The Classes

Lorenna Ellis and Cameron Lee married in a two-part wedding over Zoom on July 4, with the first half in the Boise area and the second half in Orange County, Calif. In attendance/members of the wedding party were David Atkinson ’08; Alberto Castellón; Kara Kamikawa DeBaun; Marquita Ellis ’12, ’14 ScM; Julia Kim Ho ’12; Janice Kim; Holleigh Bergstrom Oliveira ’14, ’16 MAT; Christina Tang; and Jihoon Yoon ’13 MD. Cameron and Lorenna met through the Brown student group College Hill for Christ, dated briefly, and were next door neighbors in Young Orchard their senior year. They stayed in touch over the years and finally dated again following their eight-year class reunion. At their 10-year class reunion they got engaged at Prospect Park. Cameron is working at a family medicine clinic and Lorenna continues directing business systems for a Christian nonprofit. She will serve on the Alumni Board this year to help the class of ’09 build connections that support Brown and each other during these challenging times. They will be living in Los Angeles and look forward to a lifetime of growing and serving others together. 

Jihoon Yoon ’13 MD (see Lorenna Ellis ’09). 

Katharina Galor ’96 PhD and former Brown faculty member Sa’ed Atshan published The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians in June with Duke University Press. They drew on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to explore the asymmetric relationships between Germans and Israeli and Palestinian immigrants in the context of official German policies, public discourse, and the impact of coming to terms with the past. 

Toby Ward ’69 MAT retired 21 years ago as a physics professor at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Ill. In retirement, he enjoys golf, fishing, wood-splitting, and traveling with his wife. For the past 40 years, he has created stained glass houses, panels, and holiday items, which have been displayed at his local library, the CLC Gallery, and in the Dunn Museum. He lives with his wife in Lake Villa, Ill. His daughter, Dana, and three grandchildren live in Woodside, Calif., and his son, Ryan, and three grandchildren live in Antioch, Ill.

David Orsini ’66 AM, ’75 PhD, published Vanishing by Degrees and The Weaver of Plots. Vanishing by Degrees is scheduled to be introduced into the language arts curriculum in Cranston High School West, R.I.

Holleigh Bergstrom Oliveira ’16 MAT (see Lorenna Ellis ’09). 

Holleigh Bergstrom Oliveira ’16 MAT (see Lorenna Ellis ’09).

Emily J. H. Contois ’15 AM, ’19 PhD, published Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture with UNC Press in November.

Marquita Ellis ’14 ScM (see Lorenna Ellis ’09).

Krutika Parasar Raulkar published COVID-19: Inside the Global Epicenter: Personal Accounts from NYC Frontline Healthcare Providers. It shares the experiences of Krutika and colleagues in combating COVID-19 in heavily impacted New York City and is available on Amazon. 

Emilie Lygren has coauthored How to Teach Nature Journaling: Curiosity, Wonder, Attention. This is a teacher-friendly book that combines curriculum plans and practical advice so that educators can bring journaling to their students.

Kristin Richardson Jordan wrote this summer: “I am running for New York City Council in District 9, which is Central Harlem. I’m running a grassroots campaign for the primary against an incumbent who’s been in New York politics for more than 30 years. My platform is composed of six focus areas which can be simplified into the acronym HARLEM:

H: Holding police accountable and police abolition

A: Actually affordable housing

R: Redistribution of wealth

L: Living longer with more resources for our seniors, as well as gun control

E: Education for all and environmental justice

M: Meaningful change

If elected, I will be the second woman, the youngest ever, and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent District 9 on the Council. I would also be the first Black lesbian to serve on the City Council. More information about my platform can be found at www.kristinforharlem.com.”

Peter Wenstrup is a candidate for the U.S. Senate race in Louisiana. For more than a decade he has been teaching high school math, coaching basketball, and tutoring students in Louisiana schools.

Eddie Ahn was appointed in June to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the government agency that plans and finances transit throughout the nine-county Bay Area region and its 101 cities. He also works as the executive director of environmental justice nonprofit Brightline Defense and serves on two commissions that address urban sustainability and rising sea level in the Bay Area; the SF Commission on the Environment and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

Dan McElligott and Olma Fuentes (Williams College ’03) announce the April 19 birth of their daughter, Paloma Saoirse McElligott. She was born in Livingston, N.J. Paloma and her older sister, Denise, are doing well and enjoying time at home with their mom and dad.

Irving Fain ’02 is cofounder and CEO of Bowery Farming, a “vertical farm” operating in a New Jersey warehouse. The farm grows vegetables from seeds in a controlled, lab-like environment year-round, with less water and no pesticides. The company says it can be 100 times more productive than a traditional farm on the same footprint of land.

Dr. Peter Lee ’94, ’05 MD, ’15 PhD, the new cardiothoracic surgeon at Southcoast Health and assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown, is the recipient of the Grand-Cross of the Royal Equestrian and Military Order of Saint Michael of the Wing—the highest award bestowed by the Portuguese Roman Catholic dynastic order. He is also a flight surgeon with the U.S. Air Force and cofounder and chief medical officer for the innovative medical device company STARK Industries, LLC. He conducted three experiments that were sent to the International Space Station as reported in the Herald News.

Lisa Levenstein published They Didn’t See Us Coming: The Hidden History of Feminism in the Nineties in July with Basic Books. 

Rachel Moore was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in May. Founded in 1780, the Academy is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States.

Dr. Cheryl Anderson ’92, an epidemiologist known for her insights on how diet and nutrition factor into the development of heart and kidney disease and cancer, has been named founding dean of UC San Diego’s Wertheim School of Public Health. She becomes the first Black female dean in the nearly 60-year history of the campus. Already among UCSD’s top scientists, in 2016, Anderson was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the honorary society whose members include Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Jennifer Fries is a candidate for state representative, 24th Middlesex district in Massachusetts. She writes: “Running during a pandemic is difficult, yet good governance is more important than ever.” Fellow alums Reed Cochran ’90, Sarah Francis Holmes and her boyfriend David Kluft ’90, and Briel Schwartz Schmitz have been instrumental to the campaign, and many other classmates have been supporters. Learn more at www.jenniferfries.com.

Lucretia Kargère-Basco (see Michele D. Wilson Marincola ’81).

Michele D. Wilson Marincola and Lucretia Kargère-Basco ’90 published their book, The Conservation of Medieval Polychrome Wood Sculpture: History, Theory, Practice with the Getty Conservation Institute in August. Michele is a professor of conservation at the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, and Lucretia is a senior conservator at the Met Cloisters. Their book is the first in English to comprehensively discuss the history and methodology of conserving medieval polychrome wood sculpture. 

Judy Schaechter, chair of the department of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has been named a 2020-2021 health policy fellow by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Academy of Medicine. This fellowship, in Washington, D.C., will expand her involvement in health policy and child policy at the local and state levels to the federal level and empower her to bring those strategies back to the University of Miami to enhance its educational and community outreach work. She has been on the faculty of the Miller School of Medicine since 1997. She also holds an MBA in health sector management and policy from UM. Contact Judy at 1601 NW, 12th Ave., Miami 33136; (305) 243-3993. 

Micah Solomon published Ignore Your Customers (and They’ll Go Away): The Simple Playbook for Delivering the Ultimate Customer Service Experience with HarperCollins Leadership. Micah is a customer experience consultant and speaker and a senior contributor at Forbes. He is enjoying life on Bainbridge Island, Wash., with his wife, two kids, four dogs, cat, and outdoor goldfish. Contact him at micah@micahsolomon.com; (434) 343-5881.

Sarah Brown was awarded a nine-month Fulbright Scholarship to Romania, where she will teach solo performance and mask performance at the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania. She will also direct acting students in a series of performances for 400 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officers and their families from 29 countries who will be establishing a three-star command post in Sibiu. The project will help draw this new international population closer to the city of Sibiu and to the University.

Frederick Thurber and his wife Amy (RISD ’88) have teamed up with Madeleine Barker ’21 MFA, an actress in the Brown/Trinity program, to work on an audio version of his book, In the Wake of the Willows.

Mark Malamud writes that his latest book, The Timeless Machine, “transforms H.G. Wells’s original Victorian novella into an exploration of the limitations and contradictions of living with grief. Mixing together time travel, meta-fiction, and my own special kind of neurosis, it’s funny, clever, and heartbreaking.”

