These pages contain all class notes from the Yale Alumni Magazine from 1957 on. The notes from the July 1957 issue through that of July 2004 appear unchanged from their original publication in the magazine save for the correction of misspellings and other small errors. Starting with the September/October 2004 issue, the notes appear as they were submitted to the Yale Alumni Magazine. The edited notes as published in the magazine can be accessed via https://yalealumnimagazine.com/. The differences are minor. Gaps in coverage 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 since 1957, the frequency of publication has occasionally changed.

Return to Master Index of All Class Notes

Notes: January/February 2025

Notes: March/April 2025

Notes: May/June 2025

Notes: July/August 2025

Notes: September/October 2025

Notes: November/December 2025

January/February 2025

The annual Class of 1957 lunch will take place at the Yale Club of New York on Friday, May 16, 2025.  Inscribe it on your calendars.

I have nothing but sad news to report.

In Memoriam: James F. Loucks II died on April 21, 2023 at his home in Columbus, Ohio, of unstated causes.  An English major, a varsity track and cross-country team member, and NROTC participant, Jim (known to us as Jeff) served for three years in the U.S. Navy on destroyer duty before, in 1968, gaining a doctorate in English at Ohio State University.  Subsequently, he apprenticed elsewhere as teacher-scholar before returning to Ohio State where, greatly devoted to his students, he became a noted scholar of Robert Browning and T.S. Eliot while serving in senior administrative positions.  An active racewalker, competitive runner, punster, and for some time the single parent of two children, he seems to have become a good cook and do-it-yourself home maintenance expert, and, after retiring, a skilled pencil portraitist.  Predeceased by his second wife, Jim is survived by first wife Beverly Blesch and children Jeff, Nicki, Christopher, Elizabeth, and Katherine grandchildren.

In Memoriam: John A. Westcott died on June 14, 2023 of unstated causes, presumably in or near his Palm Desert, California, home.  A civil engineering major and NROTC participant in college, John spent 28 years with the Seabees on construction and demolition assignments in Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Scotland, Puerto Rico, and Diego Garcia before ending his career as commanding officer of the Port Hueneme (California) Naval Base.  Having gained a Stanford civil engineering MA, he retired at the rank of captain.  He then accepted responsibility for managing the construction of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, said to be the largest hospital construction project in the United States.  A tall, handsome, imposing figure, John was known for his joviality, his calm, and his leadership abilities.  Peter Cooke recalls him for his "openly friendly engaging manner, a wonderful friend to many, and someone strongly committed to the military."  John is survived by his wife Margaret, their children Karyn Trummer, Kean, and Kevin, and four grandchildren.

In Memoriam: Brian R. Walsh succumbed on August 10, 2023 to multiple causes.  A psychology major, he served after college on an ROTC commission in the U.S. Army.  Turning then to teaching history, he began his rise in school administration, first at the Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts, then at the Walnut Hill School in Natick before becoming headmaster successively of the Shore Country Day School in Beverly, Massachusetts and, in 1982, of the Buckley School in New York City, from which he retired in 2001.  Along the way, Brian served as president of three independent school associations, board member of three schools, co-director of the Fairchester Fellows Program, and post-retirement as a “head-hunter” for schoold seeking new leaders and advisor to parents seeking appropriate schools for their children.  His Boys Should Be Boys: A Headmaster's Reflections appeared in 2008.  With typical wisdom, he wrote at our 40th that despite a changing world, "children stay the same....[T]heir innocence, their incredible optimism, and their naturally humane values are as they were when we were children,"  When asked what he hoped children would learn, his response was “to be kind.”  Toby Briggs writes that parents "adored him."  Brian is survived by his wife Daphne, his sons Brian Jr., Arthur, and Amory, and five grandchildren.

In Memoriam:  Robert J. Smith died of unstated causes in New Haven on October 9, 2023.  A history major and a trombonist, Bob was president of the Yale Band that march-marched on down the field.  After earning a University of Pennsylvania PhD in French history on a Fulbright Scholarship and teaching at Miami University of Ohio, he joined the faculty of the State University of New York at Brockport, whose study-abroad program in Paris he directed for many years and where he wrote two works on French history after 1850.  Bob wrote wryly for our 35th reunion that having first written about radical and socialist French intellectuals, he was now studying French industrialists "with an empathy I could not have summoned twenty years ago."  After retiring to New Haven, he taught math at the Lincoln Bassett Elementary School while working with the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Initiative there.  A golfer, he was an avid reader of T. S. Eliot who, he wrote, helps us realize the validity of his "dismal prediction about our civilization's legacy as a thousand lost golf balls".  In addition to his wife Sumiko Higashi, Bob is survived by his son Patrick by a former marriage as well as a brother and sister.

