Editor’s Note: Secretary Joanna Caproni wrote this column before her death January 13, 2025.

Each year I have attended Jon Mendes’ birthday at his apartment. This November 3 I was a Zoom guest at his 104th birthday party with family and friends. Stories flowed, from Jon’s trip in a “borrowed” plane to propose to his wife in Provincetown, Massachusetts, to his record as the oldest finisher in the New York Marathon at age 96. Leo and I connected with Jon that day at Mile 17 on First Avenue, near where Leo and I lived. (This year’s marathon was on November 3. Just before his birthday celebration Jon and his son went to watch Jon’s grandson run that day in Central Park.) During the party, questions flowed. Jon was asked his favorite plane to fly; “Corsair,” he said. “It is one of the hardest to fly and one of the fastest.” It was a great event.

A little news on my end: I took an emergency trip for abdominal surgery, spending Thanksgiving and my 91st birthday recovering. It was not enough to keep me from giving you ’42 news, though, and I need to hear more from the four remaining classmates and you widows out there.