stay connected... scholarship after passing the French Baccalauréate very early. He returned to Paris and became a nuclear physicist at one of the Grandes Écoles and then at MIT, beginning a lifelong love affair with America. He served for 30 years as Andover’s representative in France, interiewing dozens of candidates for admission. Tom writes: “I am privileged to have been his close friend all these years. We met regularly in many countries. He visited me in most of my foreign-service posts and in Washington. I enjoyed his hospitality in Japan when he was the French nuclear attaché for the Far East. He called a year ago and told me that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I asked if he would start chemo. His reply was that he and his wife, Jaqueline, were leaving in a few days for Laos and Cambodia. They traveled frequently. Even after his diagnosis, he lived a full life until the last two weeks. Tom states that since they moved to Vienna 15 years ago, they had many chances to meet. Pat leaves behind Jaqueline, four children, including a daughter they adopted in Vietnam during the War, two stepchildren, and many grandchildren. Knowing Pat enriched my life.” Steve Yamamoto writes, “Sad to hear about Patrick’s death. He was the attaché when we returned in 1970. We had lunch and corresponded for some time after he left the post.” Ozzie Ayscue adds that he grew up with Tom Dove in Monroe, NC. Tom and his wife, Marge, both retired from lifelong careers in the U.S. Foreign Service and are living in Vienna. Angus Deming ’44, class secretary, received the Silver Star for his actions in Korea on June 2, 1951. I had the great honor of writing the article in The Blue Guidon, The Newsletter of Andover and the Military, and getting to know him: http://bit.ly/2l4TRly. The Riders had a great holiday and the run-up to it. Grandson Graham was singled out for his stint as manager of Valley High’s playoff football team in a wonderful article in the New London paper and postseason award ceremony. He attended Andover Summer Session, got great grades, and carried the American flag in the final parade. Six hundred kids attended. Grandson Bradley set a freshman record in lacrosse: 51 goals and 30 assists. He made the honor roll. Granddaughter Victoria, in 8th grade, received high honors and already has been recognized by two lacrosse powerhouses. Last but not least, Duncan received high honors, is a great lacrosse player, and just completed the Holiday Hockey tournament, in which he was a runner-up, scoring eight goals and seven assists—his first year on the ice! Dorothy and I are holding up. Daughter Jennifer ’86 is thriving, as are son Graham and daughter-in-law Paulette.
42
Andover | Summer 2017
www.andover.edu/intouch 1952 65th REUNION June 9–11, 2017
ABBOT
Mary “Molly” Edson Whiteford 149 Pine Valley Road Lake Oswego, OR 97034 503-636-0980 mwhiteford149@gmail.com
PHILLIPS Alan Messer 7302 Eleanor Circle Sarasota, FL 34243 941-388-8767 alan.messer@supersenior.info
Geoff Brittin writes of his recent move with spouse Jirapa from Tennessee to Gig Harbor, WA (on Puget Sound, with a splendid view of Mount Rainier). Geoff recalls living in Seattle in the (quiet) ’40s, but now has traffic that is the second worst in the country and otherwise comparable to the San Francisco Bay Area. Their son is a radiologist in nearby Tacoma, and his son’s wife is an assistant professor of chemistry at UW in Seattle. No grandchildren yet (but hopeful). Geoff wrote descriptively about the beauty and variety of their property and the nearby state park. They’ve made friendships while hiking—including with a plastic surgeon who turns out to be a PA alum, Justin Piasecki ’92. Geoff practices clarinet, piccolo trumpet, and flugelhorn “almost every day” and follows classical-music broadcasts on KING from Seattle. He noted that Lloyd Farrar would have loved a Swedish trombone concerto recently performed by the Bremerton Symphony Orchestra, and that he misses Mike Bromberg, one of his roommates in Tower House with Harris Faigel and Glen Bridges in 1948–49. Class President Ed Selig reports than he, Hubie Fortmiller, and Joe Wennik continue to work on plans for our 65th Reunion June 9–11. It will be our last reunion as a class, as we’ll be integrated into the Old Guard thereafter. Ed goes on to say that “other parts of my time are devoted to presenting seminars on literature…continuing with classical piano lessons, and working out to maintain physical fitness despite the compromises of aging.” Hubie copy-edited a book last year about the influential “Harkness method” of teaching at Exeter (students seated in an oval, discussing ideas with minimal teacher intervention). He reckons they engaged an Andover guy to take the blame for any meddling. Dave Hill reports that his wife died last May, just four days after their 50th anniversary. Gisele’s brain
