During our four years at Dartmouth there was one constant—Dean Thaddeus Seymour. Thad sadly passed away, at 91, in late October. We asked classmates to send in recollections of Thad and the responses would fill five of these columns.

Here are two excerpts that capture the overall spirit of the responses.

“Thad was someone who looked beyond your grades and read you as a person. And he was always right on the money,” writes David R. Godine.

“Thad was bigger than life to each, and yet he was humble, friendly, never threatening, and someone who always remembered that in addition to job No. 1, learning, job No. 2 was to have some fun doing job No. 1. What I have found even more remarkable is that this giant person of so much authority and stature was only 34 years old when we were freshmen. A mere kid by today’s standards!” writes Rick Reiss.

To read the full personal recollections, both heartwarming and amusing, of more than a dozen ’66ers, please visit dartmouth66.org.

How are the classmates who shared recollections of Dean Seymour faring today?

David Godine has announced that he will be retiring from the small eponymously named Boston publishing house that he founded. “A good 50-year run,” David recalls, “some good books, a few great books, and two Nobel Prize winners.” 

Rick Reiss, closely tied to Dartmouth through a variety of philanthropic and leadership projects, recently hosted a Pi Lam mini-reunion in his New York apartment in honor of Don Glazer. Rich Abraham, Ben Cohen, Dave Johnston, Joel Sternman ’65, Hector Motroni, Alan Rottenberg, and Angus King attended.

After 45 years in a large 100-year-old house, Toni and Tim Urban have moved to a condo in Des Moines, Iowa, and he suspects “this is normal for most of my classmates.” Tim is scaling back his commercial real estate ventures “to simplify our lives” and, “with the turmoil facing our country, I am focusing on philanthropic opportunities that might change the world one life at a time.”

Dr. Gene Nattie, now retired, and Candy, based in Norwich, Vermont, just celebrated their 50th anniversary with two daughters, two sons-in-law, and five grandchildren. Gerry LaMontagne, in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, near Allentown, has reconnected with many classmates and fraternity brothers since retiring from his construction business about 10 years ago. “Am enjoying my kids and grandkids and retirement.” Howard Dobbs and partner Annwyl Williams are “alive and well” in Reading, England.

Scott Cheyne retired from ad agency Hill Holliday in 2006 but hasn’t lost all touch. His daughter, Christie, works in the Hill Holliday finance department and wife Vashti is still working as an advertising copywriter, strategist, and website developer. Scott is a board member of nonprofit Santa’s Magic, which gathers and delivers holiday gifts to patients at four Boston area hospitals every Christmas Day. “Because I am a Vietnam veteran, my venue of choice is the Soldiers’ Home, where I’ve gone every Christmas morning for about the past 10 years.” Scott stays in regular contact with classmates Dick Sheaff, Kevin Trainor, and Win Steubner.

Have personal memories of Dean Seymour? Send ’em in and we’ll add them to the collection.

—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (914) 860-4945; lgeiger@aol.com