George Host
nghost@me.com
Charlie Bronson
chasbronson@gmail.com
Bob Stockman
stockman@groupoutcome.com
Dawes Cooke sends this news: “We are mostly hunkered down here in Charleston but doing well. We were hoping our annual dinner with Marilyn and Robin Beran would still be able to happen in May, but Kiawah Island is presently closed to visitors. Our first grandson, Cooper (SPS ’34), just turned two, and grandson No. 2, Dawes IV (SPS ’36), is due in June.”
A message from Dave Holt: “Happened to be sipping the family whiskey (Jameson) when Charlie Bronson’s note came in. Spoke to John Henry Low the other day, and before that to Jeff Keith – and Dierk Groeneman, who invited me and Donna to SF. Starting this Canadian health media company HUM@Nmedia – great sector, strange timing. Writing a book on PTSD and creativity. Son, Ben, the all-purpose guitarist in Texas just married Li Liu, vocalist from Taiwan, ahead of schedule, as the virus and wacky government policies close in. Ben is an observant reporter/storyteller. Daughter Claire’s son, Oscar, continues his multi-track studies in entertainment and engineering. Looking at the U.S., now from Canada – it’s bad theatre.”
A note from Lin Giralt: “Turned 65, got on Medicare, am devoting more time to teaching business administration. I haven’t had a chance to connect with any Paulies except Henry Florsheim to whom I’ve sent a couple of messages, but the new Rector’s Houston visit was canceled. My wife and I spent a week in Cozumel revisiting our honeymoon in 1980, while celebrating our 40th anniversary. That was in mid-March, and when I came back to the U.S. the coronavirus exploded. Amazing journey. So glad to count all of you as my partners along this near 50-year journey. Let’s stick together. Be safe, every year we must love each other more.”
Robin Beran shares: “Each June, Marilyn and I venture for a few days to Kiawah. Sometimes for a conference, others just to enjoy. The past few years Dawes Cooke and his wife Helen have joined us for dinner. On two occasions Dawes and I have played Ocean Course. This year is up in the air. Plans made but with this pandemic, not sure going to make it happen. Unable to do surgery and the practice is at a halt. So far, good health is the saving grace.”
Doug Chan was elected president of the Chinese Historical Society of America. Since the organization’s founding in 1963, CHSA has been dedicated to preserving Chinese American history and telling stories to enlighten a new generation. Its museum and learning center in San Francisco attract thousands of visitors each year (www.chsa.org).
Whit Wagner
wagner@clearbrookadvisors.com
This from Matt Dallet: Wes Kinnear spent the summer of 2019 fishing his way from San Francisco across Canada to the Maritimes. Before he turned homeward, I collared him for a mini-reunion in Brooklin, Maine, with Bo Chesney, James Caviston, and Mitch Wondolowski. A highlight was our trip on Bo’s yacht to visit Eagle Island Light, a 19th c. lighthouse now managed by friends of Bo’s from which one can see across Eastern Penobscot Bay.
(L. to r.) Rob Deans ’73, Alden Stevens ’73, Clive Altshuler ’73, and Gabrielle Porter Dennison ’74 (front) got together in December.
Dorien Nuñez ’75 uses this SolarScope to observe the sun.
Deb Sistare Holsapple ’72, Art Sistare ’74, Carl Lovejoy ’75, and Tom Painchaud ’74 saw Deb and Art’s nephew, Ian, play his final basketball games for Dartmouth.
Owen Andrews
owenandrews1@gmail.com
I’m spending this time of social distance in Provincetown, where I arrived in March for a long break from my administrative role at Harvard before the virus was being taken seriously in the U.S. I have fallen in love with the beauty of this place in the off-season, and greatly enjoy the long walks in the dunes and on the beaches, but it is strange to be apart from my family, all of whom are in Cambridge in the aftermath of college semesters and other plans being upended.”