cancer had reemerged after a 12-year remission. Condolences to Dave and their two supportive children. Sounds as though he’s doing fine: “Life has its bumps, but I am very grateful for my many blessings.” Denny Donegan and his wife recently moved from their 30-year Georgia home to a nearby condo—a welcome reduction in housekeeping for Roxana. Denny’s given up a 43-year hobby of refereeing amateur hockey to concentrate on shooting his age on the golf course. He hopes to attend our 65th. Joe Falcone leads a peripatetic life, as he’s visited many countries (Europe: 21, Southeast Asia: 10, South America: 7) and lived for five years in Japan. Since 1993, he’s been fleeing the cold Pennsylvania weather for sunshine and warmth. This year it’s “another long visit” in Medellín, Colombia, from whence he writes from Internet cafés using one of his multiple email aliases. Back in October, Joe, encouraged by our reunion coordinator, traveled by public bus to attend the Jefferson-Hamilton debate staged in Lower Manhattan. It turns out the 1790s were just as fraught as our present national circumstances. Joe’s door prize was a welcome copy of Head of School John Palfrey’s Biblio Tech. Geri I have done some traveling, too: an Alaska cruise at the end of August, and Thanksgiving in Toledo with our daughter and her family. Then, in early December, I spent three days each visiting sons in Grass Valley, CA, and Sedona, AZ (my Geoff). Peter McIntyre corresponded last spring with alumni staff wondering whether they might resurrect some form of bulletin board similar to one previously available for sharing photos and text (in greater length than possible in class notes). Peter asks that we and they “gauge interest among classmates” for a trial of an experimental replacement. Any interest? We just received news of Ed Hurley’s passing on Jan. 2, 2017, in NYC’s Mount Sinai Hospital after a brief illness. Ed graduated from Harvard in 1956, earned a law degree from Boston College Law School in 1963, and served in the U.S. Navy. Little was provided about his career aside from volunteer service as a tour guide on the USS Intrepid. Ed is survived by his wife, Christina, of West Hartford, CT, three children, and seven grandchildren. Bulletin board interest or not, please send me notes about your activities and life events.
1953 ABBOT
Patricia Eveleth Buchanan 9 The Valley Road Concord, MA 01742 978-369-6838 pebl35@comcast.net
This April marks the 10th anniversary of Non Sibi Day, and in response to an invitation from the Non
Sibi Committee of the Andover Alumni Council asking classmates to share their experiences in community and learning services, I was delighted to hear from Dee Bethell Wroth and Julie Gaines Phalen. Dee wrote, “I served on the Sharon [VT] Planning Commission for 10 years and am in my fourth year as a reading mentor at the Sharon elementary school,” noting that, although her address is South Royalton, VT, Sharon is her hometown. Julie wrote, “For the past 10 years I have been an active volunteer in the Manatee County, FL, GAL (Guardian ad Litem) program. We advocate for children from birth to age 18 who have come into the judicial system through no fault of their own. Their mother and father each have a lawyer representing them, so we act as the child’s representative along with our GAL lawyer. We follow the child wherever he/she may be placed once they have been removed from their family situation. This may take a year, often more, but always we are to act ‘in the best interests of the child.’ This organization is nationwide, sometimes called CASA.” Julie adds, “All is well in the sunny South. Always glad to be here in the winter months and in Vermont in the summer. NO COMPLAINTS!” Natalie Starr, whose three children are raising a combined total of 11 children (one of whom is spending her high school junior year in Chile, and, according to her grandfather, “her Spanish is so fast, he needs a seat belt”), writes that she and her partner, Gayle, “have been together 27+ years and going strong. We moved into a [retirement community] four years ago and are very happy and involved here. We’ve made some very good friends with whom we have even traveled: this year around the British Isles, last year in Provence, and the year before in Albania. I turned 81 this year, and Gayle is practicing saying she’s 80 though it doesn’t happen until next September. We’re doing well, though we agree this getting-old nonsense is not for sissies.” Cornelia Nyce Kittredge sent a note on Dec. 31, which, she said, “seems like a fitting time to look back on the previous year, especially this New Year’s Eve when one gets the feeling that the upcoming year will be very different. One of the nicest things was the few days spent at the end of last summer with Abbot friends at the ocean’s edge in Kennebunkport. Pam [Bushnell Ellis] had rented a charming vintage cottage on a tidal inlet that she shared with Anne [Oliver Jackson] and husband Dick, and Betsy [Hitzrot Evans] and husband Dick [and your secretary]. I was included in their ramblings, and as I had lived in the area for 40 years, and it was fun to show them some of the local spots. But the best thing was reminiscing with classmates about those long-ago days. Betsy’s memory is incredible! Time after time she said ‘remember when’ and went on to describe some long-forgotten escapade or occasion, like the ski trip to Intervale, to jog our memories.” As I mentioned in the winter notes, our visit to Corny’s home in Arundel was a wonderful treat.
