These pages contain all class notes from the Yale Alumni Magazine from 1957 on. The notes appear unchanged from their original publication save for the correction of misspellings and other small errors. The few gaps in coverage that exist result from the absence of Class of 1957 notes in a few issues of the magazine over the years. Also, in keeping with changes in the magazine itself, the frequency of publication occasionally changes.

Return to Master Index of All Class Notes

Notes: December 1989
Notes: November 1989
Notes: October 1989
Notes: Summer 1989
Notes: May 1989
Notes: April 1989
Notes: March 1989
Notes: February 1989

Notes: December 1989

Back by popular demand! Mini-reunion III is set for Saturday, January 20. As usual, galleries, theaters, museums, and the gymnasium will be ready and waiting. We will gather for dinner in the Presidents' Room in Woolsey Hall and then go on to a hockey game versus Cornell. Our dinner speaker will be the Bird White Housum Professor of English and Director of the Commonwealth of Letters, who is better known to most of us as a former All-American soccer player and a past master of Trumbull College. I'm referring, of course, to Mike Cooke. Our impresario, Bernie Kosto, will have other delights and surprises for us. It is a special event and outlanders can package it with a trip to NYC or whatever. We will send a notice to East Coast classmates. Others need only contact me at the above address or at 301-244-7510 or Bernie at 203-525-1467, and we'll put you on the list. See you there.

It's not too late for Hanukkah or Christmas rush to your favorite bookstore and buy Travels with Alice. Bud Trillin's latest display of quintessential irony. The new collection of stories is Bud's thirteenth hardback, a new record for class authors, but not by as wide a margin as you might think. Our reunion gift committee will be monitoring royalties carefully.

An excellent recent piece in the New York Times on ESOPS featured the smiling visage of Joe Vittoria, the leading exponent of this art form. Those of us who attended last spring's Class Dinner in NYC were treated to a terrific talk by Joe, replete with unprintable anecdotes. Had a good talk recently with Henry Von Maur who was in the country to look after his ailing mother back in Davenport, Iowa. Henry's regular address is 1267 Coinsins, Vaud. Switzerland. Henry reports that his livelihood is based on "either chocolates or finance." Take your pick.

Franco Muggia recently celebrated an unusual milestone, namely the 50th anniversary of his arrival in America, as an immigrant from Italy, on the SS Virgilio. Franc is practicing medicine in Los Angeles, at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California. George Wiley writes in from Chicago that he remains in place as Director of Compensation (interesting title) at Amoco, and that his son Peter is finishing his third and final year at Yale Divinity School, following in the recent footsteps of our own Harry Valentine.

Received, also from Chicago, a recent announcement from Family Matters, an organization focusing exclusively on family business owners, the notice featured our own Class Treasurer Rod Correll and Rod's recent article entitled "Facing Up to Moving Forward," published in the Spring 1989 issue of Family Business Review. Rod still finds time to collect class dues, which are tax deductible, thanks in part to our adoption last January of a class constitution. If you haven't done so already, please send a check for $40, before year-end, payable to "Yale University--Class of 1957, addressed to same at P.O. Box 205, New Haven CT 06521. Thanks in advance for your support.

Happy New Year to one and all.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: November 1989

Athletes. That is what we really are. Athletes. How about this recent quote from a rowing regatta program: "This group of otherwise sober, serious business and professional people, have made rowing for the middle-aged an all-consuming drama of defiance." This is a glowing reference to Steve Flagg and his boat, the New Haven Eight, which has been competing successfully in events from San Diego to Copenhagen.

Previous class notes have applauded Don Roberts' annual performance in the Boston Marathon, Will Reimann's gold medals in the U.S. Grandmasters Single Sculls and in Sweden, Bob Goering and Phil Wedmeyer's efforts in masters' fencing, and the exploits of Dana Bray's racehorses. Ed Meyer, we are sure, will excel in all racquet sports. Obviously inspired by all of this, Art Diefendorf, former national president of the Finn Class sailing Association, was seen bobbing and weaving in his little boat in September in a big regatta in Marblehead, Mass., with one eye on the 1992 Olympic Trials.

Now, what we are supposed to be doing is masters' golf. How about writing in about that? We have been in Stuart, Fla., Jack Turben had Jack Nicklaus one-up after five holes. Indeed, we know every shot that was played. Rumor out of Hartford is that Binky Davis and par golf are synonymous, despite occasional triple bogies. But what about the rest of you? Our senior year, thanks to the likes of Tony Delude, Pete Nisselson and Ink Clark, Yale was the Eastern Intercollegiate champion in golf. Have these three gone on to greater handicaps? Have Pete Fritzsche or Dick Moneymaker taken up the game? Send information by fax or Federal Express.

