by
Barrie
Rich
Following our grand mini-reunion the first week of
November in
Washington
,
DC
, the weekend before Thanksgiving was a busy one in
New Haven
for our classmates. First was the AYA Assembly on Thursday, entitled
"Yale's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy." Under President
Levin's direction Yale is leading the Ivies on reducing CO2 emissions,
from lights in the colleges to transportation. In fact, President Levin
has given up his SUV for a hybrid. He said that as long as you are not
in a hurry it is fine. Attending the assembly were Bob Mitchell, Bob
St. John, and your secretary. On Friday was an all-day session by
the Yale Alumni Fund attended by Paul Pesek and John
Franciscus.
On Friday night the Blue Leadership Ball took place at
the gym, honoring five Yale lettermen who had distinguished themselves
in their postgraduate careers; each received a Lifetime of Leadership
Award. One was our own Charlie Johnson. A number of classmates
attended the ceremonies, including Harris Ashton, Joel Smilow,
Bob Martin, Bill Downey, Peter Coughlan, John
Cleary, Ed Toohey, Jim Monde, Howard Brenner, Joe
Fortunato, John Franciscus, John Cratura, and Bruce
Meacham.
Then on Saturday morning at Coxe Cage was a dedication
of the Class of 1954 Yale Field with a big ribbon-cutting ceremony. A
large number of classmates attended. Both Charlie Johnson and Joel
Smilow spoke, being two of the largest contributors. From there we
went on to our skybox at the field where 120 had signed up, the largest
ever. At halftime we all marched onto the field for a second dedication.
That part was a lot of fun, but the less said about the game, the
better. Following the disaster we all assembled in the Smilow Field
House for drinks and food. President and Mrs. Levin joined us in our
sorrows as did Tom Beckett, director of athletics. It was a fun crowd as
the augmented Whiffs entertained us with their songs.
Sukey Wagner sent in a copy of a privately published
biography of her late husband Rod Wagner, who died in March 2005.
It was organized and paid for by a number of his associates at Morgan
Bank and written by a professional writer, Ted Botha. It is an
impressive memorial to one of our classmates and touches the
heartstrings in many ways. Some of us knew him as a leading
international banker, others as an outstanding wildlife promoter. This
book brings it all together in one place and places him as one of our
outstanding classmates. He retired as vice chairman of Morgan Bank and
his memorial service was held at the
American
Museum
of Natural History. Apparently Sukey has extra copies for those who are
interested.
Four nice notes have been received. Berel Lang
writes that for the past three years he has been visiting professor of
philosophy and letters at
Wesleyan
University
. He was recently elected a member of the
American
Academy
of Jewish Research. Jim Raths reports that as of January 1 he has
given up teaching but will stay active with events at the
University
of
Delaware
. Marve Missan indicates that he has just enjoyed his 75th
birthday in
New Haven
and that all is going well. He must be one of our few classmates who
never married. David Murray writes from
Stilwell
,
Kansas
, that he's looking forward to our 55th reunion.
Sadly, there are two deaths to report. On September 19 Herman
Osterhus died in
Wake Forest
,
North Carolina
. He spent 37 years working for three commercial banks in
New York City
and in
New Jersey
. He then retired to
North Carolina
where he was active in numerous business and church associations. He is
survived by his wife Carol and four children. David Black died in
Seattle
on Christmas Eve. This late news was passed on by his good friends, Cam
DeVore and Sandy Muir. David led a remarkably useful life as
a teacher and administrator, fully engaged in the life of the school he
had attended and involved in countless civic and environment projects as
well. He is survived by his wife Inez and several children.
Contact:
Barrie
Rich
4522 Woodmere Rd.
Tampa, FL 33609
gaiusiv@aol.com
|
|
by
Barrie
Rich
The AYA has advised that our 55th class reunion dates
will be the weekend of June 4-7, 2009. So those interested in attending
may now make plans accordingly. Carl Loucks has agreed to head up
the event, assisted by Don Gray. They have already formed a
reunion committee and are arranging plans for the event. Irv Jensen
has graciously consented to be our gift chair, so many of you will be
hearing from him during the coming months. If anyone has any strong
ideas about a panel discussion or a topic for discussion, please contact
Carl at (203) 245-9718 or by e-mail at ct.direct.mail@snet.net.
