Dave Eaton, Cooper Graham, Harry Lord, Dave Sowell, and yours truly. It was a great mini-reunion! 2016 marked our 60th reunion year, and several of us celebrated the occasion in April with activities both at the School, and independently. Dick Biggs, Guy Dove, Dave Eaton, Bentley Offutt, Howard Stick, and I participated. Even though the number was small, we all enjoyed catching up and reminiscing. It was especially interesting to see Guy, who lives in Middleburg, Va., and whom several of us had not seen in several decades! One positive aspect of the low turnout was that many classmates are still very active and busy, and couldn’t get there. Some examples were three classmates (Nick Penniman, Graham Slaughter, and Charlie Webb) traveling in Europe (not together); Ambler Moss is still teaching full time at the University of Miami; Duncan Yaggy is very active in North Carolina politics and couldn’t get away; Victor Bridgman and Bruzz Jory were just too far away (Colorado and Oregon, respectively); Leland James was recovering from minor eye surgery, and several others who were busy with other activities. When our 65th rolls around, we’ll all be octogenarians, but let’s start thinking about it right now! Here’s a little class trivia: 54 of us were in the graduating class on June 4th. The School records, however, show that 93 students were in the class at some point, a few of whom are considered “lost.” Let’s hear from some of the rest of you next time, graduates or not. Your old friends want to know what’s going on.
1957 “The sand is fast escaping from the hourglass for this year’s class news!” implored George Barker when he solicited class notes for 2015. We are saddened to report that those notes would be his last, as the sand has escaped for the Class of 1957’s longtime class secretary. George succumbed to vascular disease on Friday, April 29, 2016. Our sincerest and deepest sympathies to his high school sweetheart and wife of 53 years, Anne VandeGrift, his son, two daughters, and six grandchildren. We shall miss his wit and wisdom on these pages. Look for class notes to resume next year.
1959 J. Richard Uhlig rickuhlig@comcast.net Our fall class lunch was held on Friday, December 4, 2015, at Tark’s. Sixteen classmates attended: Bruce Campbell, Hobie Fowlkes, Ted Gans, Dickie Gibbs, Bo Grimes, Bob Gross, Tom Haines, George Hardy, Clark MacKenzie, Chip Markell, Charlie Offutt, Frank Pine, John Ramsey, Bill Schmick, Rick Uhlig, and Charles Williams. Bob Gross won the long distance award, travelling from his new home in Chicago. Andy Adelson was scheduled to attend but his flight that
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morning was cancelled due to fog in Miami. Our class lunches are typically scheduled in May and December in order to accommodate so many “snow birds” wintering in Florida. Clark MacKenzie suggested the idea of a 1959 class necktie and submitted several possible designs for consideration. The favorite was blue with stripes and a Gilman emblem. Orders are imminent and ties may be available for the next class luncheon in May. Dickie Gibbs circulated the answers to a class trivia quiz from our 40th reunion. It is always fun to revisit all the special facts about our class, and I have a PDF copy which I will send to anyone interested in having their own copy. We were saddened by the passing of Billy Stifler in November 2015 after his long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was greatly admired and loved by his family and friends. Clark MacKenzie and Chip Markell prompted a discussion of our class creating a legacy fund in honor of deceased classmates, and at least 22 of our classmates have already made commitments. Debby and Bob Wood report from Wyoming: “We moved permanently to Jackson Hole last July and are just completing the first winter of the great western experiment. Cross country skiing (no more downhill) helped get us through the snow time, and a recent two-week trip to beautiful Scottsdale and Sedona, Ariz., warmed us up. Health is good, I’m glad to report. We miss family and friends of course — as well as crabs and oysters — but are staying in touch electronically and plan to be back east in April-May. Miracle of cable and satellite TV allows for watching the Ravens and UMD sports.” Bo Grimes reports, “The big news in our household was the wedding of my daughter Margaret to Noah Carver, a Park School graduate, on April 18, 2015, when I took the Father of the Bride stroll down the aisle at the Church of the Redeemer on a beautiful spring day, just before the Freddie Gray disaster closed the city of Baltimore down!” Charlie Kimpel was honored by the Long Island Chapter of Association Fundraising Professionals as “The Outstanding Fundraising Professional for 2015.” We add our congratulations, Charlie. Larry Stifler reports he is still not retired and is running his national healthcare company, Health Management Resources. Larry and his wife Mary are managing their Foundation, and also building a museum in Maine which opens next year. “Snow birds” in Florida have had a busy winter. Charlie Offutt, Bill Schmick, and Rick Uhlig attended a Gilman Regional Reception in Naples on February 10, 2016, at the home of John Claster ’63 to hear remarks by Headmaster Henry Smyth. Then in March, Andy Adelson and Bill Spencer-Strong visited us from Florida’s east coast for two days of golf and renewing friendships. As these class notes are being written in late March, Eve and John Hilgenberg are making their way through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos on a three-week trip. They are learning much interesting history, geography, and culture, as well as a new acronym, “ABT” (another bloody temple).