1960

Dimitri Sevastopoulo
dsevastopoulo@gmail.com

A message from Jim Zurn: “Jerry and I have so far done rather well during the nine months or so of health restrictions. We are trying for a ‘safe, but not claustrophobic’ existence. Daily lattes and groceries as needed, even dining in where allowed, but no friends or relatives. Face masks are getting to be like seatbelts here in D.C. We miss Clara and her family, who are greatly restricted in Nairobi; Molly ’89, who has done remote work for 20 years at ERSI and her M.D. husband, who serves in the ER in Reno; and Andrew ’89 in San Francisco, who is/was active at the Marine Mammal Center but has reduced hours as so few animals are rescued right now. We miss them very much. I often reflect on my years in Millville with mostly very fond memories.”

Christian Kurten writes: “Soon after the COVID-19 restrictions appeared in March, we decided to spend most of our time at our summer cottage in the archipelago in Western Finland rather than at home in Helsinki. In Finland, a significant part of the population has a summer cottage of some kind and the government recommended not to use them as there were fears that visitors would overload the thin healthcare resources in the areas where there are a lot of summer cottages. We decided that with two able drivers and a three-hour drive home, we were not reliant on the local resources, and thousands of other couples in the risk group over 70 decided the same. The overload never materialized. The government took determined action and put existing emergency legislation into use and the people generally responded well to the restrictions and the first wave soon subsided in Finland. The spring and early summer went well here; the weather was fine, and we were finally able to do many things at the summer cottage. Physical contacts with other people were minimal. The original plan for the late spring and summer was to spend three months sailing our new motorboat from Amsterdam through Holland, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden to Finland. Throughout May, the restrictions kept changing and were, in fact, quite difficult to track, and as there was no assurance that summer 2021 would be without problems in any of the areas we would need to pass through, we decided to have the boat shipped by ship in late May and enjoyed a good boating season here in Finland. Currently, we are experiencing a second COVID-19 wave and restrictions are getting tighter again. In Finland, the incidence rate is now over 60 (the number of new infections in the last 14 days per 100,000 population) whereas in Europe generally it ranges from 200 to 900. So far, we have a total of under 400 deaths in a population of 5.5 million. From the summer, we have been able to meet our children and grandchildren but meetings with friends have been very few. We are planning to go to Lapland for skiing after Christmas, but it remains to be seen if new restrictions will prevent that. We certainly hope that most restrictions will have been lifted by next summer, but it is anybody’s guess as to what extent that will happen.”

COVID-19 restrictions did not stop Bill Burnham from his summer sailing pastime. Aboard his sloop, Panda, Bill participated in a planned club cruise to the Cape and Islands. With all the shore dining restrictions and assemblages of no more than six in Massachusetts, what started out with 40 boats whittled down to 17. On Nantucket, reservation attempts were made at 10 restaurants only to have all cancel. Meals were largely on board, and to add insult to injury, Tropical Storm Isaias further broke up the fleet as all scattered to various harbors for refuge. Panda rode out the storm in Edgartown in 35 knot winds.

Jud Phelps shares: “I am in the middle of writing my family history – fascinating that it is bringing back lost, warm, and sad memories. COVID-19 has enabled me to undertake this project. I am not in any rush but am enjoying the process. I’ve discovered reading, having never been a big pleasure reader. I have gotten involved in several charity causes – housing for the homeless (50 beds, men and women, in four homes in Hyannis, Mass., I am on the Board of Directors). I have helped with six others, including starting a low-rate loaning project for ex-prisoners to help them pay auto licensing fines, first and last months’ rent, and work uniforms when needed. The project is a nonprofit named FAIR, Financial Assistance for Re-entry. I volunteer for several Episcopal Church projects. I have kept busy enough and feel productive trying to help those less blessed, a la the SPS Missionary Society. Thanks for listening. Happy holidays and stay safe. This too will pass.”

From Jarvis Wilcox: “Since we have all, especially those of us whose lives are well below the yardarm, been encouraged/ordered/cajoled to stay at home and not move about more than absolutely necessary, I have been confined to my studio. There I have worked on projects my wife, Coke Anne, and I have talked of for years, but done little to realize. She has now written, and I have illustrated, a children’s book of sibling rivalry using our three pets as the personae. Should be delivered to our doorstep soon. Then we have, for far too long, been slowly putting together a Book of Feasts, one for each month celebrating its important events (for us). To date, I have done about 15 still life paintings celebrating some of the ingredients of a few of the feasts. The best of these paintings demand much looking and ruminating. They are definitely not cartoons or caricatures. No wonder still life is not ‘in’ for now. So much in so little, this is the nature of still life at its best. I have studied such paintings now more than ever in these disturbing times with far more questions than hard and fast answers. In response to a critic, Chardin said in my free translation, ‘A painter uses color, but paints with emotion.’ This I firmly believe.”