From Dorien Nuñez: “I’m self-isolating at my home in New Orleans, one of the early epicenters for COVID-19. Still consulting to small businesses, pension funds, and money managers, focused on helping pension funds meet funding challenges and improving their track record in the hiring of women and minorities and their use of diverse managers and brokers. SPS started my path on Wall Street, when Bill Moore ’58 and Sam Callaway ’59 hired a group of us as messengers at Bankers Trust and Morgan Guaranty. I have expanded my own internship and mentorship program called OMNI WALL ST. ADVANTAGE that teaches financial literacy to high school and college students online and mentors them to get jobs in the investment industry. I am currently judging a student contest on ESG and working on climate change. I keep myself busy by serving on the board of the Harvard Club of Louisiana and other community endeavors. I still play saxophone and, thanks to Walter Hawley, I still have my love of astronomy.”
Spencer B. Fulweiler
fulweilers@me.com
Last week, I declared myself an Essential Parent for Emma Fulweiler ’16. Days before the lease was scheduled to run out on her college apartment, I flew to Detroit to rent a car and drive home to California with her and her possessions. We planned our route across the country to create opportunities to visit a few of our more far-flung formmates, if circumstances allowed. And they did allow, and our contacts and visits demonstrated the resiliency of the Form of 1976 in the face of COVID-19. Our schedule was tight, but we had a delightful and appropriately distanced lunch with Valerie Minton Webster on her porch in Bozeman, Mont. She is thriving and fully her ebullient self. I also had a dialog with Karla Drewsen, who is well in Clackamas, Ore. COVID-19 is giving her plenty of time to contemplate where life will lead her in the wake of her recent retirement. And she roasts her own coffee! Cate Coombs Moye in Spokane, Wash., is busy with her business, despite the recent national calamity. She had a morning meeting and our schedule was too tight to meet in person, but the warm invitation was there. Finally, on our last day, we went off the grid to the mountaintop retreat in remote Willits, Calif., to share a few moments, and a fabulous tuna fish sandwich, with Kim Bancroft. Clearly, social distancing is no impediment to hospitality. Thank you to everyone for your openness and good will.
At the Meet The Rector event in San Francisco in February, Charlie Altekruse and Jeff von der Schulenburg joined me to welcome and applaud Kathy Giles.
Grace Tung writes: “Full circle: When I moved to Chicago in 1982, I swore I would never again live in N.H. I was born and raised there, and it was time to seek out exciting, sophisticated, and ‘happening’ places. Long story short, after a 20-year career in healthcare management, after having lived in Philadelphia, N.J. (twice), D.C.’s Bay Area (twice), and Austin, after eight years of owning a yoga studio in N.J., I returned to N.H. in 2015 to help care for my recently widowed and elderly mother. With her death in 2017, I was left to wonder, ‘Now what?’ Since 2003, I had been teaching yoga part-time, and continue to do so at a few locations in Southern N.H. One of those locations is now SPS. As of October, I’ve been teaching two weekly classes to faculty, staff, retirees and spouses as part of their wellness program. It’s interesting being back. Things were familiar yet different. Then, lo and behold, who should show up for one of my classes but our very own Toni King Callahan. So nice to re-connect.”
A note from Alison Zetterquist: “I’ve been living the life we all have, sheltering in place and reassured by having the ones I love with me and all of us kept sane by long walks. All in all, I count my blessings. I’ve been delighted by my continued work with Spencer Fulweiler, looking to the future and planning his party in Bar Harbor (Acadia National Park).”
Spencer Fulweiler ’76 and his daughter, Emma ’16, enjoyed lunch with Valerie Minton Webster ’76 in Bozeman, Mont.
Liz Maxwell-Schmidt ’77 is an attending physician at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Md.
Nora Tracy Phillips
noratphil@aol.com
Jon Sweet
Jsweet1000@gmail.com
Andy Goodspeed reports from Beverly, Mass., that he is still with us, and especially grateful to be so given current events. He and his wife have been shepherding two children through teen years and into college. Though now that the four of them are locked inside together for many weeks, some new tests of tolerance and forgiveness are looming in the near future. How is it that life in a dormitory with dozens of other teenagers sometimes seems easier than living with just two teenagers? Maybe it was because we had to be outside every day in the pleasant New Hampshire weather, if we wanted to eat a meal? Not only was it a long walk to get to the Upper, but uphill both ways, too. That’s what he tells the children, anyway. Ah, memories.