In Memoriam:  We lost William L. Owens on October 11, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  A history major, Bill spent his life in business, first in management, then as operator of a bottling company and hardware store, and finally as a financial advisor for life insurance companies.  In the 1960s he was an Air National Guard reservist and throughout his life remained engaged in community work, which included being founding director of the Milwaukee Chapter of Flashes of Hope, an organization devoted to aiding children with cancer and seeking cures for their disease.  It's reported that he was a golfer and enjoyed fishing, theater, and a good game of blackjack.  Bill is survived by partner Brenda Gromiuk and five sons by his former wife: J. David, William L., Jr., Robert J,  Nicholas J., and Christopher R., as well as their families.

In Memoriam:  Malcolm L. Mitchell died in Ithaca, New York, on September 13th, 2023, of unstated causes.   A political science major, Malcolm earned an MA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania while serving in the US Air Force reserves.  After several years in Germany, he settled in the Finger Lakes region.  Spending the majority of his career in investment research and policy work as a leader of the Center for Investment Policy Studies and president of the International Center for Investment Policy, he also founded and published Investment Policy magazine.  At heart a writer, Malcolm’s principal work was Up From Gold: The Triumph of Paper Dollars.  A lover of Jane Austen’s fiction and choral and barbershop quartet singing, Malcolm’s distinctive role in the history of the Class of 1957 and Yale was his proposal and unremitting commitment that eventuated in the Class 1957 Music in Schools Initiative.  As Don Roberts writes, “Without Malcolm's inspiration, there would be no legacy of the Class of 1957 in the form of the Music in Schools Initiative or in any other form."  Close friend Jerry Jonas writes that Malcolm was "delightful company as well as a well-informed but gentle contrarian who liked nothing better than a good back-and-forth.”  He’s survived by his former wife, Angelica, and four children: Andrew, Vanessa, Jessica, and Daniel, their families, and 12 grandchildren.  Donations in his name should go to Hospicare of Ithaca, 172 East King Road, Ithaca, New York 14850.

JMB

March/April 2025

Ed Dean’s Getting it Wrong, the Price of Biased History (Austin Macauley Publishers) appeared in November. Ed describes it as a collection of “personal anecdotes and reflections [and] above all…a defense of a liberal education from someone grateful to have received one.”

In Memoriam: We learned recently that Stanley F. Skowronek died of unstated causes on June 1, 2017 in Branford, Connecticut. Stosh (as he was known in college) entered Yale with ‘56, withdrew, then returned to graduate with us. A physics major, he pursued a career in industrial research and earned an MA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He started out as a fuel quality control manager with United Fuel Corporation and was then employed United Nuclear Corporation and its successors. Having in 1992 lost his first wife Loretta, whom he wed 1957, Stosh remarried in 1997. Predeceased in 1999 by his son Charles J. Skowronek, he was survived by his wife Florence, sons Stanley P. and Mark S. Skowronek and their families, a brother and sister, and two stepchildren and their families.

In Memoriam: Henry Chisholm III died on November 9, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio, after a short period of declining health. A metallurgy major, Henry (known to us as Hank) started his career with Republic Steel Corporation and by 1967 was employed in the mining department of the Oglebay Norton Corporation, a Cleveland iron ore enterprise where he worked in engineering, sales, operations, and administration until his retirement. A golfer, Hank was also an avid curler, which gained him the presidency of the Mayfield (Ohio) Curling Club, where he ascended to the heavy responsibilities of ice-maker. In retirement, he tutored others in algebra, counseled people wishing to start or expand businesses, and is said to have been "the gravitational center" of his family. He’s survived by Sara (Sally), his wife of 66 years, their daughters Deborah C. Hull and Heather C. Evans, son Henry IV, three grandchildren, and a sister and brother.

In Memoriam: Robert M. Beaney died on November 20, 2023 of natural causes. A history major, Bob moved through the ranks of the Bell Telephone Company to become director of training and education for Bell Atlantic, the Bell Telephone spin-off that became Verizon, before retiring in 1997. Bob and Gayle, his wife of over 64 years, were drawn to music of all sorts. Bob himself sang and performed in mixed and barbershop quartets and amateur Gilbert & Sullivan productions. He also created an NAACP scholarship program to help high school students finance their college educations. A poet, Bob penned such unforgettable reunion verses as these: "Who can believe that forty's here/Why '57 was just last year!/Much has happened since those days of yore;/Most of us have aged several score!/Most, that is, except for me./I just turned twenty-three!" Pat Wilde describes Bob as "one of the most well adjusted persons I have known." He’s survived by his daughters Linda Corrigan, Nancy Beaney, Jill Beaney, and their families.

