Class Notes The children of Margot and Ned Thompson ’74: Charlie Thompson ’03 with fiancée Jessie Martin, sister Blaire, and brother Preston Thompson ’08, with girlfriend Danielle Ayers. Preston and Danielle were at Union College together. Preston is with Honda research and development in Marysville, Ohio. Charlie and Jessie are at Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah. Blaire is at Sotheby’s in New York City.
Mike Cercone
of Columbus. I fondly remember my four years at Avon. It truly feels like yesterday, and not 40 years ago. I warmly remember my classmates and the faculty. I sincerely hope to see many of them at our next class reunion. My health is much better now, but around a year ago I had a quadruple coronary bypass. It was a complete surprise to me as I had no symptoms. I played golf four times a week and felt quite well. At an annual checkup my doctor caught a slight change in my EKG, leading to a stress test where it was determined I had 90 percent blockage. As they say, ‘All’s well that ends well.’ I’m doing fine now and hope all my classmates are so, as well. Cheers to the Class of ’73.” CHRIS ATKINS wrote, “When I graduated
from AOF, the very concept of age 40 seemed incomprehensible, and now this year is our 40th reunion. It was great to see everyone again, many for the first time since 1973.” JOHN BOURGET emailed, “During a sailing layover, I visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum and was surprised to recognize a voice I hadn’t heard in decades—one belonging to a gentleman that I’ve often cited as among the best teachers I ever had. Seth Mendell ’52 and I had fun recalling his animated stories of Ivan the Terrible! On a personal note, my son, Remy, graduated from Brown and we
44
Spring 2013 The Avonian
’75 with Sena
tor John McCai
n.
survived Sandy with no catastrophic damage to our shoreline home. My wife, Wendy, and I managed for the 31st consecutive year to re-visit the Avon Chapel on our December anniversary. Each year, I am more and more impressed by the young men of AOF when I interview them for Tufts.”
74 GEORGE J. GIANNONI , Co-Head Class Agent
36 Twilight Dr., Granby, CT 06035-1212 GGiannoni@cox.net EDWARD P. MOLLOY , Co-Head Class Agent 6 Winhart Dr., Granby, CT 06035 E.molloy@cox.net
75 TOM BYRNE , Head Class Agent
31 Helena Rd., Avon, CT 06001-3433 tbyrne@thomasbyrne.com RANDY BECKER serves on the Board of Directors
for the Provider Office Staff Advisory Committee for Community First Health Insurance Company in San Antonio, Texas. Randy’s son, Jordan, graduated with a degree in public administration and geography from Texas State University at San Marcos last December and his daughter, Leslee, graduated from the University of North Texas with a second bachelor’s degree in music theory and
music performance. Leslee had the opportunity to play background cello for the latest CD of the Shake Russell Band from Mesquite, Texas. Randy’s youngest daughter, Sara, is in the 5th grade and published her poem, “My Friend,” in the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans 2012 edition. Sara is an honor roll student and participates each year in the KiDS ROCK Marathon and cross country team [see photo]. DAVID JACK spent the last year and a half writing screenplays and getting his certification in assistant directing at Quinnipiac University where they shot a film starring John Ratzenberger of Cheers and Pixar fame. David emailed, “Recently, I joined a firm based out of San Francisco in the digital media analytics space and am enjoying it tremendously. My daughter, Emily (20), is finishing her junior year at Eastern and will be studying abroad at Westminster this summer. My son, Greg (16), is deeply involved with his girlfriend, Sabrina, and they’ve been going out for nine months. Her dad is an ex-Navy SEAL which keeps him in line if you know what I mean. Greg is also deeply involved in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). At 6’ 3”, he’s a pretty formidable presence as is his (our) 103-pound German shepherd puppy named Otto who could play 24/7 if we let him. Lastly, my wife, Tammy, and I are lucky enough to be celebrating our 30th anniversary in July.”