Loring Woodman writes: “Some years ago, Charlie Thomson found me hiding in the not-so-private billionaire wilderness of Jackson Hole. As a veteran journalist, Charlie thought you classmates might be interested in my work as former board chair of WyoFile.com, a non-partisan, investigative, digital news source that is doing a remarkable job of covering our state’s many underreported issues. Wyoming’s small-town papers used to write about these topics regularly and reliably, but over the last 10 years, our local outlets have been failing because their traditional advertising revenue has been co-opted by Silicon Valley’s social media behemoths. This disturbing nationwide trend has drawn the attention of some major journalism foundations, including a relatively new one called The American Journalism Project (AJP). Last December, AJP made its first 11 national grants to existing local journalism nonprofits across the U.S. Our grant was for an astonishing $205,000 per year for 2020, 2021, and 2022. You’re right if you think I’m crowing. You can learn more about AJP and WyoFile at this link to David Leonhardt’s December 10, 2020, opinion column in the New York Times: www.nytimes

.com/2019/12/10/opinion/local-news.html.”

Charlie Thomson sends this news: “Jackson Hole is a good place to sequester. While retaining a small townhouse in Philadelphia, I spent most time here in Wyoming. Have not returned to Philly since last February. Many interesting people in Jackson, including Loring Woodman, who ran the Darwin Ranch, which some of you know. Good fishing in many small streams, and I have a friend with his own raft. The news of the death of Ben Moyer hit very hard; so many wonderful experiences together in South America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the White Mountains, and Brookline. A wonderful, generous man and friend. I am pleased to see how SPS is dealing with difficult challenges, largely due to the extraordinary Rector and dedicated alumni. Eager to see classmates whenever we can reconvene in Millville.”

1961/60th

Ed Tiffany
edtiffany@gmail.com

1963

David Gordon, Jr.
gordon@highlands.com

Dudley Blodget writes: “It’s hard for me to come to terms with the passing of Peter Ames. We met as Third Formers at SPS in 1959. This brash kid from New York City was already larger than life. Incredibly smart and talented, he had a swagger to him that was a bit over the top. Both of us were reasonably good athletes, who became quite sympatico on the soccer pitch. Deft and shifty, Peter played with both poise and elan. Sixth Form year, we were coached by a recently arrived Englishman, Mike Theobald, who really understood the game of soccer. He had high standards about team play and insisted we polish our boots before each game. I think Peter was quite a delight for Mr. Theobald since Peter was such a New York kid and Mr. Theobald a somewhat proper Brit. Be that as it may, come the last game of our undefeated senior season, we found ourselves playing the Dartmouth freshman team, which was also undefeated. It was a thrilling game that ended in a tie, as I recall. And, so, my lifelong friendship with Peter was launched. We played varsity soccer together at Harvard. After, we traveled the world with other buddies of ours (male and female), invariably finding ourselves in precarious circumstances because Peter never liked to pay full freight for anything, often citing, ‘I’m a scholarship kid’ (which he was), to whomever would listen. Getting tossed out of first-class cabins on steamers in the Mediterranean, believing we could climb Mt. Arrarat, a snow-covered mountain in eastern Turkey, with one pair of crampons, and so on, and so forth – all this was Peter Ames in his prime, ‘shaking and baking’ and enjoying life. I am going to miss Peter. We never lost touch with each other. We both married lovely women who put up with us, delivered some sparkling children, and fortunately became friends with each other. It is so cruel the vicious disease, which in the end took his life, also took his mind before he passed. He was some guy.”

Bill Funk writes: “After 34 years of teaching constitutional law, environmental law, and administrative law at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Ore., and authoring several books and numerous articles, I officially retired in 2017 as the Lewis and Clark Distinguished Professor of Law. Nevertheless, I continued to teach one course in the fall semester until this year, when I underwent a total knee replacement, which was probably less painful than trying to hybrid teach in this COVID-19 environment. In Portland, my wife, Renate, and I enjoy getting together with our son, Andy ’95, and his family. When this is published, we’ll be in Ojai, Calif., where we winter away from the Oregon rain and near our two other children and their families.”

A note from John Gaines: “Pat and I have been married for 56 years (November 27, 1964), had our first of three children (John V) in June 1965, first grandchild in May 1988, and first great-grandchild in April 2010. Can anyone beat that? Pat was an elementary school teacher in Ithaca, N.Y., and I was an administrator in nonprofit residential work with court-placed teens. We’re both now retired. I’ve enjoyed volunteering with the Cornell women’s hockey program. There are three SPS’ers on the team – Bella Kang ’18, Gillis Frechette ’18, and Finley Frechette ’17. We’ve enjoyed traveling in Europe, South America, and Southern Africa, and camping through Canada and the U.S., including Alaska. When we’re not on the road, we live in Groton, N.Y.”