Dick Suisman has passed on information about a
highly worthwhile effort called the Dick Thornburgh Project. As
we know, Dick served two terms as governor of
Pennsylvania
, and was attorney general of the
U.S.
for two different presidents. Dick has now donated his personal papers
(nearly a football field's worth of them) to the
University
of
Pittsburgh
, where he attended law school and now serves as trustee. Pitt's
commitment to fund the space for the papers is over $1 million. A
concurrent campaign, run by numerous friends and volunteers, has raised
$2.75 million. Now $250,000 is still needed. As the campaign draws to a
conclusion, it seems appropriate for members of our class to raise this
final sum. Specific donor names (with spouse) from our class will be
listed under the "Yale Class of 1954" on the large donor wall
outside the
Thornburgh
Center
. Donations are tax-deductible and may be fulfilled over a three-year
period. Checks should be made out to "DT Legacy Project,
University
of
Pittsburgh
" and mailed c/o Institutional Advancement,
University
of
Pittsburgh
,
4200 5th Ave.
,
Pittsburgh
,
PA
15213-9972
.
Richard Murphy advises that he and Luda were
members of an international delegation sponsored by the National
Democratic Institute for International Affairs to observe Ukraine's
parliamentary elections, which were held last October 30. After
intensive briefings held over four days, they visited 11 polling
stations in
Kiev
. They were up for 22 hours observing the opening of the polls and the
counting of the ballots. He reports that all seems to have gone well.
This was their ninth trip to
Luda
's native country.
Arnold Kaiman died in
West Bloomfield
,
Michigan
, on December 31. He was one of our classmates from whom no one had
heard in many years with no known address. Following Yale he received an
MA in Hebrew letters from the
Hebrew
Union
College
in
Cincinnati
, and later on received an honorary doctor of divinity from the
University
of
London
. Rabbi Kaiman spent 36 years as an ordained reform rabbi in various
locations around the country. He was the first Jewish U.S. Air Force
chaplain in the history of the Air Force Academy. He is survived by a
sister, a son, and a daughter.
John Phelps Clark died February 2 at
Yale-New
Haven
Hospital
. He lived in
Guilford
,
Connecticut
. Following Taft and
Yale
College
he obtained an LLB from
Yale
Law
School
. After two years in the Army, he joined the
New Haven
law firm of Wiggin & Dana, where he stayed for 25 years, becoming a
partner in 1966. He then became vice president and general counsel of
Saab-Scania of
America
. In 1992 he established a private law practice specializing in
corporate and entrepreneurial law. He is survived by his wife, Patricia,
and their two children and by his former wife, Frances, and their two
children.
From
Baltimore
comes word of the death of Roger D. Redden on January 31 at the
Union
Memorial
Hospital
there. After Yale he obtained a law degree in 1957 from the University
School of Law, where he was editor in chief of the Maryland Law
Review. He spent most of his career as partner at the Piper and
Marbury law firm, where he became highly regarded in the
Maryland
legal field. One of his lifelong interests was the simplification of the
law, and in 1966 he was appointed by Governor Tawes to a commission to
revise inheritance and estate law. He continued in these efforts for the
next 25 years. But his knowledge of law was so broad that he was often
asked to handle many other complex matters. At one time or another he
represented every county in
Maryland
. He also maintained a lifelong interest in architecture and travel. He
is survived by his wife, Gretchen.
Just as these notes were about to be submitted, a fine
long letter was received from George Spaeth detailing some of his
lifetime accomplishments and awards. Space here only permits mention
that George recently traveled with Ann to
New Zealand
, where he was awarded the Goldman Medal, to recognize his contributions
in the field of glaucoma. The medal had only been given to three
previous investigators. There will be more on George's distinguished
career next time.
Contact:
Barrie
Rich
4522 Woodmere Rd.
Tampa, FL 33609
gaiusiv@aol.com
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Class
Notes