This is a hard column to write because my wife, Vi, died on August 4 from LAM, a rare, genetic degenerative lung disease. Vi first came to Dartmouth in November 1945, when she was 15, and stayed at professor Louis Benezet’s house. We broke up four years later, and finally put it together in 1982 for a wonderful 31-year marriage. She enjoyed the last six reunions.


Jay Urstadt, Joel Berson and I had a fun lunch in Greenwich, Connecticut, in late June. Jay must be the only ’49er who still is CEO of a New York Stock Exchange company. Urstadt Biddle Properties has paid dividends continuously for 43 years, and has increased them for the last 19. Joel, my freshman roommate in Wheeler Hall, has finally retired as a legal eagle.


Quent Kopp sent along an informative note from Nels Abrahamsen’s daughter Laura. Nels, who also lost his wife earlier this year, is in an assisted living residence in Lakewood, Ohio, doing battle with Alzheimer’s disease, among other problems.


Richard Norvel Moersch died on June 28 in Redlands, California, where he lived. Dick was a track star at Dartmouth and spent most of his career as a heart surgeon in San Bernardino, California. One of the class’s top travelers, Dick scaled Kilimanjaro, went 20,000 feet up Mount Everest, reached the North Pole and rode camels in the Sahara. Dick leaves his wife, Mary Lou, daughter Margaret and son Peter, to whom the class sends its condolences.


John Stearns sent along the obituary of David Furze Jones, who died in New London, New Hampshire, on July 26, 2012. John and Dave were freshmen roommates and Sigma Chi brothers. Dave spent most of his career with Mellon Bank while living in Madison, New Jersey, before retiring to New London. He is survived by his wife, Janet, and his daughters Elizabeth and Corinne, to whom the class sends it sympathies.


—John Adler, 1623 Pelican Cove Road, BA123, Sarasota, FL 34231; (203) 622-9069; (941) 966-2943 (fax)