A note from Donald (D.J.) Mitchell: “I’m happy to report that my family remains healthy during this uncertain time. Social distancing has been hard on the kids. Ethan (15) was cast as the Mad Hatter in his high school’s production of Alice in Wonderland, but that’s on indefinite hold. Sammy (5) is bored, with accompanying acting out, from losing his daily structure and peer contact at kindergarten. But we’re well and I still have a job, so it’s hard to complain. I finished my M.Div. in December and started Healing Refuge Fellowship (HealingRefuge.org) as a ministry to people in recovery. We’ve moved our meetings online, which is a big transition for a not-overly-tech-savvy guy like me. I’ve also been officially appointed to this ministry by Virginia Mennonite Missions, who will match any donations made. Hopefully starting in June, this will be my full-time vocation. Meanwhile, I’m putting the finishing touches on a book that hopes to bring understanding of addiction to those who are not afflicted. I’ve published several novels, but this will be my first nonfiction book.”
Els Collins shares: “One of the ways we’ve kept our staff busy is by building PPE (cloth masks). It’s been very heartening, as we’ve been able to supply masks to the volunteers distributing food to the community at USC. https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/sda-production-staff-manufactures-masks-for-healthcare-professionals/. Hang in there.”
Liz Robbins
lizrobbins325@gmail.com
Sarah Bankson Newton
sarah.b.newton@gmail.com
Editor's Note: In the midst of all of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic, we received the unbelievably sad news of the sudden death of our friend and form director, George Schwab. George died on May 2 in New York City, leaving his wife, Monique Lodi, and two sons, Henry and Ethan, along with many other family and friends, including his sister, Tatine Schwab Kimmick ’81. There will be a complete obituary in the fall issue of Alumni Horae.
Here in Concord, Mass., we are well into the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. My husband, son, and I have been isolating at home since March 15, except for rare trips to the grocery store. My oldest daughter, Avery, and her husband, Kevin, have been isolated and working from home in Needham, Mass. Lindsay and her boyfriend are third-year med students at Tufts in the Maine Track program, and are self-quarantined at home in Portland after the last six weeks of their clinical rotations were canceled. I have suddenly become an expert at Zoom, thanks to my role chairing the board of Esperanza Academy, a tuition-free, lottery-based admission girls middle school in Lawrence, Mass., that was founded by two Episcopal Church vestries. It is the hardest and most important work I have ever done. And some uplifting news – Alan Khazei is running for Congress (alankhazei.com) in the 4th district of Massachusetts, for the seat currently occupied by Joe Kennedy. Alan’s campaign is energetic and inspiring, and he has continued to be a leader in service by publishing COVID-19 action plans, hosting virtual town halls, and proposing solutions for small businesses in the current economic crisis. Alan’s daughter, Mirabelle, will turn 18 in the spring, and will cast her first vote for her dad in the primary in September.”
A note from Lisa (Harrison) Lemmon: “Checking in from Villanova. This social distancing is problematic. Daughter Barclay is expecting our first grandchild in early May. Older son, BG, was supposed to get married on May 9. Some momentous occasions can be postponed; others can’t. Youngest child, Petey, is enjoying a gap year and is thankfully home now after traveling abroad. He’s heading to Tufts.”
A message from Elisabeth (Lili) Cassels-Brown: “Greetings from coronavirus lockdown in Vienna. University course is partly up and running online. An organizational development firm I work for has asked me for the recording of a mindfulness exercise to send to clients. Maylo and I get out three times a day, which helps a lot. We hope all are healthy and weathering the necessary restrictions of movement well. Take care, all, and stay healthy. (P.S. Aren’t you glad we had our 40th last year and not this year. And wasn’t it a grand time?)”
Els Collins ’78 teaching online (in her living room), and managing the last five productions in the 2020 spring season at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.
Roger Platt ’79 with Annie Duke ’83 at the FHLBanks Insurance Conference last summer in Chicago.