The New York Times reported that Maureen Raymo ’82 has been appointed the interim director of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, becoming the first woman scientist and the first climate scientist to head Lamont. In 2014, she was the first woman to receive the Wollaston Medal, the Geological Society of London’s highest accolade. Her scientific work has established her as one of the most influential earth scientists of her generation.

A. Benjamin Goldgar writes: “In October 2019, I was appointed chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. I’ve been a judge on the court since 2003.”

David Hahn writes: “As I write we are all enduring the mass grief and restrictions due to the pandemic, as well as the public anger from the long-term systemic racism that continues to plague our society. The economic shock of these issues, highly exacerbated by a mentally ill president (at least Nero played the violin!), affects everyone. For me, outlining my recent work helps to maintain some semblance of things continuing to go on, even if not quite in the same way. Some of my new compositions are ‘Women of the Aeneid,’ ‘Kaj Ja Znam,’ ‘Amanda,’ ‘Virus Cosmos,’ and ‘Fantasia.’ Before the pandemic, I had a full schedule of performances, music therapy sessions with memory care patients, teaching lessons, and volunteering at a hospital. I expect things to pick up again when things open up a bit more. Feel free to send a line to say hello! I always enjoy hearing from Brown friends.”

Rick Carell writes: “Time to end the 1977 class news blackout. Brown lacrosse coach Cliff Stevenson was inducted into the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame last December in Baltimore.
Cliff’s doctor would not allow him to fly so he provided a video, in which he reminisced about team history, opined about NCAA rule changes, and generally out-hustled the other inductees. More than 60 of Cliff’s players attended, including class of ’77 star athletes George Caraberis, John Grill, Bill Isaacs, and my roommate, Dan Scofield. We shared many stories about Cliff and Brown, and all were thankful cell phone cameras did not exist during our playing days. With the COVID lockdowns, George assumed a leadership role to boost everyone’s spirits, hosting biweekly Zoom cocktail hours. We extended participation to other Brown sports teams and had guest appearances from John Gaddis, John Klupka, Gerry Muzzillo, Steve Narr ’78, and Pat Shattenkirk. Unfortunately, there are published concerns about Zoom’s encryption strength and now foreign governments may have derogatory information about who gave Cliff the pot brownies and several other troublesome incidents in the West Quad freshman year.” 

Andy Gralla writes: “Half a century after his father was admitted, Brown admitted my son as a junior! The Gralla family is very, very proud. It’s fun to share this news with the class. I hope this finds everyone well. Bye for now.” Contact Andy at andy@gralla.us. 

Richard Bush writes: “I have retired as a supervisory administrative law judge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Irvine, California, and also as a commander in the Navy Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps. As a member of U.S. Masters Swimming, I competed in many meets in southern California. My wife and I now live in a small town in the northernmost part of Cajun Country in central Louisiana. In retirement, I enjoy reading, lap swimming at the YWCA, playing tennis, traveling (my wife and I planned a trip to France in October), and visiting my three children and four grandchildren in Mississippi, Canada, and Georgia. I am looking forward to visiting my classmates at our 50th reunion and will enjoy hearing from any of them.” Contact Richard at RichardSBush08310812@gmail.com; (949) 798-9584.

For demonstrating how a nonprofit can develop drugs as well as Big Pharma can, Mel Spigelman ’70, CEO of TB Alliance, is one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business for 2020.” TB Alliance’s pretomanid became one of three new anti-tuberculosis drugs approved by the FDA and the first developed and registered by a nonprofit. TB Alliance is partnering with major generic-drug makers to get pretomanid to market.

Thomas Lindsey writes: “I am now licensed as a property and casualty insurance agent in Texas and scheduled to take the life insurance exam.”

Peter Kaufman writes: “Having a ball in Bethel, Vermont, just two towns away from one of my art professors, Ed Koren. We are doctoring up a Ralph Lauren style 1830s brick Cape on two dramatic acres on Route 12. I work part-time as the sexton for St. James Episcopal Church in Woodstock.” 

Gerald David Miller writes: “I constantly find the news of the classes jumping from ’61 to ’63. Hey, what’s new ’62? Okay, I figure I will fill that sandwich. Soon after graduation, I married my childhood sweetheart, Susan Gilson, started using my middle name (David), earned a couple of graduate degrees, and moved to Israel for several years. In 1970, Susan and I, with our two little kids, went to Morocco for a month for a research project. We found classmate Richard Holbrooke in Rabat serving as a Peace Corps director. As a result, we stayed on as Peace Corps volunteers for the next three years. From there, I became director of Peace Corps training in Afghanistan and then acting director for Peace Corps Tunisia. I was recruited into the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. Once again, Holbrooke and I would cross paths at State. We often went to lunch together when we were both in town and not flying off somewhere. I left State to become deputy vice president for programs at Save the Children before becoming founding director of the International Community Economic Development master’s degree program at Southern New Hampshire University. Susan did her PhD research and taught Middle Eastern history at Harvard much of that time. For two of those years, I was also a research fellow at Brown’s Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies. I spent the time at the ‘Rock’ catching up on all the things I missed as an undergraduate. In 2009, Susan and I joined the faculty of UC Davis. I founded the Global Fellowship for Agricultural Development program that takes research to action by connecting faculty and graduate fellows to organizations in developing communities all over the world. Susan and I have two prize-winning kids (RISD and Brown grads), each of whom have prize-winning children. Retirement is not among my plans.”

R. Brayton Bowen, ’65 AM, continues to consult in the area of human resources and is certified by the Society for Human Resource Management as a senior certified professional. He speaks on business related topics and teaches at the undergraduate level for Northwood University. He has published Recognizing and Rewarding Employees and Engaging the Heart for People, Performance, and Profit: Seven Competencies of Compassion@Work. He has produced the documentary series Anger in the Workplace, which aired on public radio stations nationally. He has written for the American Management Assoc., HR Magazine, and various other publications. Presently, he is leading the Howland Group, a strategy consulting and change management firm. He writes: “Believe it or not, I still am able to sing (thanks to my training with the Brown Glee Club and Professor David Laurent) and currently perform at two churches in Louisville. I have served on several boards, including the board of directors for the Louisville Committee on Foreign Relations. In 2012, I received the James E. Flynn Peace Award for community service and social justice. My connections with Brown are primarily through the Brown Club of Kentucky, where I serve as vice president for marketing. And I should add, after three tries, I finally got it right; I am happily married to Vaughn Bowen, who is a nurse practitioner and a wonderful partner. I enjoy living in Louisville, but I miss Rhode Island and sailing in Newport waters. If anyone cares to connect, contact me at brayton@howlandgroup.com; (502) 558-2154.” 

Dick Nurse announces that the film Quakers: The Quiet Revolutionaries will be broadcast on public television stations across the United States. He worked as a senior producer for the film at the Gardner Documentary Group.

Barbara Comroe Trevaskis and her husband moved from New Jersey to the Jacksonville, Florida, area to a continuing care retirement community several years ago. Like Judith Perlin, they are enjoying safe, socially distanced happy hours, as well as remote exercise classes. Thanks to the magic of Zoom, we were able to see a painting she had done. She has also been learning to do tole painting, which according to Wikipedia is “the folk art of decorative painting on tin and wooden utensils, objects, and furniture.

Judith Ann Perlin moved to a senior independent living community within the last year. She has been participating in safe, socially distanced, but still happy-to-be-there happy hours and finds this is an easy way to get to know her neighbors. She enjoys shopping at her local farmers’ market, which luckily is within walking distance.

Not to be outdone, Tom Moses has been playing tennis in Sarasota, Florida, while the temperature has been in the low nineties.

Jane Bertram Miluski, a watercolor artist, has not been able to paint of late due to the heat... alas, no air conditioning in her studio. Like many others, she has had to cancel various workshops she was scheduled to give due to the coronavirus. Once we can go about safely, she hopes to resume both her painting and her teaching. In the meantime, she’s been watching Turner Classic Movies (thank you, Ted!) and reading Sinclair Lewis.

This past July, Gil Lugossy was to have received an award for service to the public and the community from the Polish Arts Club of Trenton, New Jersey. Now, he is scheduled to receive it in 2021. By background, Gil is Hungarian American, and his late wife, Lee, was Polish American; they were longtime members and supporters of the organization.