Little Rock, Ark., continues as an active class center. Bill Chadduck is now in residence as a neurosurgeon and a member of the medical faculty at the University of Arkansas. His colleague Fred Gugggenheim, Chair of the university's Department of Psychology, was recently named Citizen of the Year by the Arkansas Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Fred also now serves as Secretary of the Association for Academic Psychiatry.

Late Breaking News: Walter Clarke recently joined our group of diplomats abroad (see prior articles on Ambassadors Bob Pettetreau and Tim Towell in Tunisia and Paraguay respectively). Walter has been named political counselor in Madrid. Bruce Agnew is now free-lancing in Washington, D.C., after twenty-three years with McGraw-Hill. Joe Mesics is now living in Lebanon, PA, practicing law and consulting on charitable giving, after six years of service at Phillips Andover.

Finally, this should reach you just before The Game. If you are in attendance, don't forget Frank and Nancy Mongillo's party at 12 Oliver Road afterward to celebrate the victory.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: October 1989

I regret to report the deaths of two classmates.

Ned Morris died on April 21 after a long battle with cancer. Ned's career was investment banking, and he ran his own company, Edward W. Morris, Jr., and Company. He is survived by his wife Angel and two children, Neddie and Nina, at 66 Mendota Ave., Rye, N.Y. 10580.

Bob Grosse died suddenly of heart failure at his vacation home in Bondville, VT, on February 26. At the time of his death, Bob was managing director and president of the USF&G Constitution Fund, a Connecticut-based investment fund. Bob is survived by his wife Giseal and two children, Eric and Arianna. They can be reached at 64 Walbrooke Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583.

Frank and Nancy Mongillo have once again kindly agreed to host a class gathering after the Harvard game on November 18. If you had been debating whether to go to The Game, this should push you over the line, because they give great parties. Nancy and Frank live at 12 Oliver Road, just beyond the Central Avenue parking lots, barely the length of a half-decent punt from the Bowl. A great place for you campers from West Hartford and Greenwich to relax while the traffic clears off Derby Avenue. See you there.

Congratulations to Pete Farrand. Pete was married on June 15 to Teresinha Zillo de Carvalho in Bend, Ore., and sends "abracos" to all classmates. After his excursion stateside, Pete and his bride returned to São Paulo in Brazil where he can be reached at Rua Jacurici, 166, Apartment 61, B1, 2, CEP 10453. Don't ask me to explain the abbreviations.

Hats off to Charlie Marks, our insurance whiz, who on September 1 became Secretary of the Million Dollar Round Table, the ultimate industry international honor society. In his twenty-five years of service with Prudential, Charlie has received a long list of professional accolades. He currently heads the Rock's New Orleans office. Charlie has also served as President of Goodwill Industries in Louisiana and been active in many public and charitable efforts.

Accolades are also in order for Vic Goodman in Columbus, Ohio, who will appear in the next edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Vic is a labor specialist with Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff. He also has a distinguished record of public serviced, including the chairmanship of the Rickenbacker Port Authority in Columbus and appointment to the Board of Regents of the state of Ohio.

It is a banner year for our class lawyers. Bob Rhoads, who practices in Trenton, NJ and Philadelphia, is listed in Who's Who in American Law. Bob recently was honored with an award by an interfaith group in Philadelphia for "service to others regardless of race or creed."

Zach Sacks is also an attorney with a diverse lifestyle. Zach heads the law firm of Sacks, Rivera & Solomon out in Los Angeles, but he has also found time to act in the "New Gidget" TV series and in a movie, which he does not name (perhaps acting on advice of counsel). In any event, it is heartening that there is a strong public demand for theatrics from attorneys. This is an obvious opportunity for Ron Sharp, the battling barrister of Bridgeport. Who will volunteer to be Ron's agent?

Late Breaking News: Dick Sargent is now President and C.E.O. of the Chubb Institute. Talbott Huey has just been appointed Asian Studies bibliographer at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library of Michigan State University. Walter Loesche recently received an honorary doctorate in odontology from Goteberg University in Sweden. John Stockwell is a new college trustee at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. John continues as an investment banker with A.G. Edwards & Sons, in Portsmouth, NH. Finally, Jerry Johnson reports in from Houston, where he continues to move up the executive ladder at Shell Oil, with three different management roles since he returned to corporate headquarters, five years ago.

