Class Notes: Class of 1960

While last fall’s reunions on campus had to be suspended, that didn’t stop alumni from connecting with one another, catching up on their lives after Rochester, and sharing their favorite campus memories.

Here, some members of the Class of 1960 reflect on their time at Rochester.

For updates about reunion, visit Rochester.edu/reunion.

Ruth Danis

Rochester

I experienced the 1960s to 2020, and I will be happy to stay around for the “new normal.”

Favorite memories: As president of the Young Democrats (all male) I was host to John Kennedy when he was running for president. We had a meeting and we discussed Algeria. Professor Richard Wade ’43, ’45 (MA) provided us the opportunity.

Howard Feldman

Aventura, Florida

I’ve always been proud to be a graduate of the U of R, but, as time has worn on, I have become even more so as I regularly read in Rochester Review about the many innovative changes that have been introduced at the University in the recent decades. Not only is the campus no longer recognizable, but the expansion in programs and schools is amazing. Whenever I hear about a new initiative or discovery attributable to a U of R faculty member, I know that the item is going to be of real value to the world.

Favorite memories: Boar’s Head Dinner, dinners in the dining hall, football games, Richard Fenno’s political science classes.

Robert Greeves

Bethesda, Maryland

For 22 years I have been married to Mary Ann McNamar. Between us we have two girls, two boys, and six grandchildren. We live outside DC six months per year and the rest in Walnut Creek, California.

I retired from the Justice Department in 2013 but continue to work as a senior policy advisor with the National Criminal Justice Association on the reform of the criminal justice system.

Favorite memories: Sunny days in the fall. Frisbees and footballs on the quad. Pizza car outside dorms. Girls with moms headed for football games. Friends meeting in Todd Union. Parties at the fraternity house (DU for me). Fall weekend activities and home football game. Dates from the Hill and from Helen Wood Hall.

Soirees from campus to Jim’s Hots across the river. Beers at the Bungalow Pub. Panty Raids on the Hill. Singing in the Q Club and watching K-Scope. Walks along the river and blankets in the parks. Outings to the suburbs to play shuffleboard and dance with coeds at the Genesee Inn. Tennis with Pete Lyman ’47 as coach. Great record of the football team in 1960. Big win over Tufts at the end of the season.

Richard Miller

Washington, DC

We have been married for 45 years, living in Washington, DC. Our two children live in New York City and San Francisco, with two grandchildren in New York, whom we see as often as we can.

Howdy Pratt ’66 (PhD)

San Juan Capistrano, California

I spent nearly 10 years (1956–1966) getting educated at the University of Rochester. I graduated with a BS in geosciences in 1960 and a PhD in 1966. I was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity and long-term friendships—John Milliman, Speed Speegle ’61 (MA), Kenny Hayden, Roger Nelson, and I attended our 50th Reunion in 2010. John Milliman and Bob Witmer ’59 were close friends for 60 years. I played varsity tennis for three years and was elected to the U of R’s Athletic Hall of Fame (tennis) in 2004. I’ve been an active alumnus—a member of the George Eastman Circle, Trustees Council, and the regional San Diego council.

Susan Allison and I were married in 1960. We went through graduate school together, both getting our PhDs. We had two sons, Kevin and David Riley, of whom we are extremely proud. Susan and I divorced, but we have remained friends to this day.

From 1966 to 1969, I was a lieutenant and then a captain in the US Air Force in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I managed and conducted programs in nuclear weapons effects and site characterization.

The Salt Lake City decade began when I became the first employee and technical director of Terra Tek, a company conducting applied research and development for the defense and energy fields. We grew from 1 person to 200 in staff. I was also an adjunct professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah from 1972 to 1982.