Connie Black Engle’s son, Douglas, normally a resident of Brazil, has been sheltering in place with his parents. One of the tasks he took on was bringing all of Connie’s children’s books upstairs so that she could peruse them and decide what their destination ought to be. She has sent a bundle off to Bank Street College of Education in New York City and to the Providence Athenaeum.

Kathie Schutt Chadwick has been watching the news assiduously and reading a lot of Louise Penny, a Canadian author who is very popular with the “Angells” group. Kathie is quite musical and served as a choir director for many years. For our Zoom meeting she donned a T-shirt that had a musical staff with the following notations for meter: 6/4, 9/8, 11/16. Underneath was this brief sentence: “These are difficult times.”

Adrienne Arabian Baksa, who lives in Costa Rica, has been a lifelong (and very adept) piano player, but she is now in the process of divesting herself of a lifetime’s worth of music (books and sheet music). A formidable task. She is also passing on the work she and her husband, Richard, have done with incarcerated people. This is another formidable task.

Betty Wolin Baer has spent the last several months dealing with the after effects of a flood in her Connecticut condo. Lots of insurance, lots of logistics, and lots of dealing with contractors.

Dorothy Crews Herzberg self-published her fifth book, Through the Writer’s Eye. The book compiles stories and poems from 17 of her writing group’s participants. Every Monday morning, the writing group reads a poem, writes spontaneously, and shares. Dorothy will also be included in Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Edition. 

Joanna Slesinger Caproni writes: “Like everyone else, I am living in the COVID-19 era and what seemed like a decent sized one-bedroom apartment when we worked all day now feels like a small box when one spends the entire day in it. I continue to shop at the nearby supermarket observing all restrictions. People mostly wear masks, but not all. My neighborhood is less affected by the many protests, but several local stores are boarded up to prevent looting. Zoom has provided an opportunity for us to contact doctors, family, and friends. Overall, it has been and is scary! I tried to end on a comedic note, but I fear the disease has sapped my humor.”

Dolores Pastore DiPrete writes: “The social distance mandate has allowed me time to open my Pembroke ’49 file on my computer, where there were so many pictures that brought a smile to my face. In the photo below, left to right, we have Marjorie Logan Hiles, Lois Jagolinzer Fain, Glenna Robinson Mazel and myself enjoying dinner at an off-year reunion. I urge all classmates to update current addresses with the Alumni Office since so many of us are making changes. Let’s continue our friendship via the BAM!”

Navin Singh ’93 MD (see Khalil Sivjee ’90). 

Denice Spero ’88 PhD, president and chief business officer of ProThera Biologics, announced the company had entered into a licensing agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals to develop plasma-derived therapies for the treatment of acute inflammatory conditions. ProThera was co-founded by Yow-Pin Lim and Douglas Hixson, faculty members at Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School.

Laura Hendrickson ’88 AM, ’08 PhD (see Patricia MacBride Hendrickson ’52).

Kathleen M. Doyle ’85 MAT published her second children’s book, Blue’s River, a historical and environmental history of any town that settled near a river. This particular story happens to focus on Dover, Delaware. For centuries, Blue’s River has taken care of people and other living beings. Now the river cannot give anymore. Can a 10-year-old girl and a 400-year-old Great Blue Heron save Blue’s River? 

Jeff Wallach’s ’84 AM debut novel, Mr. Wizard, was published in April with Open Books. The story follows two brothers who learn via DNA testing that their supposed father is not who they thought.

Alan Mills writes: “Seeking to reconnect with old friends as we all sought to cope with the coronavirus, a group of friends from freshman year at Brown (West Quad, Class of 1978) decided to hold a Zoom reunion (now a biweekly get together). It has been great to remember why we became such close friends at Brown. Raymond Lane organized the Zoom and Abby Cohen, Jane and Chuck MacFarland, Amy and David Mantel, Villu Maricq, Elliot Steger, Eileen O’Hayer Towne, Karen Zaccor and I all participated.”

Bernard Mendillo ’73 AM (see ’70).

Charlie Shumway ’66 AM (see Bob Sanchez ’58).

Jim Moody ’65 ScM (see Bob Sanchez ’58).

Susan Adler Kaplan ’65 MAT (see Bob Sanchez ’58).

Barbara Olins Alpert ’56 AM (see ’52).

Alexander Kithes ’16 ScM was elected to the Woonsocket City Council (R.I.) in a particularly contentious special election. The election was reported on by the Boston Globe as an indicator of political trends throughout Rhode Island going into 2020. Alex writes: “I’m the most progressive person elected to the Woonsocket City Council in recent history.”

Cindy Andrews Elder ’13 MPA (see Barbara Kirk Hail ’52).

Michael Furman ’05 AM joined Rhode Island Medical Imaging as a radiologist after having completed his residencies at the Alpert Medical School in internal medicine and diagnostic radiology. He did his undergraduate studies at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and graduate studies at Brown. Dr. Furman earned a post-baccalaureate pre-medical certificate from Bryn Mawr College and his MD from the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Widely published with extensive teaching experience, he is a member of the American Roentgen Ray Society, American College of Radiology, and the Radiological Society of North America.

Ramadan Hussein ’04 AM, ’09 PhD, now at the University of TÜbingen in Germany, stars in the National Geographic four-part series Kingdom of the Mummies. Contact Ramadan at Ramadan.hussein@uni-tuebingen.de.

Evan McManamy helps run a donation-based grocery delivery nonprofit in Providence. Contact Evan at cartwheelRI.org.

Emily Kassie was nominated for a Peabody Award for her documentary Detained. The film is an immersive documentary which explores the rise and expansion of America’s immigration detention system.

Seamus Kirst’s first children’s book, Papa, Daddy, and Riley, was published on May 5 by Magination Press.

Brian Chin writes: “This year would have been my 10-year reunion. My college ’90s cover band, Firetruck, would have been performing for our class, but instead we are postponed. In the meantime, we are trying to sort out how we might do something virtually.”

Will Shapiro has been focused on building technology to understand the spread of COVID-19. In particular, Topos, the company he founded, has put out a COVID-19 Compiler, which allows users to look at COVID-19 data in relation to other relevant geospatial variables. This work was profiled by The Cooper Union and has been featured on news outlets such as the Rachel Maddow Show.

Veronica Carbaja is running in the November 2020 race for mayor of El Paso, Texas.  If she wins, she will be the first Chicana/Latina and second woman to hold that position in the city’s history. She writes: “I am running as a fronteriza (borderland woman), lawyer, and environmentalist. I have been an attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc., since 2004 and my practice areas have included environmental justice, community development, housing (real estate, rentals, discrimination), and natural disasters, including the mass shooting of August 3, 2019, among others. I am currently helping our advocates navigate COVID-19 issues impacting our client communities. I also self-published a bilingual children’s book last year.” 

BBC Studios named Rebecca Glashow ’97 president of BBC Studios-Americas. She will lead the region’s strategy to develop the company’s diversified distribution business activities in the U.S., Canada, and Latin American. She previously worked at Viacom-owned YouTube brand Awesomeness, where she was responsible for overseeing distribution deals for Awesomeness digital content, AwesomenessTV series, and Awesomeness Films on all platforms worldwide.

David Shrier ’95 is the program director of Oxford Cyber Futures online program at University of Oxford’s Said Business School. The 6-week program, in collaboration with MasterCard, is targeted towards senior executives. The program covers such topics as cyber security, threat analytics, data privacy, and digital ethics.

Tania Teschke is selling handcrafted soaps and creams made from natural and organic ingredients and in support of regenerative agricultural farmers who are creating carbon-sequestrating soil with their humanely cared for, grass-fed herbivores. Tania writes: “I began to learn about organic and sustainable eating at Brown and I am continuing to learn today. Visit my site at www.etsy.com/shop/BordeauxKitchen.”

Ariel Sabar’s nonfiction book VERITAS: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife was published by Doubleday in August. Ariel writes: “The book grew out of a long investigative story I wrote for The Atlantic magazine about a Harvard historian who was tricked by a con artist into publishing a sensational papyrus forgery that would have rewritten the history of Christianity.”

Justin Massey (see Jennifer Morgan Massey ’56).

David Thorp writes: “No marathons, no books, and no PhD to report. I did, however, retire after 21 years of faithful service in federal law enforcement. My last assignment may have been the most fun. I now have to get serious as my boys are getting expensive what with college tuition, Philmont treks, and living in southern California. Karin, my wife of 23 years, is officially tired of being the only adult in the house. For friends with whom I’ve lost touch, please reach out to me at dgrahamthorp@gmail.com.”  