In Memoriam: Paul G. Chevigny died at his Manhattan home on December 11, 2023. A Phi Beta Kappa intensive history major, ranking scholar, Elizabethan Club member, and collegiate political activist, Paul became a noted civil rights attorney, teacher, and author after taking a law degree at Harvard in 1960. After Army service, a brief law firm stint, and time in Mississippi during 1964’s celebrated Freedom Summer, he opened his career at the Harlem Neighborhood Legal Assistance Project and as staff attorney of the New York Civil Liberties Union before joining the NYU Law School faculty, where he taught criminal law, established one of the nation's early civil rights clinics, and became Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law. Author of widely recognized books on police abuse and provocation, Paul won major First Amendment cases against systematic police abuse and secured a 1977 consent decree allowing civilians to observe and film police activities and photograph their badge numbers. He also defended the Attica prison rioters and the Black Panthers, whose acquittal resulted in yet another consent agreement prohibiting most police undercover spying. An aficionado of jazz and the blues, Paul became a champion of NYC nightlife. Using then novel free-expression arguments, he convinced courts to lift restrictions on bars and nightclubs, then went after limits on dancing, which the City Council ended in 2017. These victories made him a celebrity of New York night life. People likened Paul to Peter Falk's Columbo: shambling for effect and feigning indecisiveness to land his prey. Predeceased by his wife Bell Gale Chevigny, he’s survived by their daughters Katy ('90) and Blue as well as two grandchildren.

In Memoriam: We lost Lawrence M. Herrmann on December 13, 2023, in New Britain, Connecticut, to a series of strokes. An intensive Spanish major, winner of the Gideon DeForest Prize in Spanish, and ranking scholar, Larry attained an LLB from Harvard Law School, then enlisted in the Marine Corps to become a Major in the Judge Advocate Corps. By our 25th reunion, he’d been a member of the Manhattan District Attorney's office under Frank Hogan and an assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut. In private practice, he was a specialist in handling extraditions from Latin America and in community development there. He also defended military veterans with PTSD and fought to expand PTSD awareness and suicide prevention. His commitment to veterans' well-being led to service on the board of directors of Chapel of 4 Chaplains Memorial Foundation and as national general counsel of the Marine Corps League. In 2017 Larry was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame and was named among the top five percent of American attorneys for professional accomplishment and ethical conduct by Martindale-Hubbell. Predeceased by his first wife, he’s survived by his wife Noor.

In Memoriam: Bruce A. Agnew died from unstated causes on January 1, 2024, presumably in Frederick, Maryland. An English major, Bruce was a debater and member of the WYBC board. Upon graduating, he immediately became a reporter. First covering Congress, between 1962 and 1985 he was a member of the White House press corps for UPI, the New York Post, McGraw Hill's /World News, and Business Week, the last as Washington bureau chief. He then took up science reportage for the Journal of NIH Research before going out on his own to write for Scientific American, Science, and The Scientist as well as for the directors’ offices at NIH, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases. Along the way, he acted as free-lance editor of major health textbooks and reference works. Bruce had the knack of being present at important events. While at school in London, he attended Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation in Westminster Abbey as one of American onlookers. In 1974, he broke the news that Republican leaders had told Richard Nixon that he'd lost the support of their party. He also witnessed and had to report on, the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. A quiet, unassuming man, Bruce observed the world with a combination of seriousness, perplexity, and humor. Predeceased by his wife, a brother, and stepdaughter, Bruce is survived by his daughter Eleanor A. Kotler, her family, and many others.

JMB

May/June 2025

From Pete Greer comes a message that should help maintain the spirits of ancient men: “I’m still working out three days a week, driving myself where I need to go (mostly doctors’ appointments), doing my own cooking and housekeeping, and taking care of my dog.”

But then this:

In Memoriam: We learned tardily of the death on January 20, 2020, of Edward M. Levine, the cause and precise place of his death unknown. An economics major and a Yale varsity basketball player, Ed became a distinctive artist and architect after securing an NYU PhD (subject not stated) and studying at Madrid’s Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Miami and Wright State University; served as dean of the faculty of the Minnesota College of Art and Design and dean of the School of Art of East Carolina University; and founded many art programs, including the Visual Arts Program of MIT, which he directed. An artist who worked in sculpture, photography, landscape design, and architecture, Ed’s major achievement is considered “Vermont Village and Vermont Settlement,” a ten-acre work in South Royalton consisting of 50 site-specific wood structures incorporating water, photography, video, and sound. To support visual artists, in 2006 he created the Harpo Foundation—named, it’s said, “after the Marx brother who communicated without words.”

In Memoriam: We also recently learned that Thomas L. Brown died of unstated causes on December 1, 2022, at his home in Chesterton, Indiana. At Yale, Thomas (known as Brownie) majored in industrial engineering and was a 1956 All-American varsity lacrosse middle-fielder. He opened his career at the Sparrows Point Bethlehem Steel plant, then shifted to the firm’s Burns Harbor, Indiana, plant, where he remained over 40 years until his retirement as superintendent of sheet and tin. Thomas helped found and was president of the Chesterton Moose Lodge. He was also an active handball player, bowler, and golfer, one so good that he was given the honor in 1976 of being the first person to tee off at the opening of Bethlehem Steel’s Sand Creek Country Club. A gardener who canned his own produce, Thomas also took New York Times crossword and sudoku puzzles and Jeopardy! seriously. What’s more, competing against himself, he amassed a streak of 4,983 completed games of solitaire without a loss. Predeceased by Maureen, his wife of almost 55 years, he’s survived by their six sons: Neale, Jordan, Eric, Matthew, Ian, and Evan and their families. Memorial donations should go to the American Lung Association.

