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CLASS NOTES

River Campus Undergraduate--1950s

Go to: Pre-1950 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s


'50

Class Correspondent
Kenneth Hubel
2562 Oak Circle N.E.
N. Liberty, IA 52317
(319) 626-6562
E-mail: khubel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu

A note from George McKelvey '58 (Mas) (GMcKelvey@hmcadm.admin.hmc.edu) recalled his long association with Joe Platt, University physics prof in the 1940s, who departed to be president of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. Classmates may recall Platt's guitar rendition of "It's Not the Money, It's the Principle of the Thing," which he composed to enliven a party celebrating the Nobel Prize award to his mentor, Isador Rabi. George joined Platt in 1957, after having directed Alumni Relations at the University for six years. In 1957, he married Velma Vergara and they had a son (now a geologist) in 1965. Now VP emeritus, George built the development program at Harvey Mudd until 1989, then did the same for neighboring Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. He now consults ("the last refuge of scoundrels"). I was chagrined to find that George's role as father of WRUR was apparently not known in an article on that topic in Alumni Review. "Sic transit gloria mundi."

Jill Geier Finegan lived in central New York for several years, where her husband directed public relations groups at Cornell, Wells, and Colgate, before assuming the same role at Pomona College (also in Claremont, Calif.). Now in California for 20 years, she has three sons and five grandsons and is a children's librarian in a local elementary school. She writes that she "led a much more exciting and interesting life than I contemplated as a 'city girl' at the University." Rochester remains her sentimental home but recollection of Rochester winters keeps her in California. (Jill Finegan, 1012 Ottawa Dr., Claremont, CA 91711).

Tom Lodato '61S (MBA) (Navy ROTC) was assigned after graduation to the USS Rochester as fire-control and, later, engineering officer and spent two and one-half years in the Korean War. He joined Kodak in 1953, the year that he married Joyce Kiefer. After serving the company in numerous engineering roles and earning an M.B.A. from the University, he became plant manager of the Kodacolor Division at Kodak Park. He and Joyce have four children and three grandchildren. Tom retired in 1986, then consulted as a volunteer with small businesses through the U.S. agency, SCORE. Family, golf, personal investing, and reading now dominate his activities. They live at 68 Foxbourne Rd., Penfield, NY 14526.

Ed Mullen wrote to tell me that Jim Hursch '53M (MD), varsity tennis player at Rochester and later an obstetrician/gynecologist with a practice in Batavia, N.Y., died in June 1996. Ed also wrote that he (J. C. Penney manager) and his wife, Jane Colahan Mullen (reading and Spanish teacher), retired five years ago and have been active in Cancer Action, especially with the ostomy group that had been personally supportive. The night before writing, they had met with classmates Bob Clough and Jim Clark and their wives, Phyllis Adams Clough '51 and Katherine Heinrich Clark '67, '71W (Mas). The Mullens' nine grandchildren also keep them traveling from their home at 217 Helen Road, Rochester, NY 14623. The phone is (716) 272-7087.

C'mon! Where are the rest of you?

'51

George Lombart '52 (Mas), '69 (PhD) was reelected president of the New York State Retired Teachers Association at the group's fall convention. Lombart also received a special award for his outstanding service.

'52

45TH REUNION, JUNE 6­8, 1997

After an engineering career with GE and Motorola, Stephen Kimmel is now with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He and his wife, Patricia, have three grown children, Stephen, Ann, and Mary. The Kimmels will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in 1997. . . . I Remember is an autobiography by Frank E. Schacht, husband of Nancy Washburne Schacht. The Schachts, who live in Laguna Hills, Calif., have four grown children, Nicholas, Thomas, Andrew, and Margaret.

'54

John C. Robinson reports he spent the months of May and June in the Republic of Armenia as a consultant to the Central Bank of Armenia. Robinson, a bank examiner for New Mexico, participated in a World Bank/International Monetary Fund project to review the safety and soundness of banks in the new commercial banking sector of Armenia. His assignment also included on-the-job training of Armenian Central Bank personnel in the international standards and practices of bank examination and auditing.

'56

George M. Gold has been named director of the publications department of the Close Up Foundation, which offers citizenship education programs for middle and high school students in the United States. Gold, who received a J.D. from New York University School of Law, had served as director of publications for the Association of Trial Lawyers and editor of Trial magazine. At the American Bar Association he was senior editor of the ABA Journal, director of the Journal book division, and editor of Bar Leader magazine. The Close Up Foundation publishes a series of textbooks and supplemental materials and produces television programs that air on C-SPAN.