Quite a diverse bunch, the Class of 1957.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: Summer 1989

Just like our tax returns, class notes for this issue had to be submitted by April 15, but probably won't reach you until your tax refunds come through. Being a gambler at heart, I'm going to make some rash predictions for May events, still in the offing as I write this column.
For openers, I'll pick Houston, a Maryland bred to win the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, and the Preakness, in my home town.

The first May event to predict is our Annual Dinner at the Yale Club of New York on May 2, expertly managed by Randy Guggenheimer, who flew in from Australia for the event. Lars Kulleseid introduced the evening's speaker, Joe Vittoria, C.E.O. of Avis, who enlightened us on the topic "ESOPS and Other Fables." Joe "tried harder" by leading the successful effort of the Avis employees to acquire their company. This was the largest such venture in financial history. I predict that the Yale dinner produced a record turnout.

At its annual dinner on May 20, the Yale Club of Chicago bestowed its highest honor, the William McCormick Blair Award on Vern Loucks, in recognition of his outstanding service both to Yale and to Chicago. I predict that while Vern got all the accolades, which were well deserved, his fellow member of the Yale Corporation, Bub Trillin, got all the laughs as Master of Ceremonies for the big event. I also predict that future winners of the Blair Award will be two other distinguished Chicagoans, Bide Thomas and Peter Fritzsche.

Since I'm on a roll, I'll make a personal prediction for May. I'll wager that on May 14 your Class Secretary will marry Harriet Granet in a very small ceremony in our backyard here in Baltimore. Whoopie. Art Diefendorf was scheduled to post as an official witness, along with the writer's pet baby bulldog, Eliza Yale, known to her friends as Ellie. Ellie now serves as our alma mater's "official" mascot south of the Mason Dixon Line. She is undefeated, so far, in Yale lacrosse.

How's that for May predictions? Back to reality, our thanks go to John Marden for the successful completion of his three-year term as our AYA representative. Come next fall, Bernie Kosto will serve as our class delegate to the AYA, and still, we hope, double as impresario of our annual winter mini-reunions, which Bern has run so well the past two years.

The Class had a very active year. In addition to the January mini-reunion in New Haven and the May dinner in New York, we also had successful gatherings in the fall in Washington, D.C., Annapolis, and Cambridge, Mass., thanks to the efforts of the likes of Jim Banner, Bob Joost, Bill Eaton, Luke Finlay, Don Backe, Will Reimann, Mo Raker, and Roger Cogswell. We also adopted our first Class Constitution and, by the close of the fiscal year on June 30, we should have more than 500 class dues payers, a substantial increase from the prior year.

For the coming academic year, we are hopeful of staging another event in Washington, a gathering in Cleveland hosted by Ohio's staunchest Republican, Ted Jones, and hopefully, once again, Frank Mongillo's bash after next November's victor over Harvard. Events in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area are also under consideration. Ideas for events in other towns will get our full support. Just drop me a line and we will help with the planning, mailing, and the budget for all such events. Let's continue to keep class interest high as we move towards our 35th.

Have a good summer.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: May 1989

Our diverse and distinguished class bookshelf continues to grow. John Leinenweber is back in the East with a new address at 9 Beardsley Road, Kent, CT 06757-9766. John tells us that his new book will be "published in May," but no news of the title. John is the author of Pathways in Scripture and for several years edited a publication called Monastic Studies. This makes a total of about a dozen class authors (writing on a dozen different subjects) whom I have reported on in the last year or so.

Add Joe Robinson to the growing list of class computer specialists. Joe is a mechanical engineer and a teacher at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J. He has been in the forefront in developing systems and technology to permit severely disabled and handicapped persons to work with computer-aided design. Thanks to Ray Ellison for sending in a recent feature article in a New Jersey magazine praising Joe for creating new opportunities for handicapped persons to find employment as computer operators.

Thanks also to Sandy Clark for a report on what appears to be our most recent class marriage. Cale Carson and Karen Hemmeter were married last Christmas Day in Honolulu. A blissful photograph shows the smiling couple, replete with leis, framed against the blue Pacific. Cale and Karen got in shape for the big event with a 2,800-mile bicycle trip through virtually every nook and cranny of England and Ireland. This fall they will do the same in France. Cale promises full details on these journeys at our 35th Reunion.

