Class Note 1966
It should be late June when you read this, but it’s late April, midway through the seventh week of the stay-at-home order in New York State, when I’m writing. How are you feeling? What’s going on? Are you still wearing masks? Are you still with the same partner? Are your basements and closets all cleaned out? Is everything (anything)—theaters, baseball, libraries, shoe stores—open? Can you hug your kids and grandkids and visit folks in senior centers?
And how have you been spending your time? We asked classmates this question back in early April and here’s a sample of what a few had to say.
Bill Wilson in Miami was working on a translation of a 17th-century Japanese Buddhist philosopher: “Keeps me busy if not my head clear.”
Jeff Futter had his three college daughters back bunking with him and Susie in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, where they were enjoying family dinners with wine.
Judy and Joe Barker were riding things out on their beef and grain farm just north of Nashville. “At our ages,” Joe counsels, “the best that we can do is to keep ourselves fit and stay out of the way.”
Kamay and Jim Weiskopf were “hunkered down” in Beaufort, South Carolina, facetiming with children and grandkids.
Roc Caivano and Helen live in the house architect Roc built on Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was spending time repairing and repainting things in his home and painting watercolors and oils on his canvases. Best yet, it’s a “blessing to have our daughters and granddaughter nearby (though at least 6 feet away these days).”
Tim Butterworth reported from Chesterfield, New Hampshire, that for him and Kay, “in our self-imposed quarantine our letter carrier and UPS drivers have become our best friends.”
David Stedman with Peggy in Haddonfield, New Jersey, “had time to work on articles for my Scottish clan Campbell and its publications and for the St. Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia.”
Lin and Don Ries in Tucson were sorting slides from the last 53 years: “Lots of memories and amazing color quality of the slides despite the age. Wonder if electronic images will last that long?”
John Rollins and Anne Rollins in Washington, D.C., “have rediscovered our passion for jigsaw puzzles.”
In Canton, Connecticut, Rich Abraham and Judy “have been physically isolated but physically very active.” Rich “converted my semi-retired internal medicine practice to telemedicine.”
And Tom Louis, professor emeritus in biostatistics at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, holed up in St. Michaels on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with Germaine, was “helping a bit with the FDA’s standards for Covid-19 clinical trials.”
We note with sadness the passing of Ralph Crump, an adopted ’66, on March 17 at the age of 96. Ralph, a Renaissance man with a variety of talents and interests in science, business, and history, mentored and coached Dean Spatz and Chris Miller at Thayer School on their reverse osmosis water purification project. Ralph and Dean founded Osmonics in Dean’s garage in 1969. The company was acquired by GE in 2002 for about $250 million.
Our sympathies to the family and friends of three ’66s who passed away in the early part of 2020: Jim Beardsley, Tuck grad and business entrepreneur; Dr. Frank Leib, professor at Temple University’s intellectual heritage program; and Dr. Joseph Michalski, a rheumatology specialist in Mobile, Alabama. More about Ralph, Jim, Frank, and Joe can be found at https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/obits.
Stay safe and see you on the other side—at our 55th reunion next year!
—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (914) 860-4945; lgeiger@aol.com