In Memoriam: Arriving late, too, was word that Frederick G. Guggenheim died on October 26, 2023, of unstated causes, presumably in or near Denver, Colorado. At Yale, Fred was an intensive history of art major, held the Marshall-Allison Fellowship in the history of art, and was a varsity track team member. After gaining his MD degree at Columbia Medical School, holding residencies in internal medicine at NYU and Columbia Presbyterian hospitals, and spending time at NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health, he became an academic psychiatrist. With a specialty in bipolar illness, Fred held academic appointments at New York, Harvard, Southwestern, Arkansas, and Brown universities, at some of them as named professor and department chair. Widely published, he served as president of the American Association of Psychiatry Department Chairs and of the Association for Academic Psychiatry as well as a member of the national advisory council of the Department of HHS substance and mental health services office. Retaining his college-days involvement with art, especially digital photography, Fred was also an avid bicyclist and art collector. Those who knew him recall the intensity of his presence, his lively humor, and his unlimited curiosity about the world. No survivors are known, although our 50th reunion book listed his wife, Olivia, and two children.

In Memoriam: Paul L. Rudman died peacefully of unstated causes on January 4, 2024, presumably in or near his home in Orono, Maine. An American studies major at Yale, Paul earned an LLB from George Washington University Law School. After serving six years in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the Maine Air National Guard and retiring at the rank of captain, he joined his father’s and brother-in-law’s practice at their firm, now Rudman Winchell, where he specialized in corporate, real estate, and insurance law and at one time led. In 1992, Paul accepted appointment to serve, as had his father, as a justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He retired in 2005. A director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Paul was a lifetime golfer and avid gardener. A man of high standards and known as a no-nonsense judge, mentor to law students, and advisor to fledgling attorneys, he’s noted by Lou DeLuca for balancing “a clever sense of humor” with “personal reserve.” College roommate Bruce Schragger agrees: he was “fun, but formal.” Confirmation is this: He wrote in our 40th reunion book that, following a Mainer who was said to have voted repeatedly for Calvin Coolidge long after his presidency because since then life had gotten better and better, he, too, was going to vote for Calvin Coolidge in the next election. Predeceased by his wife Inez, Paul is survived by their two children, Carole and Andrew, and their families. Gifts in his memory may go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, P.O. Box 1245, Albert Lea, MN 56007-9918 or to the Justice Abraham M. Rudman Scholarship Fund, University of Maine Law School, Advancement Department, 246 Deering Avenue, Portland, ME 04102.

In Memoriam: Ronald L. Coleman died, his place of death unknown, presumably shortly before January 18, 2024, when a short web obituary of him appeared. Little can be learned of his life or career. Ron amassed a distinguished undergraduate record at Yale, where, a history major, he was a ranking scholar, won the White Prize in history, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa before attaining a law degree also at Yale. It appears that he spent his entire career with the Cleveland firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey as a labor law specialist. It can be inferred that Ron was married to Mary, with whom he raised three children—Mary Beth, Mark, and Michael—who survive him, as does Kenneth Methven, his companion of 54 years and his husband of ten of those. Contributions in Ron’s memory can go to the Hospice of the Western Reserve or the Alzheimer’s Association.

In Memoriam: Our ranks also thinned with the July 18, 2024, death from unstated causes of Edward L. Sherako Jr., who died presumably near his home in Avon, Connecticut, long his place of residence. After majoring in economics, Ed joined the Cigna Corporation immediately after college before serving in the US Navy for four years. On mustering out, he rejoined Cigna, where he worked for the next 30 years, a hint suggesting that at one time he held a vice president’s post. He’s survived by his wife Barbara, daughters Anne Needleman and Carol Sherako, son Edward, and a granddaughter. Donations in his memory may go to the John Dempsey Hospital Fund at the University of Connecticut Foundation.

JMB

July/August 2025

Peter Wolf’s most recent book, The Etruscans and The Jews: New Orleans Echoes, Sardinian Shadows, Roman Shame appeared in January. Its title reminds me of the soups I make. I take all ingredients lying around, throw them into a pot, and hope for the best. Since Peter has written good soup before, this should be no exception.

Retired attorney Drum King reports that he and Heidi toggle between Florida’s east coast and the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania. Golf (handicap 18) and gym workouts vie with river cruises on their calendars. “Haven’t done anything useful in years,” he writes. And “a martini a day keeps the doctor away.”

Habemus podcaster! Retired CIA officer Colin Thompson is a featured figure in a ten-part podcast, “The Redefector,” about the notorious Vitaly Yurchenko, the double Cold War turncoat spy of whose case Colin became the primary CIA manager. Colin is also writing about the Vietnam War from his intelligence perspective.

