attended an Andover commemoration of our two schoolmates who died on 9/11—Todd Isaac ’90 and Stacey Sanders ’94—with a tour of the newly opened National September 11 Memorial & Museum and a walk around the memorial pools, stopping at both names carved into the metal above the cascade. I had hesitated to go to either place, as have many New Yorkers who were in town that day. The company of Andover friends and many members of Todd’s family made the difference. At the reception later, the fabulous Marcia McCabe ’73 held court before meeting an out-of-town friend for an Eagles concert at Madison Square Garden. As the party wound down, Betsy Gootrad and I ducked out and grabbed dinner, where we discussed bank bailouts and I discovered that Betsy (many, many years later) attended the same Chicago grade school my mother did. At the reunion and after, Lissy Abraham and I discussed the potential pleasures and terrors of retirement. After decades at Apple, Lissy’s beginning to look beyond the grind, not surprisingly at a field related to her love of making music. She and her band, the Ballistic Cats, have just released another CD. Postretirement, she’s interested in exploring music therapy for treating autistic children. Laura Richards has moved back into town from the wilds of New Hampshire! Specifically, she has taken possession of a condo apartment in Watertown, Mass., near Cambridge. She is very excited to be back in greater Boston, after many years in the country. Those of us who love urban life are certain she made the right move. Dana Delany stars in a pilot now streaming from Amazon, Hand of God, an atmospheric mystery set in a small town. Dana plays the power behind the throne. In one scene, she confronts a con man/preacher, seamlessly moving from light banter (with an inside reference to the soaps) to a most personal threat. It read to me like a subtle wink to the audience, all while staying in character. Of course, recalling Dana’s narrative at the reunion about filming the show (“He let me grab his balls!”) made watching it all the more fun. At the reunion, Mason Wilkinson mentioned he would be in New York with his clients Crosby, Stills & Nash and suggested we get together then. True to his word, he reached out and invited me to join him backstage at the Beacon Theatre. An hour before the show, Mason was busy and I was observing. A subordinate asked Mason for the truck key Mason wore around his neck for the obvious reason, which this man had found out the hard way—his key was locked inside said truck. Mason did not express any rebuke but did hesitate as he handed it over. Message delivered. I love watching real pros do their jobs. Just then, Graham Nash entered the small room and Mason introduced me as his friend, to which Graham exclaimed, “You have friends?!” I assured Mr. Nash that he did indeed.
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Andover | Winter 2015
1975 40th REUNION June 12–14, 2015 Mari Wellin King 1884 Beans Bight Road N.E. Bainbridge Island WA 98110 206-842-1885 marjoriewk@gmail.com Roger L. Strong Jr. 6 Ridgeview Circle Armonk NY 10504 914-273-6710 strongjr@optonline.net Peter Wyman 963 Ponus Ridge Road New Canaan CT 06840 203-966-1074 peter.wyman@merrillcorp.com
Dear Class of 1975: It is time to mark your calendars for June 12–14, 2015, because, crazy as it may sound, we are approaching our 40th Reunion! More than 100 of our classmates attended the 35th Reunion, and stories still circulate about the fantastic time had by all. Our fearless leader, Brian Burke, Felecia Elias, and others on the team will be at it again, organizing a magical weekend of reconnecting with old friends and sharing life stories, as well as reminiscing about some of the wild times from our days at Andover together. As Brian says, “Everyone leaves with a smile.” There is a Facebook page set up for our class, so please join if interested. Dan Cooper sent word from California: “Brad Geier, as you likely know, is still reveling in the magic of his first grandchild, Beau Bradley. Can members of the Class of ’75 really be grandparents? Brad still looks like the same babyfaced kid talking his way out of an encounter with the PA police! I continue to be busy with two kids yet to start college, Megan, 13, and Justin, 17. I’m working out of my house in Palo Alto, Calif., these days, doing some consulting in the realm of pharmacovigilance and risk management for pharmaceutical products making their way to market and following approval. I am hoping this phase of life will ultimately transition to fiction writing. I have much to work with in the way of content and ideas but am feeling the urgency to get it out before my failing memory takes its toll on recall, syntax, and spelling!” Lewis Butler moved his office to a larger space in San Francisco. His architecture business continues to be busy, driven by tech and finance. He writes, “What I’m enjoying most is the trend toward green design, and we’ve now completed two LEED Platinum houses, which basically operate with net zero energy consumption.” Lewis is looking forward to reunion—his first one since our 10th. Stephanie Curtis Harman also sends word
from California: “I haven’t written or been to a reunion in years, so it’s time for a change on both counts. [Husband] Fred and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary recently and have been living in the Bay Area for the past 23 years. We are officially ‘empty nesters.’ [Daughter] Allison is a freshman at Stanford. Although it’s not too far from our Woodside home, she decreed she is not coming home until Thanksgiving! [Son] Stephen is a senior at UC Boulder and [daughter] Kirsten, USC ’13, is having a great time living and working in San Francisco. I continue working for various volunteer organizations in the Bay Area, including Part the Cloud (www.alz.org/partthecloud/), which raises money for Alzheimer’s research. I can’t wait to see everyone in June!” Dennis Pratt has been creating a thriving personal-growth community in Greater Boston, with more than 100 events (workshops, parties, study groups) in the past year. “And I am expanding the ‘alternatives to traditional schooling’ market— primarily ‘learning centers’ where homeschoolers learn together. My 15-year-old daughter attends one of these learning centers, when she isn’t studying math or writing blogs at home, or taking ASL, marine biology, or other classes elsewhere. My wife is happily ensconced in her new job at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. We are enjoying life in Westwood,” he writes. Bill Kavanagh sends this news: “I have been staying in touch with Kurt Silverman, who is still taking great photos of the moon and exploring the Andover area with his camera when he’s not busy traveling the world for work. Meanwhile, I’m regularly taking my cameras to Bethlehem, Pa., where I’m in production on a documentary film about economics, life, work, and making ends meet in a former steel town.” In Denver, Margot Kent Timbel has retired from full-time oil and gas exploration. She is consulting now, but, she writes, “mostly enjoying flexibility to do college visits with our youngest, Mackenzie. Have earned my yoga teacher certification and use it teaching yoga to vets with PTSD at the VA hospital in Denver. What a contrast!” Eben Gay’s son, Bob, got married in June and is a cook at Stone Soup in Burlington, Vt. Daughter Patsy is a dance archivist in NYC. Peter Van Raalte works in NYC with his partner at Corinthian Capital, Tony Pucillo. He writes, “Tony and his family are all doing well, with all three kids graduated from college and gainfully employed. In addition, we frequently see Peter Wyman at our offices in Manhattan. Peter and I have a longstanding tradition of attending the opening week of the U.S. Open for tennis. Daughter Julia graduated from Colorado College in May and is living in Crested Butte, Colo., writing online ski reviews; my son Nick is at the University of San Francisco; and Alex is a senior at N.H.’s Proctor Academy.” Paul Suslovic is now living in the Bay Area with Anne Wakefield Atkinson. He is looking forward to our reunion and writes, “I was struck by the