Class Note 1972

I was so pleased to receive a note from my old friend Roland Walker. Roland and I met freshman year and were part of a North Topliff group of seven ’72s who lived on the first floor. The other five were Jamie MacArthur, Mike Moore, Fred Buck, Peter Paquette, and Bill “W.T.” Thorwarth. We got each other through first year and had some great times in the dorm. Sadly, Mike and Fred are both deceased, but the rest of us are still kicking. Roland reports that he now lives in Palm Springs, California, where he tends his investments and enjoys the weather. Right after law school he worked in the public defender’s office in Alameda County during the time when the Hell’s Angels and the Black Panthers were both headquartered there. So there were lots of interesting cases for him to work on. Later he worked as an agent for players in the NFL, the WNBA, the ABL, and several Euro basketball leagues. What an interesting legal career!

Ed Wisneski also reported in from Prescott, Arizona, where he has lived for six years. Prescott has an elevation of 6,000 feet, so it has four seasons with a little snow and no extreme heat in the summer. Ed recalled what was going on for him 50 years ago in the summer of 1969. He suffered an injury that almost ended his basketball career at Dartmouth. He cut off part of his left toe in a lawnmower accident and it “was touch and go whether I’d be able to play basketball again.” Luckily, everyone’s favorite trainer, Bob “Dag” Dagenais, fitted Ed’s Converse high-tops with a plastic guard on the toe and he was cleared to play 10 days before the start of practice. Dag was a miracle worker for many Dartmouth athletes.

Roger Wilson writes that he retired from his job as senior vice president and general counsel of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in 2014. Sadly, he lost his first wife to a brain tumor in 2012. He remarried last December and has just bought a place in Florida where he plans to settle permanently once he is able to sell his properties in Illinois. For the time being he’s renting a place on the ocean in Manhattan Beach, California, where he’s close to his grandchildren. Last November Roger traveled to Peru on a Dartmouth alumni trip with Richard Wahlstrom and his wife. A wonderful time was had by all.

I also heard from Deborah Cornavaca, who took the time to write about our classmate Richard Foard. She tells me that Richard is retiring from the Essex-Newark Legal Service “after decades of dedicated legal service in the fight for equality, access, and equity. He is a quiet and unsung hero who took his privileged education and used it to help others.” What a lovely testimonial. Congratulations, Richard!

Sadly, I must end by reporting the death of our classmate Alan West. Our condolences go out to his family and loved ones.

Kind regards!

—David Hetzel, 997 State Blvd., Franklin, TN 37064; dghetzel@gmail.com