stay connected... PHILLIPS
Robert K. Reynolds 185 Southern Blvd. Danbury CT 06810 203-743-0174 rreynolds06@snet.net
As I write these notes, it is a warm day in spring. As you read them, it is probably a cool day in October. The election will soon be over, and we will have a new president. Good luck to him or her. News from living classmates is still in short supply. Obituaries, unfortunately, are increasingly frequent. Jack Raymond died back in February at age 92. After graduating from Andover, he entered Princeton and then enlisted in the Army, where he served under General George Patton and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he graduated from Princeton. His entire working life was spent at Washington Gas Light Co. His hobbies were numerous: flying, traveling, and collecting antique maps and sound recordings. He wrote six published reference books about music. Truly a man for all seasons, he is survived by his sister, Hope Raymond, and many nieces and nephews. I noted in an earlier edition of Andover that Carl Badger died in June of last year. No details. Noel Seeburg Jr. died April 19 at his home in New Orleans. He was a captain in the Army during WWII, serving in the Philippines, where he earned two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. After receiving his law degree from Harvard, he was in the family business in Chicago until 1976, when he moved to Beaufort, SC. There he joined the law firm of Harvey & Battey. In addition, he served on the boards of Beaufort Memorial Hospital and the Beaufort Open Land Trust. He was predeceased by his wife and his daughter Karin, and is survived by two daughters, Lucy Van Sands Seeburg and Alice St. Germain-Jefferson. If any of you are bored and looking for cultural stimulation, may I suggest listening to the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan? I have been an aficionado of G&S ever since our senior year, when HMS Pinafore was presented. A local group performs one of the works every year. This year it’s The Sorcerer, featuring John Wellington Wells, a dealer in magic and spells. For great music, crazy plots, and witty dialogue there is nothing better. Looking ahead: Next year, 2017, we will be having our 75th Reunion. It would be great if all living classmates (there are about 40 of us) could attend. I hope to be there with my three daughters.
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Andover | Reunion 2016
1943 PHILLIPS
Richard L. Ordeman 619 Oakwood Ave. Dayton OH 45419 937-299-9652 mbo510@aol.com
Good to hear from Roger Morgan, who writes from England, “I always feel a bit bogus, as I never did my senior year and returned to school in England in August 1942, but I remember some of you. I haven’t forgotten those years, nor the excellent education we had—memories of the U.S. helped, of course, by my wife of more than 50 years, who was born and bred in Milwaukee and Chicago and had several relatives who attended Andover. I have to wait until the summer to become 90, and it would be good to know how many of us are still alive and if any of you ever travel to London.” Besides Phil Drake, who hosted the annual Naples, FL, luncheon, Dick Harshman, Art Sherrill, Bill Chipman, Charlie Arnold’s widow, Maxine, Martha and Skip Ordeman, and Skip’s brother, Jack Ordeman ’48, made up the group. Before a delicious lunch, we paused for a moment of silence to remember Sue Drake and Mary Harshman, both wonderful ladies who had hosted and been a part of earlier gatherings. During lunch, Dick mentioned he’d grown up in Englewood, NJ, within two blocks of Ted Brockie and Dick Duden, whose first trip to Andover was with the Harshmans. Possibly [assistant dean] Spike Adriance ’28, also from Englewood, had something to do with this cluster of classmates. Dick further noted Steve Kurtz, later principal of Exeter, also lived nearby. Dick also told us his daughter had been in Andover’s first coed class, which led Bill Chipman to recall the excitement of going down to the Abbot Friday night dances with Ben Hammer. Art Sherrill said his granddaughter would be graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in the spring. Phil Drake mentioned his daughter, Anne, is executive assistant to the general manager of the Winged Foot Golf Club, where the 2020 U.S. Open will be held. Thinking back on our enjoyable gathering, three things come to mind: There were no neckties, three of us had canes, and we forgot to sing the “Royal Blue”—small matter. We plan to gather again next year! Hildegarde and Dick Baird have been through some tough times. Their bank identified a possible fraud in connection with their account and changed the account number without informing them until later, creating a multitude of problems. Then Hildegarde fell, necessitating a trip to the hospital. She’s fully recovered, but the event led to their moving to an apartment in Naples, where some help is available. Pat and Dave Thurber have also moved. They sold their Sanibel home, where they once hosted a February class dinner, and moved to a beautiful condominium on the island. They are
still very much involved in Big Arts, the center of arts activities on Sanibel. They were back in New Hampshire for the summer. Dan Duke, a relative of John Book, is working on his family history and would appreciate hearing from any who might have memories of John. You can reach him by phone at 310-420-1105 or by e-mail at danieltduke@gmail.com. With great sadness I report the loss of Eason Cross and of Dick Harshman’s wife, Mary. Eason died Jan. 28, 2016, after a stroke. Responding to a notice of the Naples reunion, only 10 days before his death, Eason wrote, “I spent my vacation time this year on Santa Lucia with our four children, their three spouses, and our five grandchildren, so do not go near Naples. That was a gas station on the Tamiami Trail in 1948, when I spent the summer as a carpenter doing my required apprenticeship for the HGSD. I lost my spouse, Diana. We had a delightful 64-year marriage and moved to Greenspring three years ago. I miss her.” Eason was a noted architect in the DC area and was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He served on numerous national, state, and local boards and committees as well as local political and building boards. Mary Harshman died Oct. 24, 2015. She and Dick had hosted many of our Naples gatherings in elegant style. Mary was a lifetime member of the Art Students League of New York, where she was a student for many years. One of her closest friends was Cynthia Stone, Jack Lemmon’s first wife. She was a bridesmaid at Jack and Cynthia’s wedding. At the Harshmans’ wedding, Cynthia was a bridesmaid and Jack an usher. Mary was a special person whom we miss. Our class extends its sympathy to the friends and family of Eason and Mary. These two losses and a decline in the number attending our Naples reunions are signs our birthdays are catching up with us, as is the answer to Roger Morgan’s question “How many of us are left?” The answer is 85 out of a total of 295, which includes anyone associated with our class, regardless of the length of their time at Andover. Against these sobering facts, excerpts from a recent essay by onetime commissioner of Major League Baseball Fay Vincent, titled “Life as the Ninth Inning Nears,” may suggest helpful guidance: “To me, old age seems to be the art of keeping going. Speed and direction are not important. Movement is. I have long surrendered any hope of impressing others or of being impressed by them. In these final innings I want to stay at bat, even if I know I cannot expect to get a hit.”