Midwinter and the days are getting longer, heading toward what will be the 50th high school reunion year for most of us. Wow—a reminder that our own 50th isn’t far away. Miscellaneous news from our last mini-reunion in October: Sandy and Larry Smith have added paddleboards to their kayak and canoe rental business in Newton, Massachusetts. They’ve noticed people doing yoga on their boards and paddling around with their dogs. Pat and Dennis Donahue first met on Match.com. Sue and Ed Heald had a memorable rafting trip on the Zambezi River in Africa. And speaking of mini-reunions, the recent sad note of the passing of Michael Sprando triggered a wave of communication between past Tau Epsilon Phi brothers to create their own mini-reunion for ’68, ’69 and ’70 brothers, currently planned in Hanover in October. And speaking of mini-reunions, don’t forget the Gerry Hills-organized Flotilla II: “Return of the Green,” a cruise around the Virgin Islands in May. Contact Gerry at stjohncaptain@aol.com. On to our email news: Almost completely retired from a 40-year career in textiles and furniture, Larry Himes is down to one day of consulting a week. “The less I do the more I resent it and am quite ready for full-time retirement.” Larry and wife Sara recently spent four weeks in Europe, including London, where son and family (including two grandchildren) live, Lisbon to Barcelona cruise and 10 days in the Spanish interior. They also did Alaska, Canadian Rockies and Inland Passage in 2010. Larry still plays competitive U.S. Tennis Association tennis and dotes on his four grandchildren. His motto is “Find out what they want and give it to them,” which occasionally irks the parents. However, sounds like a good grandparent motto! Bob Tannenwald is also “semi-retired—ha!” after 28 years at the Boston Federal Bank. His “ha” life includes teaching at the Heller School at Brandeis University, dealing with public finance and budgeting and writing a column for State Tax Notes, a weekly publication for state and local tax professionals. He and Leslie are also snowbirds, spending several months a year in Boca Raton, Florida, where they have a small apartment. Richard Parker is also still teaching, for the last 20 years at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and reports he is looking forward to exiting the paid workforce once his younger son Tom heads off to college and starting a new chapter of his life with wife Robin. Older son Sam is a junior at Colby and starting goalie on their hockey team. Linc Eldredge is also still “body snatching” in his executive search firm Brigham Hill, and wife Susan still does psychotherapy. They take great pleasure from their first grandchild Olivia, now 1. Sad news to share: Gary Lee Brooks died last October of prostate cancer. Gary had served as general counsel at the National Archives for nearly 30 years. And Jim Morrison’s wife, Marilyn, is facing terminal cancer, prompting a wave of sympathy from friends and classmates.


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com