Late Breaking News: Pete Greer is down in Frisco, Tex., with a thriving business keeping the hospitals of the Southwest stocked with oxygen, having recently added sixty-two hospitals to his kit. Also back in Austin, Tex., is John Ferguson, after a stint in El Segundo, Calif., as a consultant for Uncle Sam at the Aerospace Corporation. Jim Mikusky is now with Teledyne Systems Co. in Northridge, Calif., as director of army marketing. Ken Gergen is the winner of yet another award, adding to those mentioned in the March 1988 YAM. Ken will be on leave from the Psychology Department at Swarthmore for a year of study in Heidelberg, as an Alexander Hamilton Scholar. Bill Calin, a Professor of Romance Languages, has moved from the University of Oregon all the way to the University of Florida.

Dick Arnold is now Chair of the Budget Committee of the United States Judicial Conference. Dick continues as a federal appellate judge in Little Rock, Ark., on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Also in the legal world, Ralph Wrobley recently opened the Kansas City office for Bryan, Cave, McPheeters and McRoberts. Pete Bouscaren is on the move again, now running Denver operations for L.J. Hooker, a land developer based in Atlanta. Where does Pete live? Baltimore, of course. Finally, Talbott Huey is now with the National AIDS Information Center, working for Aspen Systems of Rockville, Md.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: April 1989

Our second mini-reunion, held at the end of January, was great fun. We tried to include something for everyone. There was a choice of matinee or evening theater performances, including a special production at the Yale Rep and the Art Gallery had an excellent show on German Expressionism. In the evening, sports fans had the choice of joining large and enthusiastic crowds for hockey at Ingalls or basketball at Payne Whitney. Those of you who have not been in New Haven for a number of years may not be aware of how much both the city and Yale have to offer.

In between all these events, we managed to have a Class Dinner. It was once again expertly run by Bernie Kosto, who also introduced our speaker, Vince Marchesi, Chairman of the Department of Pathology at the Yale Medical School, who was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Vince did a fine job in making current developments in molecular biology and the mysteries of DNA understandable to his lay audience.

We will be back with this event next winter. Plan to join us. You will most likely find the likes of Bab, Bartlett, Bowman, Copelin, Correll, Davis, Ellis, Gillis, Jones, Dick, Kosto, McLanahan, Marchesi, Marden, Mininberg, Mongillo, Perkins, Quirk, Skolnick, Vittoria, Watling, Weinstein, Wittenberg and their charming wives, guests, and a few children, all of whom made up this year's contingent.

At our January class meeting, we formally adopted our first class constitution. Copies are available upon request. One noble purpose in going to this trouble was to make sure our class dues are tax-deductible. This means that there are no more excuses if you haven't kicked in your dues for this academic year. Send a check for $35 forthwith, payable to Yale University--Class of 1957, to the writer or to the AYA, P.O. Box 901A, New Haven, CT 06520-7407, Att--Class of 1957. Many thanks.

It was good to catch up with Bruce McLanahan. After a long career at ITT, Bruce has joined the law faculty at the Fordham campus at Lincoln Center, specializing in civil rights and employment law. Bruce enjoys the new challenge and time away at his ashram in the Adirondacks.

More on John Miller's new book, initially mentioned in this column in February, The Bridge at Dong Ha, published by the Naval Institute Press, has been chosen as the July book of the month by the Military Book Club. Its setting is Vietnam in April 1972 and it tells the story of a Marine colonel's single-handed heroics in blowing up a strategic bridge and forestalling a major North Vietnamese offensive. John himself served two tours of combat duty in Vietnam. He is managing editor of Proceedings magazine, in addition to his teaching duties at the Naval Academy.

Our annual NYC dinner at the Yale Club is set for May 2. A special mailing will go to classmates in the area. If you plan to be in New York from out of town, call or write me and I will provide the particulars and the name of the mystery speaker.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: March 1989

I'm sure most of us followed with interest the historic talks with the PLO in Tunis last December. Bob Pelletreau has the signal honor of leading the U.S. delegation. Bob has been our Ambassador to Tunisia for the past two years and is recognized as perhaps our leading specialist on Arab affairs. He formerly served as Ambassador to Bahrain and his diplomatic career includes service in Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Bob's exploits call to mind the long list of classmates who have distinguished themselves in our foreign service. Tim Towell, as recently reported presently serves as Ambassador in Paraguay. Alan Wendt also holds ambassadorial rank. The roster of present and past Foreign Service officers include Phil Pillsbury at USIA, Bob Hewett, Tim Childs, Bill Eaton, Talbott Huey, Walter Clarke, and Colin Thompson. Let me know whom I have missed.