Bill Adler writes: “I am certainly part of our ‘silent’ Form, largely since I was a short timer at SPS. However, for the sake of accurate COVID-19 reporting, I thought I’d chime in. After retirement, my wife, Alice, and I are in Tampa, Fla., and doing just fine. We have two daughters and three grandchildren in Florida and North Carolina.”

From Billings, Mont., Jim Taylor “prays that our SPS ski group will be able to reunite once again this year. This tradition has persevered for at least 40 years. The group includes Brink Thorne, Ian McLaughlin, Scotty MacLeod, Harry Atherton, Dick Hawkins, and Peter van Roijen. We are resolved that somehow we will ski together in some way this winter. Lots of replacement joints have made this possible.”

1965

Bob Hall
ro.hall@northeastern.edu

Eric Saunders
esaunders@bernsteinshur.com

David Parshall writes: “Robert Pennoyer ’43 was the guest speaker and honoree at this year’s Memorial Day service held in the cemetery of St. Peter’s Church in Millbrook, N.Y. Bob valiantly sallied forth to Millbrook for the filming of the service in May in spite of the challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was an honor for me to introduce Bob. His stirring and moving remarks have been broadly acclaimed. Both Bob and I received many laudatory comments. The in-person congregation was limited due to the social distancing at the time of filming, but Bob’s sons, Peter ’75 and Russell, attended in person. St. Peter’s Church was also the church of Carney Weeks ’43, who is buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery, and of Rod Lindsay ’43. I am confident that both of them were present in spirit for the service, or at least for Bob’s remarkable remarks (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVOYzBsmMk).”

1966/55th

Hugh Clark
hclark@ursinus.edu

1967

John Landes
Jlandes1948@yahoo.com

I have continued to host a live jazz radio show, The Jam Session Radio Hour, on the National Public Radio station in Southampton, N.Y., WLIW, 88.3 FM. It is on Sunday nights at 8 p.m., and online at wliw.org/radio and on podcasts. I am also starting to do interviews to supplement our live jazz jams. Reach out if you want to air some of your jazz adventures.

Dave Rea shares this remembrance of Charlie Archer: “Charlie was my Sixth Form roommate and friend, and we stayed in touch post-SPS. He was a quiet soul, but a really bright guy and a super talented blues musician. And, he did the definitive, absolutely the best, imitation of Ronald J. Clark. He could not only do the ‘a-hut, a-hut, a-hut’ laughter, but also pertinent conversations like, ‘Harvard? Not a ghost of a chance’ and ‘Beloit? I like what they’re doing there. You should apply right away.’ One time, he cleared out the entire hallway in ‘20’ by doing the RJC laugh from around the corner in Conover – the kids all really thought Mr. Clark was in the building.”

Lanny MacDougall writes: “I was a very lucky man this August, for while using a farm tractor to brush hog the back fields, I hit a fallen tree in the tall grass and as the tractor jumped left, a second branch on the same fallen tree came in and snapped both bones in my left leg just above the ankle. It was dusk, I was in the back of beyond, no cell phone, and no one home. Blood and flesh were gushing out of my flopping leg so I knew I did not have long before blood loss was serious. I climbed down off the tractor, got on all fours, and crawled for 45 minutes to the road. I was in shock and throwing up but I knew I could not close my eyes! I had to wait at the road but soon enough a car stopped and called my wife and 911. One week in the hospital, five trips into the operating room for ‘debriding,’ two more trips to the OR for exoskeletal adjustments, and then eight weeks in bed. No weight, no movement, on guard for infections. My family care was superb and now, 12 weeks after the accident, I am walking on both legs with no pins, plates or screws. I suffered no vascular damage despite nearly severing the foot, no nerve damage, and the pain has been minimal. Being back on crutches reminded me of my first year at SPS when I lived in the infirmary for the winter (good old Dr. Walker) as I had a broken leg. At least I was excused from Chapel! Doc Walker wrote a letter that spring to my mother (I was a 12-year-old First Former) saying that I had been quite a challenging patient with a few too many pranks, but he ended it by saying, ‘I guess if you were a seller, I would be a buyer.’ I took it as a compliment! That is the latest news from ho-hum valley in Pennsylvania.”

Chris Pleatsikas writes in with this news: “In this crazy year, my longtime companion and I decided to break the monotony and take a road trip during the summer to a very remote ranch in Wyoming. Having taken all the appropriate precautions, she indulged her memories of visiting a dude ranch in Wyoming as a child (and did a lot of riding). I have never been on a horse and was not about to start riding, so I did a lot of hiking in the nearby wilderness areas, as well as engaging in cleanup along a wilderness road strewn with a lot of old beer cans. Now I come to the real reason for my news. On the way back, we stopped by for an enjoyable visit with Charlie Gagarin in Carson City, Nev. I had forgotten to mention him in my last news bit and wanted to rectify that omission. Charlie is one of the few formmates I have been able to keep in contact with over the years and is doing well in Nevada, having (among other things) constructed an impressive stone circle in his backyard.”