Andrew T. Chan is part of a group working out of Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard School of Public Health who have developed a COVID Symptom Study app to collect risk factor information and reports of symptoms. Their work was featured in the New York Times on April 1.

Daniel G. Newman wrote his first graphic novel, Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy (worldcitizencomics.com), about money in politics, voting rights, and stories of inspiring citizens who are making democracy work better. He is the president of MapLight, a nonprofit fighting online political deception. Contact Daniel at dnewman@maplight.org

Richard D’Abreu Jr., who is a saxophonist, pianist, and songwriter specializing in gospel jazz, has, since COVID-19, done a biweekly one-hour solo performance called “Friday Night Inspiration” live on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube from 7:30 to 8:30 pm EST. His debut CD, Jazz in the Spirit, will be available in physical form (cdbaby.com and other stores) and digital stores everywhere. Visit www.jazzinthespirit.com for more information.

Khalil Sivjee writes: “It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since attending the wedding of Navin Singh ’93 MD in beautiful Positano, Italy. It was great to have the trio of Navin, Ken Younge, and myself back together again. Ken wore a pink turban in a tribute to when we dressed up as the Pink Ladies and attend-ed a showing of Grease at Sayles Hall during Frosh week.”

Kaui Chun DeMarzo writes: “I am close friends with a bunch of guys from ’88. This past autumn (Nov ’19), I was invited to the guys night out in Oakland. It was a fantastic time catching up with these fantastic men—James Brooks ’88, Clayton Earle ’88, Sean Hood ’88, and Jameison Martin ’88.”

Alex Weiner’s daughter, Livia Joan Weiner, has been accepted to Brown as a member of the Class of 2024. She is a member of the graduating class of 2020 from Croton-Harmon High School in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.

Lisa Sosa Solomon writes: “I’m a hospice social worker living in Staten Island.  I work, make dinner, and take walks. It’s a lovely simple life.”

Gary Schwartz writes: “Many of us are home all day trying to stay on top of what is going on with the COVID-19 pandemic. The main person that CBS goes to for economic and financial perspective is Jill Schlesinger. She’s been in this role with CBS for a while now but is getting a lot more airtime because of what is going on. She gives a really nice perspective on the economics behind it all.”

Susan Berfield published her first book, The Hour of Fate, on May 5. Susan is an award-winning feature writer and investigative reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News.

Hilary Massey Billings (see Jennifer Morgan Massey ’56). 

Jill M. Baren has been named provost and vice president of academic affairs at University of the Sciences. Dr. Baren is a national leader in academic medicine, healthcare, and higher education and comes to USciences from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was professor of emergency medicine, pediatrics, and medical ethics at the Perelman School of Medicine. She has served in the provost’s office as the Faculty Leadership Development Fellow. She is currently serving a term as president of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, whose mission is to ensure the highest standards in the specialty. Contact Jill at jbaren@comcast.net.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed members to several sector advisory councils charged with providing guidance to shape New York City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and help restart the city’s economy and life. Among the appointed were Ken Giddon ’81, proprietor of Rothman’s Men’s Clothing, to the Small Business Sector Advisory Council and Joshua Silverman ’91, CEO of  Etsy, to the Large Business Sector Advisory Council.

Glenn Kessler’s book Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: the President’s Falsehoods, Misleading Claims, and Flat-Out Lies was published on June 2 with Simon & Schuster.

Johanna Bergmans Musselman writes: “My husband and I live in downtown Boston, near Beacon Hill. It is strangely quiet here but we are doing fine with many adjustments to our routines. I am so happy that my class was able to have an incredible 40th reunion celebration last May in Providence. I feel sad for the Class of ’80 and all other 2020 reunion classes, along with the Class of 2020, that their experience this year will be very different from ours.”

The Mount Sinai Health System announced the creation of a new Institute for Health Equity Research (IHER) to understand the effects of health issues, including COVID-19, affecting at-risk communities. The disproportionate impact in underserved populations has highlighted the importance of rigorously studying disparities and translating discoveries into sustainable, scalable initiatives and policies that benefit communities in New York and the nation. Richard A. Friedman ’79 will chair the IHER Task Force that will guide, publicize and inform on the research underway. Other Task Force members include Brian A. Benjamin ’98, Senator for the 30th District of the New York Senate and Senior Assistant Majority Leader of the Senate.

Barbara Smith (see Ellen Arnold Lloyd ’52).

Dorothy P. Holinger’s book The Anatomy of Grief was published on Sept. 1 with Yale University Press. The book is for everyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, those who have been unable to mourn in traditional ways, those who must prepare for loss, and anyone who wants to understand and help someone who is grieving.

Julia Burbank Chin reports on how she is faring in the days of the coronavirus. “The uncertainty of the whole thing is so challenging. I feel as if I am in eternal limbo. I spend my time caring for my mother, tending my garden and chickens, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors in Maine.”

Elizabeth Andrews Byers (see Barbara Kirk Hail ’52).

Since 2018, Fred Baumgarten has been living in western Massachusetts and running the grants office at Mount Holyoke College. Recently, he produced the book The Western Minstrel: Voyages through the Life of Anthony Philip Heinrich (published by the Dvorak Society), based on his research into the life of the man called the “Beethoven of America” and into Heinrich’s relationship to John and Lucy Audubon. Contact Fred at fredbee.eater@gmail.com.

 Plain Dealer Art and Architecture Critic Steven Litt is the recipient of an award for visual arts journalism from the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation of Portland, Me. The award goes to “visual art journalists who, with artists, are the backbone of the art community in every part of the country,” the foundation said in its announcement.

Joshua Hammerman’s book Embracing Auschwitz: Forging a Vibrant, Life-Affirming Judaism that Takes the Holocaust Seriously was published in May. The publication was timed for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.

William Tanenbaum is the editor of International Comparative Legal Guide to Digital Health 2020 and the author of the introductory chapter entitled “Digital Health, New Technologies and Emerging Legal Issues.” Bill is an IP and technology lawyer and the practice chair of HealthCare Technology & Innovation Group at the law firm Polsinelli. He was named a lead name in AI and a go-to expert on data by Who’s Who Legal. As class president, he encourages all ’76ers to join the next reunion. 

Elizabeth Robertson Laytin reports: “Tom McMahon spearheaded a creativity chain via email a few weeks ago and other ’76-ers joined in. Tom wrote the song ‘Existential Barstool Blues’ and sent the MP3 to his classmates. Craig Scott responded with a poem. Alice Drueding, with husband Joe Scorsone, designed a poster to encourage people to follow social distancing guidelines, and Russ Pollack uploaded his performance on guitar.”

Jan Blacher, a distinguished professor in UC Riverside’s Graduate School of Education, is executive-producer of Autism Goes to College. The documentary film spotlights the experiences of college students on the spectrum and has been screened in theaters, film festivals, and schools across the U.S. and Canada. Visit www.autismgoestocollege.org for a screening near you. 

Marc Freed received a master’s in Curriculum Development and Instructional Design and a Certificate of Online Teaching from the University at Albany (SUNY) in May. Marc writes: “I enrolled in the program a year ago after retiring from the financial services industry to learn how to teach math and data science online. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, I am currently teaching K-12 teachers how to teach online as a faculty member of the Academy for the Advancement of Teaching, Leadership, and Schools, the professional development arm of University of Albany’s School of Education.

H. Scott Thomson writes: “I hung up my suit and put away the briefcase from my years consulting, then tossed the gym bag full of hoops gear into the closet back in 2003, after several national championships playing for the Olympic Club in San Francisco, to start a long journey into a world I knew nothing about—training horses. Turns out, I was pretty good at it. After studying with some of the top horsemen in the country and being labeled a natural, I’ve spent 20 years training hundreds of horses and riders of all ages in the art of natural horsemanship. I’ve even had the chance to work with some mustangs right off the range. My wife and I live in Silver City, New Mexico, in a little ranch that backs up to three million acres of National Forest. For the past 10 years I’ve written a column about horses for our local paper, which has been picked up by some national horse publications. It’s all been intellectually and physically rewarding, but the old saying ‘I know there’s money in horses because I put it there’ still holds true. It’s been great to see the Sports Foundation still going strong after my years as the founding executive director back in the early ’80s. Hope to make it back for our 50th—if I saddle up now, I might be there in time.” Contact Scott at hsthomson@msn.com.