In 1977, I married Sharon Decker, and her two sons, Jake and Drew, which was soon followed by my son, Riley. In 1980, we moved to La Jolla, California, where over the next 23 years, I became senior VP and group manager for Science Applications International Corp., a Fortune 500 company. It was the largest employee-owned high technology company in the United States, before going public. I managed physical sciences and environmental sciences and technology groups. Think developing and implementing geophysical information systems around the world, including Russia; scientific and engineering consulting for the Department of Energy, especially nuclear waste disposal in Nevada; and environmental analysis of Exxon’s environmental impact statement for proposed offshore platforms and onshore facilities near Santa Barbara, California—the answer was they have a very large environmental impact and have not been built. La Jolla has been a special place for almost 40 years.

During my career and in retirement, Sharon and I have traveled to 50 countries on six continents. In retirement, I served on the boards of directors for five companies, one as chairman and one as a founder. We have loved traveling and seeing our children (5) and grandchildren (8) scattered around the country. Sharon and I enjoyed tennis and restoring the Pratt family home in Hanover, Pennsylvania, for our annual family reunion. We are still playing golf, bridge, and walking the beaches of La Jolla at sunset looking for the good flash. A good life traveled.

Roger Silver

San Francisco

I taught freshman comp and intro to literature at various universities for 25 years. As of now, I have been fortunate to have visited 94 countries, including 15 trips to Italy. I am nesting in my apartment, reading up a storm, but I do get to the gym three times a week and am able to enjoy San Francisco’s restaurants as they open.

Dennis Turk

Belton, Texas

Immediately after graduating as a mechanical engineer and a brand new second lieutenant in the US Air Force Reserve, I received orders to report to a Naval air facility in the middle of a California desert. After two years, I was transferred to Great Falls, Montana, where I was part of the original Minuteman Missile program. After discharge, I served in engineering and general management assignments ending as Mobil Chemical’s vice president for commercial recycling, retiring in 1996.

During an assignment in Temple, Texas, I was delighted to marry my wonderful wife, Anne, and our family of four daughters was “blended.”

One consistent aspect of my journey was a deep interest in community affairs and my service in numerous volunteer capacities. Also, I have always been deeply involved in vocal music, both in church choirs and in community musical ensembles.

Favorite Memory: It is difficult to single out a favorite experience from my U of R days. Perhaps the most memorable experience was being a part of a student-led organization, the Engineering Council. This group conceived of holding an open house for Rochester-area high school seniors who were interested in an engineering career. Under the patient guidance of Dr. Lou Conta and Professor Richard Eisenberg ’45, ’48 (MS), we managed to pull this off, and I will always remember fondly the looks of all our high school guests as they observed all manner of machines and processes being operated. The engineering lab was abuzz!

Marilyn Robinson Cline Whiting ’59N, ’60N

Stone Mountain, Georgia

After leaving the U of R, my husband, Earl Cline ’60M (MD), and I headed for the U of Michigan for his internship. Following seven years with the Air Force (including three in Germany), we settled in Oneida, New York, to raise a daughter and a son. Once they were both out of college and the daughter was married, we moved to New Hampshire, where Earl passed away in 1987.

I had utilized my nursing training in the OR and had been running and assisting in an ophthalmology practice in Oneida. Ultimately in New Hampshire, I was hired by UPS to serve as an occupational health manager, a demanding but exciting career as my territory covered all New England except Connecticut.

After retiring in 2002, I married Kim Whiting and inherited a step-daughter and son, four step-grandchildren, and two step-great-grandchildren. (My own family now includes three grandchildren as well.) We moved to a private golfing community in Bluffton, South Carolina (near Hilton Head), where we lived for 16 years. In December 2019 we started a new life in a lovely retirement community near Atlanta. We are thoroughly enjoying an active life and lots of fascinating new friends.

Favorite memories: Cheerleading at games, singing in the Chapel Choir and violing briefly in the all-University symphony orchestra, playing the role of “Perry the Friendly Ghost” in K-Scope, shenanigans in the Helen Wood Hall, meeting and marrying my first husband, Earl, before we both graduated. All of the memorable classmates.