1969

Eliot Larson
ewlarson@comcast.net

Since the onset of COVID-19 last spring, Gail and I have been in Maine, where the incidence of the virus is much less than in Boston. Like everyone else, our plans to visit with family and friends over the summer were either canceled or significantly altered to comply with state guidelines. After 14 years, I retired from my second career as a facilitator for the National Institute for School Leadership at the end of June. Coincidentally, my last cohort was here in Maine, and they were a very strong group of school leaders, so I was fortunate to be able to end on such a high note. Despite all the many stresses, inconveniences, and changes we’ve all had to make, all members of our family are safe and healthy, and we feel grateful for our many blessings.

Charlie Scribner is executive producer – and interviewed in – the upcoming documentary Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story. You can find the trailer on YouTube by searching that title.

Sims Wyeth and his wife, Sharon, continue to hunker down in their home in Montclair, N.J. Sims Wyeth & Co, Inc. is now on the chopping block, and within a month will be done, over and out, if Sims has anything to do with it, which he does. Sharon is hard at work on another children’s book, and their only child, Gogo (short for Georgia), is thriving as an artist in Rotterdam and other hot spots in Europe. Finally, Sims and Sharon are on the verge of getting a new dog. They prefer Standard Poodles. That’s the news from Montclair, where the pandemic is raging and Sims and Sharon are laying low.

Locke Besse writes: “I am a transgender woman. Note that I did not say ‘becoming’ or ‘intending to become.’ Gender dysphoria is hard wired into my brain, not a condition I have developed over 69 years. So, what am I doing about it? Like many before me, I am on a path of full evolution into physically becoming the woman I am already in my soul, at my core. Not an easy process – counseling, hormone replacement therapy, hair restoration (and removal from tender spots), acquiring a new wardrobe, learning how to apply makeup, facial feminization surgery, vocal training, bottom surgery, and perhaps breast augmentation (though Finasteride and the hormones seem to be doing an adequate job.) There are also the logistical issues of formal name change and coming out to family, friends, and others. Interestingly, the last has not bothered me particularly. It seems to be an issue for many trans women, but not in my case. Regarding name change, I will become Bryona (pronounced Bree-on-a) Locke Besse. Many think that I should just stick with Locke; they think it is gender neutral enough, but I wanted something more feminine and Bryona just felt right. It affirms the new me while maintaining a link to my past. I am on an aggressive schedule to accomplish everything before my 70th birthday on June 3. The biggie, vaginoplasty, will be done on May 18 in San Francisco by Dr. Heidi Wittenberg, herself a trans woman and arguably the most experienced transgender surgeon in the country. There are many reasons why I have come to this point – the main one being awakening to, and embracing, the reality of who I really am. My journey began at SPS 55 years ago when I obtained a copy of the biography of Christine Jorgensen; once I finished reading it, I thought: ‘I’ve always wanted to be a woman; maybe someday I can.’ The clincher is that my wife, Carol, is totally supportive. That is often not the case. I am blessed to have someone that understanding. We have recently become re-engaged. We intend to remarry in San Francisco as wife and wife, probably in mid-to late-June – once I have recovered from the surgery somewhat. I have to be in San Francisco for at least a month for pre-op and post-op. I am happy to answer any and all questions people may have; no subject is taboo. I literally have nothing to hide. This has been the most exhilarating, affirming, and freeing decision I have ever made. One of the most common questions is that I just don’t seem to fit the stereotype of the somewhat effeminate, slight of build loner who has always been a bit of an outcast and hated his maleness from an early age. And you would be right, that is not me. But transgender women come in all shapes, sizes, ages, flavors, and types. I do not despise or regret my maleness. It has served me well. I have three wonderful children and five grandchildren. None would exist without my embracing my birth gender, if only for a season. But my male body is not me at my essence, and I am evolving (I prefer this to transitioning) into the physical person I was always meant to be, in the same way a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. My pupal stage is almost behind me. With much love and appreciation, Locke becoming Bryona.”

Jesse (“Bill”) Markham shares: “I regret missing our reunions and hope to make the next big one. I continue to practice antitrust law but have fully retired from teaching after some bouncing between the University of San Francisco and Berkeley a few years back. I am becoming a (very novice) wine maker, which one is easily drawn into here in Carmel Valley where cattle grazing is slowly replaced with vines and tasting rooms. Still running on these aging bones with wishful sights set on the Portland, Ore., marathon next fall. So far, it’s just a lot of fun saying I’ll do it.”