senior center’s “Still Sharp Singers.” He didn’t sing much on Hermon’s hill, being a day student from Turners Falls. He doesn’t get back much anymore, but does still have a brother living in Greenfield. As the old year faded into some good, some bad history, Lee Farwell (Farmingdale, Maine) was continuing a lengthy stay in rehab, waging a courageous battle with ambulatory troubles. Whitey Heist and Mary Lyman Heist’s grandson, Andrew Heist ’06, an NMH alum contact to ’49, left the old school on the hill a while back and moved to Virginia as coach for the USA Swim Club. From Dave Durham: Can’t really be 65 years, can it? Well, over yonder are Pres and Carroll from ’34, so we feel pretty young! Our school outdid itself with lovely accommodations, outstanding food, a neat and beautiful campus (could it ever be otherwise?), and young people with a smile ready to give us a lift in their golf carts to our next destination. Being among the ancient ‘grands,’ we enjoyed the privilege of eating in the Myra B. Wilson Room of Alumni Hall. Impressive were the fascinating and educational seminars offered on Friday—and the nine young folk on a student panel answering questions. But tops for me was the sense that NMH is on its way to a fine future, a future in tune with the creative juices of Dwight L. Moody and Headmaster Speer—yet ready for the changes and challenges of the 21st century. Conversations: Ah, the heart of our reunion! Gathered together were Larry Andrews, Don Bond, Phyllis Meres Cocroft ’49, David Durham, Ken Hungerford (recipient of the Annual Citation in recognition of his outstanding volunteer service to NMH!), Paul Jacques and Beverly, Don Mayhew, Sandy McIntyre and granddaughter Sylver Penney ’12, Nancy Croser McKersie, Bill Mellin, Joyce Heisenbuttel Neill ’49 and Clark, Paul Rikert, Cary Noble Santoro ’49 and Don, Barry Stein, Don Swicker, Harland “Will” Williams and Iris Helk Williams ’52, and Nancy and Dick Worthington. We also laid claim for the weekend to Fred Monett ’50 and Al Higgins ’50. Don Mayhew, an outgoing reunion co-chair (Joyce Neill continues as co-chair), announced that he is no longer able to carry out the duties. He suggested that a committee was still needed, but probably not with an explicitly designated chair. Committee members Hungerford, Durham, and Williams agreed to continue to serve in their current capacities, as did Jim Hanchett (unable to attend this reunion). Mayhew suggested that the members of the reunion committee be encouraged and authorized to recruit other class members to assist in fund solicitation and news-gathering—and to the extent possible to attend September and March meetings at NMH prior to our next reunion in 2019. Saturday afternoon we gathered at our class of ’49 tree near the gymnasium for a memorial service led by David. The names of 16 Northfield and 16 Mt. Hermon alumni from our class who have died in the past five years were read. We left the weekend delightfully renewing former friendships and with pride and confidence in the future of our school. We hope to see even more of you in 2019!
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JANET-MARIE FITZGERALD WHITLEY 6794 Willow Rd Vacaville CA 95687-9425 janwhitley@aol.com
From Jan—In our last magazine issue, Janice Anderson Wilkes was listed as having passed away.
