www.andover.edu/intouch Charlotte Hamlin teaches full time at UMass Dartmouth in artisanry/textile design and fiber arts and is the coordinator for graduate studies and research. She also teaches two semesters of textile history at RISD. She co-owns ConText Inc., a textile conservation business, and runs a little business called Lottie-da, where she designs, screenprints, and makes pillows, table runners, and so forth. Her partner is Greg Morton, chef and music cogniscente, and they live in her family’s old house on the river in South Dartmouth, Mass. Liz Miller is a full-time assistant professor of computer information technology at Bunker Hill Community College. She teaches and develops courses in mobile app programming and computer science. At this writing, she and Amanda Cobb planned to attend the upcoming AA/PA ’72 mini reunion at Jon Atwood ’72’s in Sandwich, Mass. Liz and Judith Webster enjoyed seeing one of artist Theo Janson’s strandbeests in Dewey Square, Boston, in August. Catherine Armsden’s novel, Dream House, was released in early November. You can read about the book on her website, catherinearmsden.com. Elizabeth “Bets” Kent did not let her hip replacement last winter slow her down for long, as she rode in her 22nd Pan-Mass Challenge and planned to compete in the Head of the Charles in October. Bets and I are part of a newly formed women’s-rowing task force to encourage more women to support rowing on the national level. Barbara Contarino Tomkins and her husband have renovated an old house in Kittery Point, Maine. With her last child in college, Barbara transformed her love of creating things from found objects into a business called Foraged. Most of her creations are home décor, which she sells at craft fairs and on Etsy. The next class celebration, at this writing, was scheduled for NYC in October! Noreen Markley planned to attend and take good notes.
PHILLIPS Pete Morin 41 Border St. Scituate MA 02066 pbmorin@comcast.net www.facebook.com/pete.morin2
Well, here I go, having to make stuff up. Public service announcement: Facebook is for grown-ups now—so many grown-ups that the kids have fled for other venues. We and all the cat lovers of the world have it to ourselves. Look for Andover/Abbot Class of 1973 and join the group! Henry Mueller reports that he and his wife had a superb trip to Turkey last spring (a 60th birthday present, Henry?) and recently hosted Tom Sommerfield and his son for dinner on Nantucket. Tom threatened to attend my House of Blues birthday jam, but something came up. Dave Harsch has been devoted
to his breeding of beautiful Samoyeds on Cape Cod. Bobby Wheeler reports that he and John McDonald spectated the Tucker School of Business graduation—presumably because their offspring were receiving diplomas, but he left it a secret. Casey Sheahan has been posting pictures of a wild fishing expedition on the Snake River: rainbows two feet long, a lot of grinning. I traveled up to Egg Island, Ontario, in August, to the residence of one Mark Russell. It is a stunning, rustic encampment of cottages among the Thousand Islands. Mark and his siblings throw a party for everyone in the area. They come in boats from all directions. There was a boathouse with a big party room and wraparound porch, a band, and more food than necessary. I met a lot of Ontarians. It was a splendid road trip. Dave Swanson, Liz Miller ’73, Judith Webster ’73, Dave Harsch, and I proudly represented the class at another ’72 bash at Jon Atwood ’72’s Cape Cod home. They had a crew of about 25, and boy, do they know how to have a good time. Jeff Howard was supposed to show up, but he went to France instead. I received a telephone call from Majjid Ahmed, calling from Dubai. I’m not quite sure what it was all about, but it was a fun conversation, as always. Swanson and I have been playing golf. Badly. Please feel free to use my e-mail address above and send me some news.
1974 Jack Gray 80 Central Park West, Apt. 20F New York NY 10023-5215 212-496-1594 ray0x@hotmail.com
In mid-August I received this e-mail drafted by John Ham and forwarded by Karl Harig: “A long time has passed since I have seen/talked to you, and I’m sorry to have to share some bad news. I don’t know if you have heard the sad news of Mark List’s death, on Aug. 8, 2015. I got a call tonight from one of his daughters. Apparently, he died of a heart attack on Saturday at the camp in Maine where he and [wife] Bonny work in the summer. She said the good news is he was having fun with the campers at the time, and all his and Bonny’s kids were able to get there to join Bonny in a very short time. It sounds like they are having a gathering for him this coming Sunday in Georgia.” Jonathan Drake, Karl, John, Marcia Nelson McCartin (who worked with Mark at the Maine camp where he died), and John Croll all made it to the memorial. Jonathan wrote, “There was an impressive turnout of several hundred people to the ‘pool party’ that was held in Mark’s honor at the Ringgold, Ga., City Pool last Sunday, Aug. 16. Mark clearly had a way to encourage and inspire
swimmers of all levels. One girl noted, ‘He helped me get to the end of the pool.’ I can relate.” John Croll continued the narrative with this: “There were several hundred people there on a sunny Sunday afternoon celebrating Mark—a huge outpouring of love and affection for our friend, teammate, and roommate. Bonny, Mark’s wife, asked ahead of time that we focus on the best of times, and that we did. Mark’s son, Luke, said at the memorial gathering, ‘Dad would have loved this.’ Bonny, Mark’s children, and Mark’s siblings all talked about how important Andover was to Mark. Through his faith, his love, and his friendship, Mark inspired so many people. He changed lives. He will be sorely missed.” Jonathan Drake again: “Karl, John, and I got a chance to reminisce before and after the ceremony. John and I, along with Steve Gleason, roomed with Mark our senior year down at Flagg House on the former Abbot campus. Marcia, whom Karl, John, and I didn’t actually know (or remember), pegged us in the crowd (Croll’s Andover swimming cap was a dead giveaway) and nicely came up to say hello and chat following the ceremony. ... Several of us, including Mark, had been starting to put together plans for a mini reunion of the six of us who had migrated to Flagg House, plus some other close friends. No one would have predicted that Mark, who remained in top shape until the day he died, would not be able to join us.” Karl added a coda, written in the terse, constricted voice of a man choked with emotion: “A wonderful ceremony in all respects. ... Mark and Bonny raised three great kids. ... The outpouring of love and admiration from the multitude of folks who attended was amazing. As no surprise, ‘Moke’ made an indelible impression on everyone he met.” An obituary for Mark appears in the In Memoriam section of this issue of Andover. As if that sobering news is not enough to prompt us all to carpe diem, then the fact we’re all proximate to a big birthday with a zero should emphasize the point. I sent a blast e-mail to everyone in our class for whom PA had an address seeking ideas for a group party. This prompted an excellent harvest of news that will follow, but some housekeeping first: If you did not get an e-mail from me just after Labor Day, PA does not have your e-mail. That may be just the way you like it, but if not, operators (at PA’s Office of Academy Resources) are standing by. [Editor’s note: See box, page 72.] On to a 1974 birthday party. Dana Delaney loved the idea, citing “safety in numbers.” Jim Troup suggested Las Vegas (no comment necessary). Chuck Smith suggested someplace warm, noting that “Upstate New York winters drag on—even for a native Minnesotan!” By the time you read this, plans will be gelled, and if we can reach you, you’ll be invited! Priscilla Martel is occupied with what she calls the “same old, same old—working on the sixth edition of my textbook On Cooking. ... Andover | Winter 2016
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