Tim Childs, a Foreign Service alumnus, is a leading expert on Turkish history. Later this year, he will publish a book on Turkish-Italian diplomacy and the war over Libya between these powers in 1911-1912. One of Tim's other current projects is the creation of a Foreign Service Museum. How about a special room for the Class of 1957.

Bob MacKinnon has been prominent in legal news. A long-time partner at Shearman & Sterling in New York City, Bob was recently named the firms' lead lawyer for Citicorp. Bob is one of the country's leading practitioners in the fine art and alchemy of workouts.

Our condolences go to Chuck Kerr on the death of his son David. Chuck is a member of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona. He can be reached at 8230 East Broadway, Suite W-2, Tucson, AZ 85719-4029.

Career changes continue apace. Bart Gage, after a career in the personnel business, is a candidate for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church and is currently working as a pastoral assistant at St. Mark's Church in New Canaan, Conn. Bart joins Harry Valentine in the ministry. Harry, a recent graduate of the Yale Divinity School, is now in La Jolla, Calif. Also in Hamden, Conn., Sam Guy has moved on from SNET and is now a consultant in business and financial planning. Bill Kern still resides in Harleyville, Pa., but he is now an engineer with Merck & Co., after a long career in power plant construction.

Pete Farrand, our old magnate in Latin America, can now be reached at Rua Jacurica 166, Apto. 61, 12453 San Paulo, Brazil. Finally, Phil Clover reports in from Ridgewood, N.J., as Vice President and Comptroller of the Network Services Group of Western Union Corporation, which recently acquired ITT's international telex and lease lines businesses. Phil assures us that his CB handle "Beancounter" is still apt. He just has lots more beans to count.

Hold May 2 on your calendar for our annual dinner at the Yale Club of NYC. Randy Guggenheimer will be master of revels and would welcome both help and ideas for the evening. More on this event in the April issue.

—Thomas P. Perkins III

Notes: February 1989

Hats off to Larry Kramer, whose most recent play Just Say No had a run late last fall in New York. Larry and his play were the subjects of several laudatory pieces including one in the New York Times. The reviewer there described Larry as being "wildly respected as a prescient artist/activist whose rhetoric may have been inflammatory but whose grim message was tragically accurate." Eat your heart out Bud Trillin.

Many thanks to Will and Helen Reimann for a fine time before the Harvard game in their loft aerie high above the banks of the Charles River. This was our fourth class event during the fall. We hope to continue these gatherings and look forward to seeing more of you at various class functions. It was good to see Frank Michelman at the party. Frank continues as a Professor at Harvard Law School and looks much younger than the rest of us.

A recent promotion from Omni-Graphics, Inc. featured a new work by Townie Ludington entitled John Dos Passos' Fiction USA. Townie continues on the faculty of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. We seem to be a Class of prolific, diverse and successful writers. Add the New Yorker's Jerry Jonas, SUNY's Professor Peter Hare, and our favorite colonel at the Naval Academy, John Miller.

Jerry's most recent book is The Circuit Riders: Rockefeller Money and the Rise of Modern Science. This book is all about "philanthropoids," a word unknown to our fellow alumnus, Noah Webster. The author's connotation appears generally to be favorable. Jerry's work has been received as a novel and important contribution to the study of charitable magadonors.

Last November, Peter published Doing Philosophy Historically, which, along with Jerry's work, is both innovative and provocative. Peter presently serves as President of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.

About the time this reaches you, the Naval Institute Press will be publishing John's second book. The Bridge is a true story of a Marine Corps captain's heroics at Doug Ha in Vietnam during the 1972 Easter offensive. Sounds interesting. Perhaps Goey Franciscus can play the lead in the movie. Incidentally, any news of Goey's whereabouts would be welcome.

The Class is also, if you will permit minimal hyperbole, on the cutting edge of computer science. Mo Raker, who continues to flourish at a Boston attorney, is also actively marketing his problem-solving computer software inventions. Other luminaries in this field include Professor Frank Lin who teaches computer science at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, and Charlie Gold, a manager at IBM headquarters, in charge of Big Blue's use of computers for internal information processing systems. These three join others in this field we have mentioned in prior issues.

If, perchance, there are any regular readers of this column out there, they must be puzzling over the same question that constantly nags the writer. Didn't any of us finish in the bottom half of the Class?

—Thomas P. Perkins III