Greetings! I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the holidays with family and friends. We were happy to be back in North Carolina with family again and were able to spend Christmas with one-and-a-half granddaughters. 


Andy Gettinger passed along an article from the Valley News outlining the contributions of Tim Reiser, longtime aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, in the brokering of the release of Alan Gross, the U.S. Agency for International Development worker accused of espionage and held prisoner by Cuban authorities since 2009. During a period of 18 months Tim worked behind the scenes in Vatican-brokered talks between U.S. and Cuban diplomats. Congratulations to Tim and the rest of the team that helped bring this American home. 


Last week I was surprised to turn on Jeopardy to see Bert Ifill, “a semi-retired educator from Washington, D.C.” Bert performed well, but was unfortunately bested at the end. 


Let’s hope that 2015 treats you and your families well; 2014 has been a tough year for the class of 1976. We have received notice of the deaths of several classmates, most recently Melanie Fisher Matte, Jan Sorice, Sandy Fitchet, David Conner and Pamela Gile. These are added to the long list of classmates already noted in 2014. Obituaries will be available by way of the alumni section of DAM’s website. As you view the notices, you have the opportunity to contribute remembrances that will help others share in the good times that you may have spent with those classmates that have left way too early. While not all of them suffered from the scourge of cancer, most did. Please do whatever you can to help eradicate this awful disease, whether it is through a local, regional or national charity. With everyone’s help we can get closer to eventually eradicating cancer once and for all.


Best wishes to you and your families for a safe and healthy 2015. Please send news.


—Jay Josselyn, 2006 Golden Belt Parkway, Durham, NC 27703; (919) 452-3928; jayjosselyn@hotmail.com