In Memoriam: We have delayed word of the death on June 22, 2023, presumably in or near Irvington, Virginia, of Allan H. Young, who died from complications associated with congestive heart failure and Parkinson’s disease. A declared major in industrial relations, Allan withdrew in early junior year to graduate instead from Western Reserve University in 1959. It seems that he became a federal economist, his career culminating as director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce, which put him in charge of critically important and widely followed reports about the nation's economy, foreign trade, and industry. After his retirement, he assisted Malta's government, under IMF auspices, in adopting modern statistical principles and standards. From his riverside town, Allan sailed and taught others to sail a skipjack on the Rappahannock River and in the Chesapeake Bay. A woodworker, he also handcrafted furniture. He's survived by Victoria, his wife of 16 years, his children Laura Parks, David, and Charles, and many others.

In Memoriam: J. Michael Pattison died on November 1, 2023, in Marblehead, Masschusetts, the cause of his death presumably kidney disease. After starting out in the securities business with Smith Barney and E. F. Hutton, by our 35th reunion, Mike was living in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a photographer and by around 2000 residing in Newport, Rhode Island, where, Rob Walker reports, he was a highly respected tour guide for the Newport County Preservation Society. “Considered the expert authority on the Breakers, the Vanderbilt’s ‘cottage,’ Mike had all famous or illustrious visitors to that mansion automatically entrusted to him." He was also a classical guitarist, "a fine water colorist," "an interesting and accomplished person of sunny disposition," and "stimulating company." Mike is survived by Mimi, his second wife, and presumably by his three children—Stephen G., Belinda B., and Charles A.—by a previous marriage.

In Memoriam: Jay R. Inglis died peacefully of pulmonary fibrosis in Denver, Colorado, on January 28, 2024. A political science major at Yale, Jay spent six post-college months in the U.S. Army and many months on a VW Bug spin around Europe and the British Isles with roommate Don Bain before matriculating at Yale Law School for a 1961 degree. From then on he worked as an attorney and investment banker, held leadership positions in reinsurance and marine insurance firms and, from 1973 until his death, served as a member of the board of directors of Central Securities Corporation, a closed-end investment company. Jay and Judy, his wife of 60 years, maintained homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as on Shelter Island, New York, where he served on the board of its public library. Eventually, they moved to Vail, Colorado. In addition to being a skier, tennis player, and avid traveler who made many Atlantic crossings on the Queen Mary II, this buoyant man, Peter Cooke reports, was given to playing Philias Fog in hot-air balloons over Cappadocia. Known for his insight into people, analytical skills, and ethical standards, Reed Rubin writes that "his personal advice on various legal matters, counseling on investment decisions, and views, not perfect, on political events were of great importance to me." Joe Mark recalls, whatever the subject, Jay's "unique ability to bring much to any discussion...always with remarkable depth of knowledge and an engaging but challenging style." In addition to Judy, Jay is survived by their daughters Sarah ('90) and Shelley, their husbands, and seven grandchildren.

In Memoriam: Charles H. Carpenter Jr. died peacefully on February 13, 2024, of unstated causes presumably in Hingham, Massachusetts, his last known address of record. After majoring in American studies, Charlie earned a naval commission and served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean on a landing ship dock. He loved to relate how in 1958, anticipating being met by heavy fire when helping land Marines on a Lebanon beach, he was indeed faced by a vast force —an army of street vendors selling Coca-Cola. After mustering out, Charlie began his life-long career in sales and sales management with the Weyerhaueser Paper Company and other firms, which took him and his family to Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Illinois. They maintained a family home on Lake Tashmoo, Martha's Vineyard, where he swam, clammed, fished, played tennis, and sailed. A man of many community and charitable engagement, he’ll be recalled by classmates as the dedicated, sunny, witty, gregarious story-telling class agent from whom they received annual pleas for donations to the Yale Alumni Fund. Charlie's college roommate and close friend George Reisner describes him as "humble, laid back, positive, even-tempered" and a lively story-teller. Charlie is survived by his children Curtis C., Charles H. III, and Carolyn L. Carpenter and their families.

In Memoriam: David N. Deinard died of unstated causes on February 19, 2024, presumably in or near Stuart, Florida, his last address of record. At the time of his withdrawal from Yale, Dave was majoring in engineering; but whether he obtained a bachelor's degree elsewhere is unknown. He apparently served in some capacity, perhaps in the Army’s psychological warfare unit, before becoming an architect, presumably after professional preparation; but that, too, is unknown. Dave commenced his architectural career in Minneapolis, then by 1976 had moved to northern Virginia to become vice president and general manager of Urban Planners, a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Corporation, where he oversaw the design and construction of housing units around the world. Moving in 1977 to Stuart, he designed his family’s house in PGA Village, which suggests that he was a golfer. From there, he co-founded Herrlin-Deinard Construction Company, which is said to have built luxury residences and select commercial, religious, and educational structures on Florida’s Treasure Coast. After his 1997 retirement, he continued to practice architecture privately. By our 35th reunion, he'd taken up private flying. Predeceased by his wife Lynn, Dave is survived by their son Jonathan, daughter Allison Benson, and four grandchildren.