Steve Nagata writes: “Now that we are in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, I was browsing through the online issues of BAM here in my home in Honolulu during stay at home protocols. I could not help but read the class of 1971 notes. Man, has time passed. I fondly remember the days of Poland House, the Sharpe Refectory, my wonderful time in the Brunaires singing group, the fraternity, and my futile attempts to learn a semblance of knowledge in the introductory geology course (barely passed), having been an avid liberal arts political science major. I was totally naïve coming to Brown and left, hopefully, a bit more mature. After Brown, I entered the Air Force and served for two years stateside during the Vietnam War days. Thereafter, I went to Boston College Law School and then started practicing law in Hawaii—first as a law clerk in the Hawaii Supreme Court, as a deputy in the Hawaii Attorney General’s office, and then at a series of law firms, culminating in the legal department of Hawaiian Electric Company. And now I’m happily retired, but teaching law at the local community college, doing tai chi and other various martial arts, and, of course, playing golf. Going to Brown molded a big part of my character and I am grateful for that. My best wishes to all of you.”

Bernard Mendillo ’73 AM has a new novel, It’s What We Do, a humorous, episodic story about a man in his 70s who becomes a single parent when his wife leaves him just as they adopt a little girl from China. It is available on Amazon. 

Larry Wilson writes: “Our 50th reunion last year was so enjoyable that Peter Allgeier and I decided to continue the camaraderie by inviting some of our classmates to join us in taking an online course.” Bruce Butterworth, Kathy Kindl Norris, Rauer Meyer, Roger Sherman and Tom West accepted their invitation to meet weekly using Zoom to discuss the lectures. “We first took a Yale Open Course, “The Early Middle Ages,” then eagerly followed up with a Coursera Yale course, “The Age of Cathedrals,” and then a Great Courses course from American University, “An Introduction to the Qur’an.” We are now engaged in a Great Courses course from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law entitled “Liberty on Trial in America.” Our preference, of course, would be to take online courses from our alma mater and we hope that Brown will consider expanding its limited offering of online courses for alumni/alumnae. Our 50th has definitely deepened our bonds of friendship and enhanced our interest in continuing education.” 

Susan Inglis Seal retired from a long career in high-end residential real estate sales in 2010. After retirement and aside from enjoying her children and grandchildren, she put her efforts into saving Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters near her home in Hartsdale, N.Y. The house was built in 1732. It stayed untouched in the Odell family until the late 20th century. It was where Gen. Rochambeau stayed for six weeks in 1781 while he met with George Washington. The house stayed boarded up and neglected for 50+ years. Susan convinced her local town government to take ownership and title on March 4, 2020. Despite the pandemic, plans are moving ahead to create a museum by the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. The house is part of the National Park Service Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (WARO). More information at odellrochambeau.org. Susan can be reached at odellrochambeau@gmail.com.

Michael Levy writes: “After 50 years as a lawyer, 37 with the U.S. Department of Justice, I retired last September. I have spent the spring semester teaching Cybercrime and Evidence at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (my other alma mater). The virus drove us online from mid-March on. I’ve taught Cybercrime for about 15 years, but Evidence was a new adventure. Shifting to Zoom half-way through was an unanticipated challenge/opportunity. I thought I knew Evidence pretty well, until I prepared to teach it to others. I have to say I may have learned as much as my students this semester. Hoping that we can have a real, rather than a virtual, reunion next year.”

Lawrence A. Rand, a Weston, Mass., resident and a two-term Rye Brook (N.Y.) mayor, who has also served as a trustee and member of the Village’s Board of Trustees and as a member of the Westchester County (N.Y.) Ethics Board, was inducted on to the Wall of Distinction of the James Madison High School (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The induction took place on April 26, but because the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated closing all schools in New York State, the ceremony will be held at a later time.

Nancy Scull writes: “I am still heavily engaged with Building Brighter Futures for Tanzanian Children through Education (www.FriendsofMeali.org). We celebrated our 10th anniversary earlier this year, and can really see the huge difference we’ve made for three public primary schools support-
ing a collective 1600 students per year. We work in partnership with their communities. Our board of directors includes Ina Schwartz  Heafitz ’66.  Meanwhile, although I still live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I’ve been for more than 50 years, my personal life now includes frequent visits to Apex, North Carolina.”

Fred Parker, current class treasurer, writes: “I have moved from Cape Cod to Apex, North Carolina, to be closer to family, warmer weather, and more opportunities to play golf. So far so good. I attended the kick-off meeting of the Brown Alumni Club of the Triangle, Raleigh, North Carolina. Being the most senior graduate present was a different and fun experience. The event was a great success. We all loved singing ‘Ever True’ with great gusto. Although I have moved, my personal life includes special trips to Cambridge, Massachusetts.”

Elaine Piller Congress is associate dean and professor at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services. As associate dean, she represents two NGOs at the United Nations—the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the Institute of Multicultural Counseling and Education Services (IMCES). She oversees a group of Fordham graduate students whom she involves in UN activities. She published her twelfth book, Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Addressing Timely Issues at the United Nations and Beyond. It provides a unique look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Social workers, psychologists, heads of NGOs, U.N. officials and a medical doctor have contributed chapters and many chapters recognize students as co-authors. Elaine welcomes every chance to talk about her work. Contact Elaine at congress@fordham.edu.

Brooke Kruger Lipsitt (see Russ Kinne ’50).

Barbara Smith Langworthy writes: “We know that Providence will be beautiful this fall. Unfortunately, the Class of ’63 Mini-Reunion will not be there. As with all other Brown functions, we must proceed cautiously. The board made this decision at our last meeting. We hope that all of our classmates will make use of our Facebook page. We also will send out frequent BRAVOS, but the University must have your current email address for you to receive them. Check your alumni listing and update it where necessary so that we can all keep in touch. Feel free to share your comments and ideas at blangwort@aol.com.” Barbara adds: “I received the Elizabeth Tuttle Beattie Service Award, which is the Littleton Regional Healthcare Auxiliary’s highest award. I have served on the board as treasurer for the past seven years and participated in most other auxiliary events. It was indeed an honor as my name is now on the hospital wall with so many people I truly admire.”

Leslie Armstrong announces the publication of her memoir, Girl Intrepid - A New York Story of Privilege and Perseverance. Leslie writes: “It covers the first third of my life: my upbringing in New York, my time at Brown, summers working at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, and my journey to becoming an architect at a time when there were few women in professions and fewer in architecture (See www.lesliearmstrongwriter.com). My husband, John Bowers, also a writer, and I live in Manhattan. I continue to work as an architect on small scale commercial and residential renovations. We and our five children (three of mine, two of his) and their families are well and safe.”

Ed Rotmer writes: “Lorraine and I are enjoying retirement. I am doing lots of volunteer work for several charity organizations and also continue to serve on the board of directors of the Brown Club of Rhode Island. We get to spend a lot of time with our two granddaughters and our children. They all live within a few miles of us. How lucky we are for that! We continue to winter in Naples, Florida, and manage to do some traveling as well. I look forward to our 60th in 2021 and I welcome contact from my classmates at (401) 523-4680; erlr@cox.net-mobile.”

David Parent writes: “Cathy and I are settling into our condominium at 91 Putter Drive in Wallingford, Connecticut. As the street address implies, our unit adjoins the Wallingford Golf Course and the view from our fourth floor window is beautiful. After 40 years in a quad level house set on a five level lot, we are happy to be on one floor. We spend a lot of time taking our grandchildren to school, medical appointments, and swimming lessons, going to the gym, having lunch at the senior center, Rotary and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and going to a debating club in Stamford. The time goes by very quickly and happily. Seems hard to believe that 60 years ago we NROTC juniors were inside taking our navigation course with Lt. Jobe. The reunion will soon be upon us and we will once again be walking College Hill.” Contact David at townca2005@gmail.com.

