class notes
the endowment monies of our denomination (UCC), its conferences, associations, and local churches. I’m the regional representative for NE and NY, doing what I’ve always loved to do—networking. Pat and I attended our UCC General Synod in Tampa last June. I do the annual meetings of the NE and NY conferences and do UCF presentations to local church financial leaders en route—even in PA and VA. My testimony in all this is: “If you love your work, why quit? Just make sure you keep finding ways to enjoy life, and spend time with your families.” Aside from the notice of Bob Pease’s tragic death earlier in ’11, I did hear that Bob Burnett ’58 passed away in 12/11 after a heroic battle with an aggressive brain tumor. You may remember him as a cross-country runner and pole vaulter, and we’ll never forget him as one of The Highwaymen—the folk group founded at their fraternity at Wesleyan. They made the folk song “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” a gold record phenomenon. Please pay attention to all the NMH messages that come along—things are really going along well on the old campus. Please keep us posted on what is going on in your lives. The magazine is only published twice a year now, so the news is sometimes “olde” when you get it, but we have electronic options to keep it more current. Hope to see you on campus in June ’12.
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CLAIRE KURTGIS-HUNTER 7595 Solimar Cir Boca Raton FL 33433-1034 mizzengift@bellsouth.net WILLIAM HAWLEY PO Box 91927 Anchorage AK 99509-1927 hawleys@acsalaska.net
From Claire: It is with regret that we hear from Mary Myers Samia that her husband of 51 years
passed away on 9/22/11, after a courageous fight with pancreatic cancer. Mary has moved to West Boylston MA, and would love to hear from you. Her email is RJMMSamia@aol.com. Cindy Crane Durham says that nothing of great magnitude has occurred lately, other than shoulder damage as a result of a spill over the dog. She enjoys attending the St Louis Symphony but says that none of the world’s choruses can better our little school’s “Dost Thou Remember?” She’s so right about that. She is also thinking of trying to publish some of her free verse in a wee booklet. Helen Englebrecht Ownby and Dennis are finally in their new home in St Mary’s GA. Dennis still sees patients and works at the med school near their former home in Evans GA, a 4-hour commute.
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While they wait for their home there to be sold, Helen reports with relief: no more bringing “multiple U-Hauls back and forth for over a year.” She has enjoyed fishing but has had “enough of sea trout for multiple dinners” for a while. They have a new grandson Colin (1), who joins older brother Dylan (4). Both boys love trains and visited Helen last summer, coming from MD by train. Daughter Kathy continues teaching in Daegu, South Korea, and has visited Cambodia and Thailand. A travel lover herself, Helen accompanied Dennis on some med trips this past year, including Aruba and Cancun. Always an avid cat-lover, Helen bemoans the recent loss of a family fave, so she and Dennis are currently down to being a 1-cat family. After 30 years of trying to secure rooms at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, Astrid Lundberg Naviaux was able to snag 7 rooms to house 12 of her immediate family plus 8 more of the family—so the 20 had a ball together for 3 days over Thanksgiving. Apparently, the well-known hotel offers a lottery but you have to sign up a year and a day (sounds like a fairy tale) beforehand for reservations by lottery. Her tenacity paid off. What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving and what a magnificent venue. Faith Vandenbergh Stone Dube is retired and divides her year between Seattle and St Petersburg FL, finding that she’s adding more weeks at the FL end each year. She plans to get together with Marlene Alpert Tein ’57 in Boca Raton FL. She and Marlene were childhood friends in Cortland NY and went to the same school K–6. They even shared East Hall together in their years at Northfield. She raised her 4 children in Guilford VT, and today they are divided between living in Boston and Seattle. She enjoys her 6 grandkids. Reminiscing, Faith writes: “Often I have melancholy dreams of Northfield, particularly of East Hall—returning there from vacations to the freshly waxed floors and smell of ‘alpha-pine.’ It would be grand to hear from other East Hallers, especially those from ’53–’59. How we could reminisce about our iconic dorm residents such as ‘O.E.B.,’ Dr. Rachel King, and Miss Scott.” As usual, the travel bug bit Jane Hougen Fast, and she was running throughout ’11. It started with a Jan birthday party she gave herself; then in Feb, she took off for Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Viet
Nam, and Laos) reporting it as a “ most interesting learning experience.” Got home, did the laundry, and then took a group to Springfield MO’s sister city, Tlaquepaque, Mexico. Jane loves Mexico—the color, flair, and life fascinates. She had a reunion in DC of the International School of Geneva. Later Jane returned east again to care for her sister-inlaw in Williamsburg, but was hampered by a nasty case of pneumonia. The rest of the summer was the usual: staying close to the AC. She watched the grass and plants die of drought, sailed, and participated with “Seniors as Stars,” a group of hams who present plays around town. She shared Christmas with her son and family in NC and her brother in Williamsburg VA. In ’12, she’s off to China, France, South Africa, and—who knows? She sends everyone health, peace, and joy in ’12. Peggy Herron Haring writes from Kailua,HI: “Been learning a lot these days: 1. It’s too late for a Rick Steves Tour. We loved the small group tour of England, but it’s just too hard to drag even lightly packed bags up those Georgian townhouse stairs. We did Belgium on our own. 2. When biking, always choose the most boring but safest option. Two weeks after recovering from the trip to Europe, I made a wrong move and crashed my bicycle, thereby breaking my ankle. The next time I fly, I’ll light up all the alarms with my steel plate and 6 screws.” A word from your humble secretary: Christmas is over and a new year is about to dawn—we are praying it’ll be a better one all around the world and here at home. I am not teaching this spring term—Paul says: “Honey, how many semesters do I have left? How about you take off from teaching for a while?” So here I am, with nothing to do except clean out the garage, the closets, and the fridge. But I have a great time with Paul, and we find ourselves actually busier than ever—doing stuff, entertaining friends on our paradise isle of Nantucket in summers and fall, and enjoying sunny FL for half the year. Can’t beat it—and perhaps I’ll enjoy grading no essays for a while. I’ll let you know. From Bill: As all of you who have email know, our class president Bob Burnett died on 12/6/11. Bob had an outstanding professional career as a lawyer and musician and a wonderful personal life. He is survived by his wife Kathy, son Michael, daughters Melissa and Kathleen, and 9 grandchildren.
Astrid Lundberg Naviaux ’58, seated, and her family celebrated Thanksgiving ’11 at Yosemite National Park.
Dale Bailey ’58 and Dave Eberhardt ’58 at the KendallJackson winery.