Class Note 1996
As this column is written, the final hours of 2019 are ticking away and 2020 is just around the corner…. As we look towards the new decade upon us, it is with a heavy heart that I pass along news that one of our own will not be here with us in the years ahead. Douglas Ganley passed away quite unexpectedly on October 1, leaving behind his parents, brothers and sister, nieces and nephews, as well as his partner, Julie, and her three children. Doug, a beloved son of Burlington, Massachusetts, worked at Epsilon for 16 years until changing careers to work for the U.S. Postal Service for another seven years. Despite their immense loss, Doug’s parents composed a heartfelt thank-you letter to the entire class in recognition of a group donation in his name to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; they said, “It gives us great comfort that he was remembered by his alma mater. Many of his Dartmouth friends came great distances to pay their respects. We are very grateful.” May Doug now know peace and his family find grace during this immensely tough time. As our own Kristen (Calcagni) Johnson quite aptly expressed online, “Please, if you’re struggling, reach out to someone. Whether it be someone in your regular circle of peers or someone you haven’t seen in years. I’m certain that there are many more people who care about your well-being than you know.”
As I so often invoke in our columns, the universe often brings balance between life and death; the good and the bad; the past, present, and future. Therefore, I am happy to convey happier news from a few of our classmates. Jennifer Frontera and husband Joe Hickey welcomed youngest daughter Audrey Alice Hickey on July 22; Audrey joins doting older sisters Lily and Bridget. Within the span of just six days in December Neesha Ramchandani announced the pending arrival of her second child (with husband Zvi Rahamim) and completed her Ph.D. in nursing at New York University (where she concentrated on diabetes self-management in young adults). Roger Vincent and his wife, Melissa, announced their “latest collaboration”: their daughter, Beatrice, who was born on October 3. Apparently “she looks exactly like [elder sister] Effie but is a tiny bit more laidback. Rog is engulfed in feisty women and seems to love it.” And in different but equally exciting new arrivals happenings, Susan (Ettinger) Burkhart and Dax Burkhart passed an incredible update of their own: “Dropped son Troy off at college today. Besides his hockey gear and his hiking pack, he fit everything he owns into one duffle bag. Good luck, kid, see you at Thanksgiving.”
Congratulations to Christopher Newell on the news and documentary Emmy Award win in September for his research documentary Dawnland, a documentary co-produced by Bruce Duthu ’80 (professor of Native American studies). The film traces the impacts of Maine’s child welfare practices on Native American communities and was aired by the PBS network as part of its Independent Lens series. Christopher, a proud member of Maine’s Passamaquoddy tribe, was a senior advisor on the film.
And a quick note on an exciting change from our own Lara (Burgel) Fowler and her husband, Chris Fowler ’97. Lara, Chris, and kids Stephen and Elizabeth will be living in Stockholm, Sweden, for the year, as Lara received a Fulbright scholarship to work on water peace and security issues. Lara and Chris (when not on sabbatical) work at Penn State University, where she is a senior lecturer and assistant director for the Penn State Institutes of Energy and Environment.
—Garrett Gil de Rubio, 1062 Middlebrooke Drive, Canton, GA 30115; ggdr@alum.dartmouth.org