Courtland L. Munroe writes: “I retired from my internal medicine/geriatric medicine practice for the second time in December 2017. I worked in Carbondale, Illinois, for 31 years at The Carbondale Clinic, a multispecialty medical clinic, and as a clinical associate professor of medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. I then worked from 2012-2017 at a small internal medicine clinic in The Villages, Florida. I continue to volunteer two half days a week at two local free clinics. Mary Lou and I have been married for 54 years, with four children and eight grandchildren. We finished our foreign travels because of several health issues that have slowed us down but have been fortunate to have seen almost every country in Europe accessible by cruise ship. In January we moved to Waterman Village in Mount Dora, Florida, a continuing care retirement community, and we find living here is just like being on vacation every day of the year. Our every need is cared for and there are countless activities. We would enjoy visiting with any classmates who live or are traveling in this area. Contact us at cmunroemd@comcast.net.”

John Edison writes: “This is my first communication update on my post-Brown career. After Brown I returned to my home state of Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa’s medical school in 1964. My wife, Linda, and I headed west to Los Angeles, where I interned at Los Angeles County General Hospital. We then went to Pensacola, Florida, where I went through Navy flight training and the School of Aerospace Medicine. Fortunately we were stationed in central Florida, where I was a Wing flight surgeon for several Vigilante squadrons. I played doctor and did short tours on aircraft carriers while Linda had a very fun job with the Orange County, Florida, welfare department. We returned to the Midwest, where I did a residency in ear, nose, and throat and head and neck surgery at the University of Minnesota. Linda taught art until we started our family. We live in Ventura, California, where I practiced 40 years and retired three years ago. Now we divide our time between Ventura, our ski house in Mammoth Lakes, California, and our ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We both enjoy good health and ski regularly and I continue to fly my little RV-8 type aerobatic aircraft. Accolades I have received in the local medical community have been Teaching Physician of the Year, chief of staff at the local hospital, and recently retired physician of the year. Our children live in California and Colorado with their families and we visit them regularly. I have now been to several reunions and, if luck and health hold, would like to make my 60th.” Contact John at johnmedison@gmail.com.

Richard Considine writes: “No, I am not retired. For my sins, I took over management of Safeway Storage in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in January 2018. In addition to the 309-unit storage business, I manage the 55,000-square-foot, three-floor building as well, with 10 commercial tenants on the top floor. I had sold this building to the current owner in 1985 and suggested he put self storage in the basement. (I spent eight years in Ireland establishing Barons Self Storage in Galway with a lawyer friend.) When Marcia and I returned to New Hampshire in 2011, Safeway’s owner told me he would need me. It has been an enjoyable challenge straightening the business out four days per week. Marcia and I also sold our big house in 2014 and bought a modest ranch in a 55-and-over community in North Hampton, which we love, especially because we back up to extensive woodlands with all the wildlife therein. We spend part of our summers in Cundy’s Harbor, Maine, with our youngest son and family and get out sailing now and then. Both of our sons and families are doing well and we see our three grands regularly. Life is good!” Contact Rick at rick@theconsidinefamily.com.

David Babson writes: “Just a note to let you know that I plan to run again for Carroll County Commissioner. I am now in my second term, which will end in December. Should I be lucky enough to win again, at my age it is basically a lifetime appointment. I have enjoyed serving the voters as a commissioner far more than I did as a member of the New Hampshire legislature, even as a member of leadership. At the county level you are one of three people; in the New Hampshire House you are one of 400 people. It is much easier to help people when you are the ‘boss.’ I still have my draft horses and milk cow but even they are getting old.” Contact David at davebab61@gmail.com.

John Spicer, who gives his nickname as “Snowshoe,” writes about a weekend in Freedom, N.H. “It was my 93rd, granddaughter Nora’s 33rd, and grandson Sam’s 26th birthdays that we were celebrating in an extravagant former hunting lodge built for writer Corey Ford. The Airbnb description of our hillside abode hardly touched the triumph and tragedy of Ford’s “Stoney Broke” writing home. As a base for our explorations, Freedom offered an unexpected variety of hikes and climbs near a once huge volcanic blast site. Many were the presents, including recordings of favorite books by my own family. It was clear, however, that my creative family were the best presents of all.” 

Bob Sanchez continues his extraordinarily active life. The Brown Club has provided many interesting and engaging programs and outings: talks from faculty and administrators about campus and academic activities, a visit to the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, a visit to an Everglades nature preserve, and a trip to Fort Myers to watch the Boston Red Sox. Bob attended a gathering at which the New Curriculum was the topic of discussion. “A number of those attending the gathering were actually on campus during the negotiations among the faculty, the administration, and the students. Robert Lynch ’69 was active in the brouhaha over the NROTC remaining or leaving. He wrote an interesting piece putting the events in context, The Almost Forgotten Story of How Brown University’s New Curriculum was Nearly Derailed by Subterfuge.” Bob keeps in touch with: Stan Dobson, Jim Furlong, Warren Healey, George Held, Pete Howard, Susan Adler Kaplan ’65 MAT, Jerry Levine, Jim Moody ’65 ScM, Tom Moses, John Reistrup, Charlie Shumway ’66 AM, Sandy McFarland Taylor, Bill Traub ’59, George Vandervoort, and Roger Williams.

Kenneth Kurze’s wife, Ingrid Fischer Kurze, died in May 2019. Since Kenneth was an officer in the Foreign Service, they shared a life of travel and adventure. She gave birth to her daughter and three sons, each in a different country: India, Nepal, Morocco, and Washington, D.C. She was an avid hiker, skier, trekker, and traveler.  

Judith Katz Block’s husband, Kean Block (Yale ’53, Harvard Business School ’55) died in March after 61 years of marriage and a ten-year battle with cancer. His career was primarily in finance. He was very active volunteering in their community and was the president of the Yale Club in Chicago for several years.  

Betty Belknap Stirling’s granddaughter, Amber Demers, graduated from Salem State University in June, while her younger sister, Jennelle, graduated from Pentucket High School and will enter Dean College this fall—both are honor students. The rest of her grandchildren are either college graduates or currently attending college.

Ronald E. Baker writes from Port Rowan, Ontario, Canada, on the North Shore of Lake Erie. “Still active and healthy (no COVID-19 here yet). On December 21, I was married to Barbara Ann Hill-Holland. We began our honeymoon travels with families in Baltimore and Florida; then Mexico in January and February, returning to Canada just before the national quarantine started. On July 1, I took over as president of the Rotary Club of Simcoe, Ontario. We’re now very active online as a community service club helping many needy causes in Canada and abroad. When the Canada/USA border opens again we will surely attend my 65th. I’m still able to march down the hill.” 

Jennifer Morgan Massey writes: “My daughter, Hilary Massey Billings ’85, is chair of the San Francisco branch of Habitat for Humanity and spent two weeks with her husband building houses all over Nepal and loved it. My son, Justin Massey ’93, has been re-elected to a five-year term on the Hermosa Beach City Council, where he is currently mayor pro tem.

Nancy Blacher Shuster writes: “Still teaching life story writing in Naples and in Narragansett. I’m lucky to still enjoy teaching at both locations. Next summer I will teach for Beachwood Senior Center in Wickford. I’m looking forward to being a great-grandma and enjoy acting as a surrogate mother to friends and students who have lost their moms. (Several of my students and friends have lost their moms. I offered to fill the role, which means on their birthdays I send them cards and a present and on Mother’s Day they think of me as well as the mom they lost. It works well. No pregnancy involved, just caring and kindness.) Life right now is like a science fiction movie. I hope we can conquer our invisible enemy. I’d love to hear from classmates. Too few class info bulletins.” Contact Nancy at Nshu4@aol.com.   

Tom and Phyllis Macchia Johnson sold their home and lived in an apartment until the new house was ready. Phyllis writes: “It’s quite an adventure trying to stuff a house’s worth of living into an apartment half the size.” Contact Phyllis at 11645 Monument Dr., #1125, Lakewood Ranch, Fla. 34211-1281; (941) 254-7949.

Bill Hinckley writes: “Sue and I are both happy with our new digs at Vi at Highlands Ranch, Colorado; my spouse of 65 years is in a lovely cottage and I am in an apartment in assisted living, a wonderful retirement facility, where one is assured of continuing care at all levels and can be busy or not. We have chosen the former with committee work, trips, and activities with friends and our daughter, a half-hour away. I especially enjoy a group, The Play Readers, where actors read from scripts of plays and musicals to audiences of 50 or more each month. I had to give up my carving of songbirds after 30-some years—no studio here. I wrote a monthly column on birds for a magazine for 10 years and wrote and published three novels and one compendium titled Back Then, on my life in the simple times of the 30s and 40s, which was published in February. Both grands are busy—eldest is a USMC captain and the other is with a veterinary group where she works rehabbing horses and other animals and is pursuing her doctorate. Busy kids. Daughter Marjorie is into the animal thing as well, heading up the Intermountain Rescue and Humane Society. A stern believer, she and Realtor husband Michael house seven in their beautiful home. I would love to hear from any and all Brunonians as we endure COVID-19. Happy 65th, wish we could have been there.” Contact Bill at (303) 471-4053; billhink9@gmail.com.

