? I love it!” Edward Massey and many other classmates watched the service live. Please consider streaming your own service when the time comes (a suggestion that came from Neil Hoffmann some years ago), as it makes it possible for a much wider group of friends to remember. Steve Klingelhofer, who coordinated the memorial service at our 55th Class Reunion, emailed: “Thanks for the classmate obituaries as they come in. It occurs to me to acknowledge that Tony Lavely, Sam Francis, Jan Truebner, Chris Getman, and I are really honored to receive this information, painful as it may be.” Obituaries and remembrances of these and other classmates can be found on our Class website/In Memoriam. Abby Pratt, the surviving spouse of Larry Pratt, emailed: “I heard from my friends Doane Perry and Karen Carmean that there's a '64 discussion group that meets by Zoom. I'd like to join that, but I don't know how.” We added Abby to the Boston invitation list. Katherine Dudley, the surviving spouse of Dan Kapica, bought a Mory’s Memorial Brick in Dan’s name. We welcome surviving spouses (and current spouses) to our Class events, and again thank Jan Truebner for coordinating their engagement. Please consider donating a Mory’s Memorial Brick in the name of a departed classmate or to the general fund. As we lose more classmates, we want to remember every one of them.