JMB

September/October 2025

Dick Oliver writes that having lost his wife Nadene in 2022, he now lives in Salt Lake City. In April, he cruised with his five children and their spouses from Budapest to Prague using their arms to prop him “on the cobblestone streets and countless stairs in the amazing cities and towns along the Danube.”

The gist of a report from Ellsworth Fersch is that with a Berkeley MA (English) and Harvard LLB and PhD (clinical psychology), he practiced forensic psychology and served on Harvard’s Medical School psychiatry faculty until his retirement. A jack of many trades, at one point he taught a seminar on law and psychiatry in Trumbull College.

In Memoriam: Adriel C. Graham, Jr. died of unstated causes on June 22, 2023 at or near his home in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We know only that, a mathematics major, he was an advanced systems and computer applications manager in 1967 for General Electric. Predeceased by his wife Margaret, he’s survived by children Jeffrey Graham, Janet Poetzschke, Judith Graham, and others.

In Memoriam: Lyman Drake died at home on April 21, 2024, in Laguna Beach, California, after suffering a stroke while fighting progressive blood cancer. At Yale, Lyman (called "House" after his favorite "Limehouse Blues") was the original drummer of Eli's Chosen Six, arguably the most notable 1950s college Dixieland jazz ensemble, which eventually included celebrated trombonist Roswell Rudd and cartoonist/cornetist Lee Lorenz. Majoring in French, House spent junior year at the Sorbonne. Then, after gaining an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and an MIT political science PhD, he taught briefly at the UC Irvine. But having caught the Gallic bug, he took up French antiques dealing, which provided a reason to own a second house in the lavender fields of Bonnieux in the Luberon, to which he eventually added another on the Big Wood River near Sun Valley, Idaho, where he maintained his business. A man of effervescent disposition, House's wry smile and natural sunniness masked a sober, politically astute mind. The late Ron Ragen described his “wonderful personality, tons of class, and a constantly working brain." Predeceased in 1987 by his first wife Claire, House is survived by his wife Debra, children Chloe, Colin, and Calysta, six grandchildren, and others.

In Memoriam: Jerome J. Pollitt died on April 24, 2024, at an undisclosed location after a long unspecified illness. An intensive major in history, the arts, and letters and ranking scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Jerry was a Fulbright Fellow at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens before serving in the U.S. Army and gaining a Columbia doctorate in art history and archaeology. Joining the Yale faculty only five years after graduating, he became the John M. Schiff Professor of Classical Archaeology and History of Art and then Sterling Professor of the same subjects. Dean of the Graduate School between 1986 and 1991, he also chaired two departments—classics and the history of art, the first of them twice—and was editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Archaeology, recipient of the William Clyde DeVane Medal from the Yale chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, and Wilbur Lucius Cross Medalist from the Alumni Association of the Yale Graduate School. Widely known for his scholarship, Jerry was called "one of the true giants of his field.” He’s survived by his wife, Susan Baker Matheson, the Molly and Walter Bareiss Curator of Ancient Art and Lecturer Classics emerita, with whom he co-authored two books.

In Memoriam: A. C. Read Charlton died in Farmville, Virginia on April 29, 2024, after a brief illness. A history of art major, Read set his compass to taking up the not un-distinctive occupation of “planter” on his family’s long-held Charlotte Court House farm. First, however, he served in the Marines, then in what he termed the "Defense Department (U.S. Army)" in Laos and Paris during peace talks to end the Vietnam War, finally at Fort Belvoir as an “analyst” until his 1988 retirement—that is, in intelligence work. One struggles to imagine this courtly, jovial man who spoke in the soft mixed tones of his native Savannah and up-country Virginia surreptitiously receiving encrypted handovers rather than tilling fields, planting crops, fishing—“I’d go to war for fresh cod”—hunting ducks, raising cattle, planting loblolly pines, and being "steward" of his plantation, where he’s now buried, with a conservation easement. To Kim Cheney he was “the kind of friend I always carried around in my head who popped out pleasantly and unexpectedly kinda like a warm blanket on a cold night.” In addition to Ann, his wife of 55 years, Read is survived by their children Read "Judge" Charlton, Jr. and Sarah Elizabeth C. Detrick, their families, and others. Donations in his memory should go to the Virginia Property Rights Alliance or the Southside SPCA.

In Memoriam: James F. Ziegler died on May 14, 2024 of unstated causes in Chester, Maryland. An industrial administration major and NROTC participant, Jim was winner of the 1954 Barge Prize in mathematics. After three years on North Atlantic submarine duty before adding a BA in physics from the University of Cincinnati, he returned to Yale for a 1967 nuclear physics PhD. Then, after serving as a research nuclear physicist in the Yale Electron Accelerator Laboratories and at IBM as a research scientist in computer architecture design and development and as well as in management roles, he spent 15 years on the U.S. Naval Academy faculty, toward the end of his career working on counter measures against the threat of improvised explosive devices. His contributions to radiation and cosmic ray physics and computer engineering gained him election as Fellow of the International Electrical and Electronic Engineering Society and of the American Physical Society and the German government’s Von Humboldt Senior Scientist Prize. A deer hunter, sailor, and traveler, Jim is survived by Ann, his wife of over 54 years, their sons Samuel and Matthias, their families, and others.