'57

40TH REUNION, JUNE 6­8, 1997

'58

Class Correspondents
Valorie Evans Rathbone
'60 (Mas) and John Rathbone '59
R.D. #2, Box 55
Hamilton, NY 13346
(315) 824-3049

Dayton Vincent writes that he and his wife, Lola, are "off and running again--around the world, that is!" In August, they traveled to Colorado where Dayton attended three committee meetings in a week, after which he flew to South Africa on two back-to-back overnight flights to attend another conference where he was an invited guest. This February, Lola and Dayton attended the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Long Beach, Calif. In April, the two of them will be off to South Africa for two and a half weeks, where Dayton will serve as co-chair of an international conference at the University of Pretoria (and they will visit Capetown). With all this traveling, he writes that "we are always glad to return to our home in Indiana. I believe there is something to the song, 'Back Home Again in Indiana,' although I do wish we had a better football team at Purdue." Dayton says hello to his college roommate, Dave Peters '66W (Mas), and wonders how he is doing.

So, for Dayton and others, here's some of what Dave and Ellie Peters had to say at Christmas. They, like others in the Northeast, have had a strange introduction to winter this year, with an early freeze-up followed by a thaw and several weeks of nice, fall-like weather. Daughters Sharon and Cindy will be marrying in May and July. Ellie took a part-time position last year as an interpreter at the Early Americana museum in Shelburne, Vt. When not serving as a guide at the museum, she has been crafting quilts and wreaths. Dave is still working as a volunteer guardian ad litem (GAL) for family court, where he has "met some wonderful local people--and some not so wonderful." He is gearing up to serve as a trainer of new GALs. Dave's time at home is spent either "playing" with his computer, reading, or trying to improve his construction skills. He has completed a storage shed and is working on a new basement room as well as helping daughter Sharon and future son-in-law Steve Moffatt build their home in the mountains. High points of 1996 were watching sled-dog races from their front window, camera-hunting for moose, and traveling to Florida, where they took their first cruise and saw Disney World. Bitten by the water-bug, Dave and Ellie now have their own "yacht," a pontoon boat for their lake.

Dick Vidale and wife Margaret have written an account of "European Vacation IV," during which they traveled to Switzerland to attend daughter Laura's wedding. Dick writes that the ceremony was conducted in English, French, and German, reflecting the truly international gathering. Back in Wellesley, Dick returned to B.U. business, wrote a paper, worked around the house, and played a little tennis while Margaret resumed teaching English as a Second Language for the Bouchereau International Language Center. Younger daughter Lisa became engaged to her longtime ballroom-dance partner Joe Chan and the two are planning a wedding for 1998. To prepare for that event, Dick and Margaret have also taken up ballroom dancing--and you can picture them performing their favorite dance, the tango, as Dick glides by, sweeping Margaret around the dance floor while clenching a rose in his teeth. Can't wait for a demonstration at the 40th!

Gordon and Chris Hersey Perry write that they bought a house in Rhode Island, as Gordon is doing some work for Brown University. Chris says that she is enjoying the university community and that their three children and three grandchildren live fairly nearby, keeping them busy.

Joan and Dick DeBrine write that they are settling into their new life and learning the true meaning of the term 'Yankee' up in Charlestown, Vt. This includes a new use for a rake: besides gathering leaves, it's also used to clear one's roof of snow. Last spring they watched the Connecticut River overflow its banks because of an ice dam. Later in the spring, Dick received his MBA from Plymouth State. In January, Dick joined the faculty there, was sharing his new-found knowledge and business acumen with students. The shrewd Yankees of Charlestown immediately realized that Dick could be put to work for them. Consequently, he holds down several volunteer positions within the community: treasurer of the church, president of the historical society, member of the board of "the Fort at #4," and member of several local committees. Their B&B is thriving and Joan has had several recipes published in cookbooks. Thanks to an article accepted by Yankee magazine, Joan is now a professional author! The DeBrines became grandparents in June and Joan was able to attend grandson Peter Sheldon DeBrine's birth in California. Later this year, son Keith and Ann DeLeone will marry.

Remember, classmates: Start warming up to the idea of a 40th class reunion. It's less than two years away!

'59

Barbara Hunt Homolka now lives in the Czech Republic with her husband, George, and their children in his family's castle. They returned to the castle after the transition to democracy in eastern Europe, and have begun to modernize the "primitive" facilities of their home. One of their purchases was a microwave oven.


Go to: Pre-1950 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s



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