Class Note 1966
Someone, perhaps Confucius or Professor Selznick, must have said it: “A good marriage makes for a good life.” We present two sterling examples.
“I am fortunate to have met and married two intelligent, strong and wonderful women,” David Gordon reports. Dave’s first wife, Edie Goldkopf, died of breast cancer at age 41 after 19 years of marriage and two children, Julie and Dan. Dave then met and married Lucia Heldt, who brought son Nick into the family. The couple has just celebrated their 21st anniversary.
Dave headed west after graduation, earned his M.B.A. from Stanford and, except for a three-year stint, has worked at Stanford ever since. He started as a b school assistant dean and was an associate dean at the school of earth sciences from 1993 until he retired in 2009. Well, almost retired. He still spends about 25 percent of his time working for the university. “I really enjoy the flexibility afforded by retirement,” Dave says, particular the chances he and Lucia have to spend time with their two young granddaughters.
Gerald LaMontagne has also enjoyed marital bliss. He is still married to Sue, “the same wonderful woman I dated throughout college.” Gerry ran his own construction company in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, for 35 years, “but the recession ended that, and I just packed it in and retired.” To keep busy he still does home inspections and is into furniture making. Gerry’s turned out a replica of Thomas Jefferson’s swivel chair, lots of Windsor chairs and is finishing up a round kitchen table. He and Sue are looking forward to their daughter’s wedding in Greece next year.
In a classic case of ’66 teamwork, renowned architectural critic and author William Morgan and respected publisher David Godine have just released Monadnock Summer: The Architectural Legacy of Dublin, New Hampshire. It seems prosperous and cultured Dublin is blessed with dozens of architectural gems from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from the plain and unadorned to the most ornate and ambitious, and this handsome and lively book chronicles them all.
Godine Publishing recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, no mean feat, and David has been widely recognized throughout the industry. He “is a remarkable publisher,” says The New York Times, “determined to prove that the day of elegant books has not vanished. And he does prove it. Elegantly.”
Our sympathies go out to the families and friends of two classmates who passed away recently. Dr. Hank Streitfeld was in the 35th year of his obstetrics and gynecology practice in Berkeley, California, and was proud of his garden and his set shot. Mike Urbanic, who retired from Cargill as a corporate vice president, loved making new friends while traveling the world. Read more about these two beloved classmates on the class website at dartmouth.org/classes/66.
—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (917) 747-1642; lgeiger@aol.com