It should be noted that Janice served as reunion chair at either our 40th or 45th reunion. She will be missed. Jane Heywood Brown is our reunion chair for 2015. Our next reunion will be in five years, when most of us will be pushing (very aggressively) 90. Jane recently welcomed two new grandchildren. Her son’s first children are twins, a boy and a girl. Lois Seekamp Dole still does hospice work. Husband George appeared several times on local TV regarding the 60th anniversary of Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile. George was the only Yank in the race; he was at Oxford and won the CambridgeOxford mile that year (1964). Lois was in nursing school in Manhattan and babysat for his sister, who insisted they meet. The rest is history. George’s father was a Swedenborgian minister in Bath, Maine, where George became minister in 1959. He continues to run several times a week. Their middle son, Andrew Cole ’84, is a tenured professor of religion at Amherst College. He is dad to their only grandchildren, George and Genevieve. Andrew’s wife is also a Swedenborgian minister serving a UCC church in Northampton, Mass. Lois didn’t think she would make reunion this year, but might if her roommate, Jean Cook Glidden, did. Jean wasn’t thinking of attending, but has reconsidered if Lois attends. Hope I have them both now! Jean had a bad fall in late summer that resulted in a nasty concussion and severe vertigo. She is unable to drive and still has vertigo. Husband Dick will drive her to reunion. Barbara Bolger Collett feels fortunate to have a relationship with her grandchildren, as she never met her own grandparents. They lived in occupied Netherlands during WWII. She and husband Bill celebrated 30 years of his successful triple bypass surgery on 2/14/15. (Gene and I will celebrate 62 years of marriage the same day.) In December 2014, Barbara and Bill moved to a retirement community (The Village) in Gainesville, Fla. They are looking forward to good experiences in their 59th year of marriage. They welcomed their first great-grandchild, Alaina Jade Gates. Father is son of their daughter, Dianne. Their PGA grandson had hip surgery in July 2014. He is recuperating and hopes to return to the tour in 2015. Barbara reminded me that her mother, Coby Bolger, who raised Irish setters, sold one to Mira B. Wilson. Barbara would like to communicate with classmates via email. Anyone interested? Mario Di Cesare, widower of Lee Hoskins Di Cesare, still enjoys living far out in the country—a decision he and Lee made 20 years ago to discover the beauty and mountains of western North Carolina. He continues his passion for the College for Seniors, which will be offering more than 100 courses in the spring, and is reading Shakespeare again.
Janet-Marie Fitzgerald Whitley: Gene and I welcomed our seventh great-grandchild on 11/30/14. She joins our six great-grandsons. Alexis Ann Whitley is only the second girl out of 17 born Whitleys. Her grandfather is our deceased son, Brian Whitley. Her dad is Brian II, who works two full-time jobs: as a fireman/EMT in Lodi, Calif., and as an emergency room tech at Kaiser Hospital in Vacaville. He also has two sons, Brian III and Aiden. Please remember reunion and try to attend. A surf and turf dinner (lobster) is planned for Thursday. We will be joining the 50th reunion class of ’65. Other than transportation costs for attending, the only other cost is $100 for the alumni dorm fee if you stay on campus. For everything else, we are guests of the school. If you bring a guest, they will be subject to additional charges. The school will provide more information. Reunion starts on a Thursday afternoon and goes through chapel on Sunday. You can attend all or part of the festivities. Since Gene and I travel from California, we will incur ample transportation costs, but it is well worth it. Come and see how the Hermon campus is definitely the NMH campus. So much of Northfield was brought over to the other side of the river. See you at reunion! From Bob White—Let us salute with pride and gratitude our veterans of armed conflicts while at the same time search for a better way to resolve differences among peoples. A new twist is the emergence of terrorism. If all goes well, the class’s 65th reunion will have a panel of classmates to discuss the issue. We are anticipating looking back on our 65th as another stellar experience on the hill. I received a Christmas greeting from Vic Scalice indicating high activity. Bruce Dunn is still on his bike spring, summer, and fall, and hikes all year utilizing “micro spikes” in the winter months. He is also writing The Pygmalion Conspiracy, which is the first of four volumes in The Grandchildren of Lemma series. Bruce and Al Higgins are making personal calls to classmates encouraging them to attend reunion. Other members of the Reunion Committee are working on the presentations, which we anticipate will be ready and accepted for you to enjoy at Reunion 65. But the real bonus for all will be your presence, to experience renewed friendships, relive old times, and get caught up on the “since then.” Our creative Phil Dietterich will share his musical talents with us at reunion, but in the meantime, he shares a song that demonstrates what has happened in relationships since the ’40s/’50s. (View it on YouTube: “Hey Nonny No Sex Appeal”). Those who connect to share thoughts/experiences as class notes roll around will, hopefully, be at reunion to share their stories firsthand. Best wishes.—Bob [Editor’s note: Prior to publication, the NMH community learned of the death of Class Secretary Bob White on 1/25/15—his last class notes column is published here posthumously. The class lost another vital volunteer, Class Gift Chair Mark Jander, on 1/15/15. Both will be recognized more fully in the fall issue of NMH Magazine.]
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