In Memoriam: We learned indirectly of the death of William O'Neill III on May 19, 2024. Little is known about him. A pre-collegiate graduate of Portsmouth Priory (now Portsmouth Abbey) School, he didn’t graduate from Yale. His last known residence was on Longboat Key, Florida.

In Memoriam: Norwood O. Hill died on May 24, 2024 in Newbury Park, California. A chemistry major, Norwood earned a 1961 MD degree at Baylor Medical School. Following residencies in internal medicine at Houston’s Jefferson Davis Hospital and Dallas’s Parkland Memorial Hospital, he served between 1963 and 1965 in the U. S. Air Force. By 1982, he was widely known for his researches into cancer, blood disorders, and the drug interferon and had become president of the Wadley Institutes of Molecular Medicine in Dallas, his native city. A major cancer research and treatment center, the Institutes, Norwood wrote, were involved "in such fast moving biotechnology fields as genetic engineering, monoclonal antibodies, and interferon.” “The principal blood bank of Dallas," he led their initiation of the first US manufacturing of interferon and the first clinical trials of an anticancer agent that later proved effective against testicular cancer. He also took the lead in testing donated blood for HIV and T-Cell leukemia virus contamination, a move that gained him condemnation by doctors and hospitals fearing law suits and eventually, because of his service as principal defense witness in AIDS-related lawsuits, led to his resignation from the Institutes, a story he related in his 2020 Blood and Betrayal: The Untold History. Nevertheless, he served as board member and president of the American Association of Blood Banks and spent time on an icebreaker in Antarctica waters, at biolabs near Novosibirsk, and chasing fish in Lake Baikal. Predeceased in 2015 by his wife Sarah and in 2004 by their eldest son David, Norwood is survived by their children Lawrence, Scott, and Jennifer Haggerty, their families, and others. Donations in his memory should go to the Texas Bee Keepers Association, the SPCA, or the American Cancer Society.

In Memoriam: We lost Harold S. Russell on June 13, 2024 in Lakeside, Michigan. A history major and NROTC participant, Hal spent two years on destroyer patrol in the Pacific before gaining a 1962 LLB from the University of Chicago Law School. After practicing law for White & Case and Sidley Austin, in 1971 he became the State Department's Assistant Legal Advisor for European Affairs. In that post, he served as a principal American negotiator at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which eventuated in the 1975 Helsinki Accords. A year later he joined the FMC Corporation of which he became responsible for its Middle East and Global South legal affairs before becoming its Vice Presidency for Government Affairs in Washington until his retirement in 2000. A tireless community citizen, Hal was a founder of the Region of Three Oaks Museum in Lakeside; a volunteer for Big Brother and Habitat for Humanity; vice president of the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless as well as founder homeless training and counseling programs in Philadelphia and in Washington; a member of the Washington D.C. Corrections Information Council; and a tutor of students at the Elihu Yale School in Chicago, his native city. Graced by a combination of keen intelligence, seriousness of purpose, warm and sunny disposition, and easy humor, Hal is survived by Margo, his wife of 63 years, and their children Nina ('86), Nathan, and Peter and their families.

JMB

November/December 2025

In July, Franz Gimmler, Art Gibb, and yrs. truly visited the Annapolis facilities of Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating, an organization that provides sailing instruction and experience to disabled people. Founded in 1991 by Don Backe after an auto accident left him a paraplegic, CRAB has become a spectacular success, influential beyond American borders, and testament to Don’s indomitable grit.

In Memoriam: Allen A. “Tommy” Thompson died of a heart attack in New York City sometime in 2024. Entering Yale with ’56, he transferred to ’57 and majored in psychology. Efforts to learn about his life have been unavailing. Out of college, he joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Company as business manager. Subsequently, he commenced a life of travel and investing. Known for his devotion to others and as a devotee of jazz, especially bebop, he’s recalled by Dick Crisler for “his astonishing ability to play percussion instruments. Professional jazz drummers would listen in awe as he played.” Dick writes also of Tommy’s “positive enthusiasm, his pursuing life to the fullest.”

In Memoriam: We’ve learned of the death on May 19, 2024, of William O’Neil III, of whom little can be discovered. Entering with us as a pre-collegiate graduate of Portsmouth Priory, he didn’t graduate from Yale. His last listed residence with us was on Longboat Key, Florida. The obituary of another identically named person, also with a Florida address and identical date of death, can be found; but that decedent’s name possessed a middle initial and thus can’t reliably be identified as “our” William O’Neil.