Warren Ilchman reports: “Postponing commencement and reunions until sometime next year gave the Class of 1955 officers an opportunity to consider leadership. Originally president for our 65th reunion, I am stepping down and am pleased to welcome our class vice president John O’Brien to that position. Our secretary and treasurer, Lucy Brubaker Tortolani and Alan Lawson, will share the responsibility of the vice presidency if required. At the time of the reunion, the class will decide who should be vice president. The many activities that were planned to generate interest among our class members will be offered near the time of the coming reunion. I have been pleased to have had responsibility as president and look forward to the leadership of John O’Brien.”

Joan Bliss Wilson writes that she and Bob are hunkered down and self-quarantined like everyone else. “However, we’ve been catching up on projects planned since we moved from Princeton 19 years ago. We will miss our traditional family gatherings usually in the summer, especially a granddaughter’s California wedding, which we’ll celebrate later.”

Mary O’Neil Ward writes: “I am so privileged to be healthy and live in Florida, although recent leg injuries laid me up. Thanks to physical therapy I am recovering, and thanks to Brown/Pembroke I have many interests. I do watercolors, including portraits of family and friends and even landscapes. I text my 16 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren too. I appreciate all the work of the many caregivers during this COVID-19 crisis.”  

Jane O’Hara Page writes: “For many years my three daughters, a close friend, and I have traveled in April to Las Vegas for several days to gamble away their inheritance (according to husband Dick), partake of the night life and enjoy gourmet food. For obvious reasons, that didn’t happen this year, which was a great disappointment. Dick and I are sheltering and showering in place in our continuing care community in Needham, Mass. We are free to leave but must re-enter through the main lobby, where we fill in a form and have our temperatures taken. One very good meal is delivered to our apartment each day. All group social activities are canceled. We do have an internal TV network which provides information and entertainment. Our kids have introduced us to Zoom and virtual cocktail parties are regularly scheduled. We follow the rules and wear facemasks whenever we leave the apartment. Looking to the future, we have signed up with the Judkins, the Bishops, and Felice Rinder Kirsh for a trip on the Columbia River, but whether that will happen is anyone’s guess.”

Lynn Campbell Morris writes: “Greg and I have passed the ‘sailing test’ by spending time exclusively together for the last eight weeks. This year we celebrated 42 years of marriage. Our daughter Jennifer is in Costa Rica and our son Paul is in California. My Chaucer bibliography published in 1985 was just republished for the Chaucer library owned by the English publishers Taylor and Francis. Hope all Brunonians are safe and well.”

Writer Grace Hays Kone continues to write romance, mystery, suspense and sci-fi under her pseudonym Blair Bancroft. She has written and published more than 40 books. She writes: “I’m trying to squeeze time in to write a Regency Gothic while sewing 100 masks for family and friends and friends of friends. All this activity keeps me from getting bored.”

Charles “Red” and Nancy Kaufman Judkins planned an eighth ’54 mini-reunion with a small group of ’54s and friends to retrace the journey of Lewis and Clark down the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Washington state by paddle-wheel steamer. “We’re all hoping the trip through the lovely wine country of the Pacific Northwest will take place, and if so, there may still be room for you.” Contact Ed or Mary Bishop at (401) 274-4666/4667; maryfrancis.bishop@gmail.com.

Walt Halperin writes: “Willa and I have flown the coop (University House Retirement Home) to wait out the pestilence at our son’s house in Seattle. We get out to cycle the streets often (3-wheel recumbent bikes). On weekends we all go to Lopez Island (one of the San Juan Islands) to hang out on a 30-acre farm—fruit trees, beehives, Bald Eagles overhead, River Otters underfoot. We know just how lucky we are.”

Al Gerstein writes: “Naomi and I continue to do well, no great increase in the negative aspects of the aging process. As with everyone else, we are now embarked on a significant change in our daily functioning (learning how to order food online, getting excited when we score a few rolls of toilet paper). Until COVID-19 appeared we were having a splendid time in Florida, kibitzing on the beach with retirees from all sorts of backgrounds, swimming in the Gulf and working out (kind of) in the condo gym. When the Canadians left at the insistence of their children, we got the message—time to go home. At the last minute the auto train was canceled and we had to drive the 1,100 miles to Philadelphia. Not one of my favorite activities. On the plus side, we were able to cruise at a steady 80-plus miles per hour the whole way. The roads and motels were empty. Quite unnerving. Now I sit with a year’s supply of gloves and masks, two refrigerators chock full, a carton of bran (remember our age), and 24 boxes of Kleenex, sequestered from my fellow man. This better be over before 2024, otherwise we’ll have a reunion that will be truly historic. Did Brown have reunions in 1918?”

Paul Frontiero and Dorothy Zeiger Frontiero (’55 RISD) welcomed their first great-grandchild on January 31. Paul writes: “In these days of staying in place, we see him by Zooming twice a week together with our four children and five grandchildren in a five-state transmission coast to coast: California, Utah, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts. Transferring to North Carolina from New York by IBM in 1965, I remained here after retirement in 1995. I have finally convinced Dorothy that she is no longer married to an IBM executive but to a trombone player and I have a music degree from UNC-Chapel Hill to prove it.”

Howard “Skip” Fielding reflects on life during the pandemic: “Well, today was an exciting day. There was mail in the mailbox. Joyce and I miss our traveling. We’ve been to many countries on five continents and miss showing slide shows and lecturing about our travels to our church group. Before the quarantine we enjoyed an active life of dancing, movie-going, playing bridge, and seeing family and friends. Hope other ’54ers are also doing well.”

Marshall Cohen and his wife of 25 years, Arlene Sidell-Cohen, still enjoy travels to Europe, although he writes: “The suitcases look more like a hospital as we are senior members of the ‘Pill of the Month Club.’” Marshall has stepped down after serving for two years as president of the American Scandinavian Association but still chairs a photo group that meets at the National Press Club (NPC), where he has been a photographer for 36 years. He was awarded his 12th “Vivian” award from the NPC for his photographic service. Starting with Nikons and now using very light Leicas he has captured (on film and digital media) kings, queens, congressmen, presidents, film and stage stars, corporate leaders, and great Brown presidents Ruth Simmons and Vartan Gregorian. He hopes to complete an autobiography, The Night Nothing Happened, in time for the 70th reunion.

Professor Arthur Blaustein, who recently retired from teaching Politics and Public Policy at UC Berkeley, wrote that he had spent the first month of the pandemic writing a new introduction to the new edition of his book, Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport, which was published in July.

Sid Baumgarten writes: “At the time of this writing, we are currently in the New York City lockdown and luckily Terry and I and all the kids and grandkids are fine. I have been involved in a number of interesting interim projects. I have a small interest in a company that does decontamination as a federal contractor, so we have focused on decontamination of federal law enforcement vehicles. We have already completed projects for the Secret Service, U.S. Marshals, Army, National Guard, and more. We use electrostatic sprayers that cause the ‘fog’ to adhere to the surfaces, an improvement over regular sprayers. I won’t get rich on it, but it does keep me busy and is an important service during this pandemic. Terry is busy with a few of her clients, working remotely, and also engaged in a lot of projects for the Lions Club. I have also started writing a book about my exploits in the DA’s office and its work in Midtown Enforcement. I am focusing much of it on corruption at all levels. I do intend to have one chapter on my years at Brown and, of course, the Brown baseball team and the late, great Lefty Lefebvre. All the best and wishing you and all the 1954 survivors good health and many more years of alumni-ism.”

Sara Devine Townsend, a neighbor of Patricia MacBride Hendrickson at The Highlands in Topsham, Me., contracted the coronavirus and spent more than five weeks in the hospital.

Betsy Kissane Shequine is retired from her position as a judge but is active on the hospital board and edits her garden club newsletter. As her responsibility during the pandemic, she regularly calls members of her parish church in Millbrook, N.Y. to check on their physical and emotional well-being. For exercise, she has started taking long walks with a friend, each of them masked, and walking one on each side of the road. She measures her steps on her phone and tries to do a mile and a quarter each walk.

