Class Note 1978
Issue
January-February 2023
With the turn of a new year comes the news of more of us turning the corner into retirement. Many classmates are already into their second, third, or even fourth acts.
Ricki Fairley was featured on The Today Show for her work at raising awareness of and research support for breast cancer in Black women. Ricki, a breast cancer survivor, told show hosts that her reaction on being told of her diagnosis was “I can’t die right now—I have a daughter at Dartmouth and I have to pay her tuition.” Now head of the nonprofit she founded after a top career in marketing, Ricki is also newly engaged. Congrats, Ricki!
Randy Schwartz, a fellow Michigander, chronicles the grassroots foodie scene as editor of Repast, a quarterly publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. Randy retired in 2020 after a career teaching math. Since then he has had more time for “serious hobbies,” including writing math articles and poetry.
Dan Galyon, retired neurosurgeon, channels his passion for high-performance sports vehicles into TED-like talks, such as the one he gave recently at the Simeone car museum in Philadelphia. The late Fred Simeone was a neurosurgeon and put together one of the best race car collections in the world. “It’s really a tribute talk to honor a lot of people who contributed to motorsports and saved a lot of lives,” Dan writes. “Retirement for me has made time to be creative.” Check it out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D0kjzbXUrXk.
Jack Reeder is still working as a financial planner, but for the past nine years he has moonlighted as an event planner to organize the annual Knud Eric Engelsted memorial golf outing. The latest match, in September in Concord, Massachusetts, drew in Andy Cutler, John Harvey, Rich Lougee, Mike Morgan, Bill Murphy, Jay Murphy, Tripp Peake, Kent Pierce, Pete Renner, Drew Rockwell,and a host of ’78 spouses and members of other classes.
Happy events such as these remind us of the importance, and joy, of seizing the moment to get together while we can.
Sad events remind us too. Sincere condolences to the friends and loved ones of our classmates Steve Alpern and Eric Olin. For more on classmates we have lost, visit the class website.
Finally, my thanks to Mark Solomon, who sent a ’78-themed word picture for us to enjoy:
Saturday morning early, corner in front of Webster (freshman year screening of Reefer Madness) Hall on a walk with Puppy
A vehicle, maybe a Honda CRV, swoops around the corner and stops abruptly before us.
Silver ponytail, Manchester (New Hampshire) accent, exuberant smile, emerges calling my name.
Family, soccer, retirement, cycling, more cycling
Glad we are still here able to enjoy mornings and friends.
Older, but his cheer and enthusiasm undiminished from his greetings of “Hi, kids!” when coming to practice, which I always loved and admired.
On his way out of town. Puppy and I to Pine Park. We part but he has left me with a smile.
Thank you, “Rocky”[Dan O’Connor], for stopping.
Send news!
—Anne Bagamery, 13 rue de Presles, 75015 Paris, France; abagamery78@gmail.com; Rick Beyer, 1305 S. Michigan Ave., #1104, Chicago, IL 60605; rickbeyer78@gmail.com
Ricki Fairley was featured on The Today Show for her work at raising awareness of and research support for breast cancer in Black women. Ricki, a breast cancer survivor, told show hosts that her reaction on being told of her diagnosis was “I can’t die right now—I have a daughter at Dartmouth and I have to pay her tuition.” Now head of the nonprofit she founded after a top career in marketing, Ricki is also newly engaged. Congrats, Ricki!
Randy Schwartz, a fellow Michigander, chronicles the grassroots foodie scene as editor of Repast, a quarterly publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. Randy retired in 2020 after a career teaching math. Since then he has had more time for “serious hobbies,” including writing math articles and poetry.
Dan Galyon, retired neurosurgeon, channels his passion for high-performance sports vehicles into TED-like talks, such as the one he gave recently at the Simeone car museum in Philadelphia. The late Fred Simeone was a neurosurgeon and put together one of the best race car collections in the world. “It’s really a tribute talk to honor a lot of people who contributed to motorsports and saved a lot of lives,” Dan writes. “Retirement for me has made time to be creative.” Check it out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D0kjzbXUrXk.
Jack Reeder is still working as a financial planner, but for the past nine years he has moonlighted as an event planner to organize the annual Knud Eric Engelsted memorial golf outing. The latest match, in September in Concord, Massachusetts, drew in Andy Cutler, John Harvey, Rich Lougee, Mike Morgan, Bill Murphy, Jay Murphy, Tripp Peake, Kent Pierce, Pete Renner, Drew Rockwell,and a host of ’78 spouses and members of other classes.
Happy events such as these remind us of the importance, and joy, of seizing the moment to get together while we can.
Sad events remind us too. Sincere condolences to the friends and loved ones of our classmates Steve Alpern and Eric Olin. For more on classmates we have lost, visit the class website.
Finally, my thanks to Mark Solomon, who sent a ’78-themed word picture for us to enjoy:
Saturday morning early, corner in front of Webster (freshman year screening of Reefer Madness) Hall on a walk with Puppy
A vehicle, maybe a Honda CRV, swoops around the corner and stops abruptly before us.
Silver ponytail, Manchester (New Hampshire) accent, exuberant smile, emerges calling my name.
Family, soccer, retirement, cycling, more cycling
Glad we are still here able to enjoy mornings and friends.
Older, but his cheer and enthusiasm undiminished from his greetings of “Hi, kids!” when coming to practice, which I always loved and admired.
On his way out of town. Puppy and I to Pine Park. We part but he has left me with a smile.
Thank you, “Rocky”[Dan O’Connor], for stopping.
Send news!
—Anne Bagamery, 13 rue de Presles, 75015 Paris, France; abagamery78@gmail.com; Rick Beyer, 1305 S. Michigan Ave., #1104, Chicago, IL 60605; rickbeyer78@gmail.com