I had a note from Eva Stern Breckenridge not long after I’d returned from what has become my annual fungi foray in Italy; it was in response to my offer to send a copy of my cross-section of a morel paired beside an 18th-century Scotsman’s coiffure. Eva is a connoisseur of mushrooms in the wild, and she and her husband, Alan, are travelers. She wrote that they “both love going to Italy but for various reasons have been kept at home. Not a bad place to be.” With regard to the morel, she said, “I’ve only found morels once. My specialties are chanterelles or others, but this was not a great year for mushrooms. The first weeks of July were good, but not much after that. It is fun to go in the woods to look for mushrooms, as you know!” She continued, “I am in touch with Connie [Weldon LeMaitre] and have seen Bunty [Benedict Ferguson] in Florida last winter. All is well here in Vermont. We are lucky to have our two daughters and families living close by and our son and family in Rye, NY. As Alan says, we are blessed. I hope we can have some kind of reunion in the near future. All the best, Eva” I second that reunion, Eva! And I thank you all for all your news.
PHILLIPS Bill Joseph 225 W. 83rd St., Apt. 5Q New York, NY 10024 347-907-4647 (cell) wjoseph80@hotmail.com
At the beginning of November, I received a fabulous early Christmas gift. It’s a CD titled The Music Never Ends and it features lyrics from The Great American Songbook performed by our own fantastic chanteuse, Susan Watson, and produced by her hubby, Nort Wright. It’s available on CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon. I loved it. On Dec. 4 I attended a book launch/party for a new book by Paul Hull’s wife, Pamela: Say Yes! Flying Solo After Sixty, which is now available in paperback on Amazon. The book is described as “neither guide nor manual but insightful stories and intimate recounting for taking one’s life to another level of adventure and pleasure in our later years.” Turhan Tirana and his lovely wife, Denise Marcil, also attended. Lauro Halstead recently published on Amazon a memoir titled An Unexpected Journey: A Physician’s Life in the Shadow of Polio. It is available in softcover from Amazon and as a digital version on Amazon Kindle. John Snider reports: “When the Republican Party was unable to find a candidate to run for our local county commissioner, I volunteered. I’d served 10 years from 2002 to 2012. Had a good time, enjoyed it, and made a difference, so I said OK. With pretty good name recognition, I won with 60% of the vote in one of the few Michigan
counties that stayed Democratic. My wife and I enjoy reasonably good health, and our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Still love winter here, sunset over the big Lake Michigan, the only one totally bordered by the USA, and Muskegon Lake. Hope all is well with you.” Billie and Fred Fenton, in their Christmas letter, described 2016 as a year of surprises, including, inter alia, moving from the Bay Area to southern California and the presidential election. No surprise was continuing good news about his and Billie’s three granddaughters. Fred also wrote: “I met John Palfrey for the first time when he spoke at the Skirball [Cultural] Center in Los Angeles Nov. 15. He is an impressive guy. John told stories of unique opportunities enjoyed by Andover students. His speech received sustained applause. “I was impressed by his answers in the Q&A that followed. He gave a recap of his address to the students the day after the surprise result of the presidential election. His words to them (and us) were wise and wonderful. What a great head of school—perhaps the best in a long line of distinguished predecessors. “Jim Ventre ’79, dean of admission and financial aid, spoke on the success of the Need-Blind Admission Initiative, now celebrating 10 years of success in making Andover available to students regardless of their family’s ability to pay. This year 44 different states and 44 different countries are represented in the large, diversified student body. “We were shown a new film giving campus reactions to the Need-Blind Admission Initiative. It contained wonderful shots of students sharing their positive feelings about the program.” Joel Sharp forwarded biographical material originally prepared for the 55th reunion of the Class of 1960 at Stanford Law School. Highlights include that it was at Stanford Law that he met his wife-to-be, Winifred ’54. They each went on to distinguished legal careers, and both were honored at a luncheon by the Florida Bar for 50 years of dedication to the law. Along the way, Joel worked for the Atomic Energy Commission and Winnie worked for Covington & Burling in DC. Subsequently they moved to NYC while Joel obtained a master’s in tax law from NYU, and then to Orlando. Winnie, who graduated from Abbot, became a judge for the Florida District Court of Appeals in 1980 and served as such until her retirement. Also along the way, Joel served as class secretary for Stanford Law, ’60, for 20 years, and was a board member of Pan American Bank of Orlando, N.A., president of the Orlando County Bar, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar. Since 2010, the Sharps have five new grandchildren, and Joel has had two serious hospitalizations. He sounded fine and is fully recovered. Keep those cards, texts, emails, and letters coming. And don’t forget to send photos to Andover | Summer 2017
43