Class secretary David Nichols is in his home in Princeton, Mass., and is grateful that his son brings in groceries. His last physical check-up was through Zoom and he enjoyed sitting at his desk in his own home for the appointment. His cataract surgery was postponed since elective surgeries were cancelled at the time of this submission.

Ellen Arnold Lloyd is living in The Quadrangle, a retirement community founded by the Quakers of Haverford College, not far from where she grew up in Lancaster, Pa. She writes that she feels very fortunate to be able to be safe and cared for when so many others are in distress. She is required to take her temperature every day and report it to the community’s administration. No one can visit her but her groceries come to her door through a choice of vendors. She notices her garden more and the birds at her feeder. Every Friday evening at 6 p.m. she shares a Zoom cocktail party with family and friends. She finds that even with long stretches of time on her hands, certain projects—like organizing family pictures stored in shoe boxes—remain undone. Her eldest daughter, Barbara Smith ’79, a Presbyterian minister in Myersville, N.J., presents sermons on YouTube now. Her grandson’s wedding planned for June has been postponed for a year. Two other grandsons completed college coursework with online study from a vacation cottage in East Orleans on Cape Cod. And her daughter Ellie, a librarian in Toronto, is struggling with the protocols for opening Toronto’s libraries safely.

Class treasurer Annette Barabash Leyden writes that one of the pluses of the pandemic is the chance to reconnect with classmates by phone, including Barbara Olins Alpert, Kitty Barclay Merolla, Lucy Laventhol Brody, and Pat Phelps. Annette lives in Kendal on Hudson, a retirement community, and has rediscovered walking with the assistance of a walker. She has not increased her reading much since the New York Times takes up so much time. She is active in local elections.

Patricia MacBride Hendrickson is living alone in her home in the Highlands, an assisted living community in Topsham, Me. While confined largely to her own space, she is able to take long walks around the beautiful surrounding rural area. She orders her groceries through the Highlands management and they deliver the groceries to her door. She maintains her very active involvement in politics, writing letters to the editor, participating in webinars, and working on campaigns to elect progressive leadership. Her daughter Laura Hendrickson ’88 AM, ’08 PhD, and husband Rupert, who is an anthropology professor at Cambridge University, UK, are self-isolating at home. Groceries are delivered by their food cooperative, and their 7-year-old daughter is engaged in remote learning with her school.

Ralph Crosby of Richmond, Va., a member of Alpha Delta Phi, writes that he returned early from his vacation home in Naples, Fla., to his home in Virginia due to the virus. His five sons and seven grandchildren live in Richmond and thus he has plenty of help during this shut-in period. He feels that Virginia is very fortunate in having a really competent governor who is leading the efforts in handling the deadly virus. Ralph is a trustee emeritus of Randolph-Macon College, having served 26 years on their board.

Sally Hill Cooper is weathering the pandemic in her apartment in Arlington, Va. Sally is a conscientious worker for the Democratic Party and is involved especially in national politics. She spends her extra home time “cleaning out her files” so she will be ready to roll when the restrictions are lifted.

Marybeth Keser Burbank is in her home in Brunswick, Me. She recently lost her husband, Jim. After many years of caring for him at home, she had to admit him to hospital care. With the virus necessitating prohibition of visitors, she and her children were not able to be with him for his last days.

Glenn N. Bower of Southern Pines, N.C., is secluded in his retirement place. Although it is composed of four large apartment buildings and homes and cottages, about 300 people altogether, with three dining rooms in their clubhouse, all of these facilities are closed. He is allowed no visitors and meals are brought to his door. He is allowed to visit the grocery store. He says North Carolina’s governor was concerned that two health centers in Pinehurst did not report deaths in a timely fashion and that there has not been good reporting from the State in general. Glenn was an Alpha Delta Phi at Brown, and his late wife, Suzanne Griffiths ’53, four daughters and one granddaughter graduated from Brown.

Ruth Arness Anderson is in London, Ontario, where, like so many others, she is a shut-in. She believes we have to work together to find a solution to end the pandemic and build a better world. She just read the BAM and it made her nostalgic for those good years at Pembroke College and Brown University.

Barbara Olins Alpert ’56 AM writes: “Several archaeologists who are studying Kapova Cave in Russia have obtained permission to translate my book into Russian. Kapova Cave is in the southern Ural Mountains and is dated 10 to 15,000 years ago. My book The Creative Ice Age Brain is about prehistoric art, primarily preserved in caves and best known in France and Spain. Much of it has been dated back to between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago. The book attempts to probe the minds of the artists who left this amazing early human legacy.

Class president Barbara Kirk Hail reports: “I have been in touch with several classmates to ask how they are faring during their coronavirus pandemic isolation. The virus has created a new reality for all of us. For our age group particularly, perhaps it is not all bad. It gives us time to think over, appreciate, and put in order, the experiences of our long lives. May we all come together in 2022 at Brown reunion and share our collective wisdom. All my hopes for good health for all of our classmates, and for the world.

As for myself, I am self-isolating in my condo in Warren, Rhode Island, but the adjacent bike path allows a physical and emotional release with walks along the river and opportunities to observe ospreys perched on their nests before darting down to scoop up fish to feed their young. My daughter, Cindy Andrews Elder ’13 MPA, fills my grocery list weekly and disinfects all boxes, cans, fresh vegetables, and fruit before delivering it to my refrigerator. My son, Clinton Andrews ’78, a professor at Rutgers, had to master the new art of teaching a seminar in urban planning by Zoom. My daughter, Elizabeth Andrews Byers ’79, is working from home in Elkins, West Virginia, through webinars and Zoom with her fellows at the State DEM. Elizabeth’s husband, Alton, is home writing proposals for their next trip to Nepal, where they study glacial melting. Their son, Daniel Byers ’08, is studying filmmaking at Columbia University and finished his academic year on Zoom while living with his parents. For the first two weeks after arriving home, his parents sealed off a section of the house for him and served him his dinner on a stump outside his door. It is a quiet household, all three of them in their separate corners, online, working hard. At 5 p.m. they break and go for a long walk six feet apart with masks on. The new reality.”

Russ Kinne writes: “I’m still living in mid-coast Maine; will be here forever, I think. Great place, great people. Living in a nifty little log house and driving my 11th Subaru (Maine’s unofficial state car). I don’t have a small airplane anymore and I miss it like mad. But at my advanced age of 46 (on each foot), the insurance is prohibitive. Sigh. Sure was fun. I keep in regular touch with Col. Charles Williamson, who is now living in Atlantic Beach, Florida, and I see him once a year on my ‘winter walkabout,’ which was 6,800 miles this year. Hard to believe. David Clough ’51 lives fairly close to me and I see him occasionally, but he spends half the year in Florida. I see Brooke Kruger Lipsitt ’63 and Paul Lipsitt, our class president, once a year too. Guess where? I miss the ‘old gang’ and hope some/all of you will visit. You’re always welcome. Hope we can meet at reunion, whenever it is. And if you want a few laughs get a copy of my first published book of almost-fiction, Rosie’s Lightning; it’s on Amazon and ridiculously cheap. I keep expecting Hollywood to call and buy it for a movie, but I guess they’ve lost my phone number. Sigh again. Fair winds to you all.”

Jerry Green, longtime sports columnist and writer for The Detroit News, is now the only print writer to have covered all 54 Super Bowls. He covered Super Bowl LIV when the Kansas City Chiefs were the victors over the San Francisco 49ers in Miami Gardens in February. Two colleagues who kept streaking with him for 53 years since Super Bowl I in 1967 dropped out. Green retired from the active staff of The News in 2004, but continued to write daily and game Super Bowl columns afterwards. “I’m recalled to active duty every January,” he says. Green was elected to the writers’ wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as recipient of the Dick McCann Award in 2005 and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Class president Paul Lipsitt writes: “Much is topsy turvy since our last class note. The bad news is that our well planned 70th reunion for May was postponed. The good news is that we will look forward to it. My co-chair, Caroline Decatur Chick, and I are thinking ahead to that time and that many classmates will be with us then. We are remaining sheltered, and maintaining contact with friends and relatives through the marvel of electronics. FaceTime reassures us that grandchildren do not forget us, and Zoom is wonderful for courses and parties. Ever true.”