Class of 1979

I hope you will plan to attend our 45th class reunion the weekend of June 20-22, 2025.

Rob Schreiber, M.D., will lead a discussion titled “Living Well: Easier Said than Done.” He says, “We’ve all been on a journey of aging since 1979. Given our 45th reunion is next year, the topic of healthy aging is of paramount importance to many of us. For most people facing aging often means aging well with chronic disease. More than 50 percent of adults aged 65 or older have one chronic disease and one half of that group have two or more.

“As a geriatrician having been in practice for more than the past 40 years, I have been on my own personal journey of aging. This journey has taken me to volunteer with my oldest son on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, where I worked with Lakota older adults. It has taken me to visit the ‘blue zones’ in Costa Rica and Okinawa, where it is common for older adults to live more than 100 and remain in their communities aging independently.

“This journey has also been influenced by the many patients and families I have cared for through the year as well as my own family. The lessons I have learned from my patients and family have taught me life lessons that are not found in books, nor are they taught in classrooms. As much as good medical care is essential to healthy aging, this only accounts for 10 percent of health outcomes. The social determinants of health account for the rest of our health outcomes. These determinants include healthy behaviors as well as environmental factors such as living in safe communities. They are the key drivers.

“So what can you do to promote your own aging and living well? One thing you can do is to return to Hanover and connect with our classmates for the 45th reunion. One of our joint learning sessions will be on the ‘Keys of Living Well as One Ages.’ I look forward to leading an interactive session where we will discuss some of these lessons learned! There’s a ‘Healthy Aging Survey’ on surveymonkey.com/r/zjqz99f to get you thinking—and give me insights for the June session. If you’ve taken the survey, great! If not, here’s your chance.” His contact is rschreiber@gmail.com.

Would you like to be a volunteer? The reunion committee would like you to reach out to your former dormmates. We want as many classmates as possible to join us in June! Our hope is to invite every single ’79er, dorm by dorm: French Hall to Gile, Dartmouth Row to the Lodge. Don’t be surprised when you get a call. In fact, can you help us? We need volunteers to help us contact everyone. Let Jennifer Hughes (tojhughes@gmail.com) or Pat Pannell (pjdj33@gmail.com) know!

—Janie Simms Hamner, 7327 Centenary Ave., Dallas, TX 75225; jshandkids@aol.com