In Memoriam: Classmate Bernhard W. Witter died after a short illness in Oxford, Maryland, on June 26, 2024. Born in Göttingen, Germany, as Bernhard W. Wehefritz, Bernie survived the war, then gained sponsored entry into the US. After learning English from occupying GIs and schooling in Danville, New Jersey, at Yale he majored in industrial administration, played varsity soccer, managed the track and cross-country teams, and was chief printer of Jonathan Edwards. Following management training with GE and US Army Reserves service, he gained a 1963 MBA from Harvard Business School. Seeing himself as a “catalyst” for others’ activities, he held credit and financial posts with Standard Oil and International Paper, became an authority on European pipelines, served in senior positions for Commodore International, and managed the Philadelphia law firm Dechert LLP. A traveler to every continent, in retirement he had homes in Oxford, Maryland; Davidson, North Carolina; and Washington, DC, where he indulged his love of classical music and the city’s art museums. A serious man, he engaged the world with sunny warmth, a giggling laugh, and a robust sense of the ridiculous. Predeceased by Liz, his wife of almost 60 years, Bernie is survived by his second wife, Suzanne Beauvais Beyda; his sons Scott and Jonathan and their families; and siblings Christiane Wehefritz and Valentin Wehefritz.

In Memoriam: John C. Fistere Jr. succumbed to a long struggle against Parkinson’s disease in Solana Beach, California, on July 26, 2024. A mechanical engineering major, John spent his junior year at the American University of Beirut. After service as a US Navy engineer, he commenced his engineering career with Westinghouse Electric and ended it in management positions with Solar Turbines Inc., from which he retired in 1997, his specialties being software systems inventions and control systems development of steam and gas turbomachinery. A longtime resident of El Cajon, California, John was an avid supporter of local journalism and public radio, for which he read for the blind. He was also the cofounder and first executive director of the Prostate Cancer Research and Education Foundation and wrote and published a software program designed to help prostate cancer survivors track their test results. He was probably the only ’57er to make it through the nation’s toughest electoral contest and editorial gauntlet to see his caption win a New Yorker weekly cartoon caption competition. Predeceased by his wife Teresa Farr, John is survived by daughters Jennifer and Jessica, his first wife Jane, and others.

In Memoriam: Philip C. Richards died peacefully at home in Wilton, Connecticut, on July 30, 2024, after an extended illness. An electoral engineering major with a 1962 MS in electrical engineering from NYU, Phil joined Bell Labs where he became a supervisor of electric switching systems programming. Subsequently, after directing product planning and control for IT&T, he established his own consulting firm, which offered management advice to telecommunication company executives. An avid barbershop singer, Phil became a regional leader for the Barbershop Harmony Society and founded a distinctive mixed barbershop quartet, the Grandpas and Grandmas, which included his wife Anne and performed throughout the United States and in England, Italy, China, and Russia. In Fairfield County, Phil served on many boards and with Anne founded Stay at Home in Wilton, a nonprofit “village” designed to assist older people to continue to live independently. A man of generosity, charity, and warmth, Phil is survived, in addition to Anne, by their sons Charles J., William S., and Philip T., their wives, and four grandchildren.

In Memoriam: Pierre Bouscaren died peacefully at home in Gainesville, Virginia, on August 24, 2024. A pre-collegiate graduate of Baltimore’s Gilman School, Pierre (known also as Pete or Bous) majored in human culture and behavior and was a varsity lacrosse player (considered “very competitive” by Drum King) before serving in the US Army and later in the National Guard. Spending the rest of his life in northern Virginia and starting out with the Rouse Company, Pierre was a generalist in residential leasing; shopping center, factory outlet mall, and community development; inner-city redevelopment; contract leasing; and residential real estate. Expertise in court and paddle tennis, ice hockey, sailing, skiing, fishing, and golf joined his earlier lacrosse skills. Describing music as a lifelong “passion,” Pierre sang in the freshman glee club, his churches, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and a barbershop quartet. He also became a skilled home chef, finding cooking “quite therapeutic” while surviving cancer. Known for his warmth, sunny laugh, and easy calm, he was, as the late Ron Ragen wrote of him, a man who “smiled often, giggled a little, had a wonderful, positive personality, and was also wise.” In addition to his wife Sarah, Pierre is survived by daughters Winslow Waxter and June Bouscaren, three stepchildren, and their families, including 11 grandchildren.

In Memoriam: A. Lynne Graburn II died of unstated causes on October 20, 2024, presumably somewhere in Kentucky after having moved there from New York’s Capital Region. Matriculating with us, Lynne withdrew after freshman year and apparently graduated from Ursinus College. There are hints that he may have worked in the banking or mortgage industries. Apparently spending most of his life in and around Albany and Schenectady, it’s said that he was active in his community, a commissioner of Pop Warner Football, a Rotary Club member, a Mason, and an enthusiastic world traveler. He’s survived by his son Sterling, a sister, and a brother.

JMB

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