Class Note 1981
Issue
September-October 2026
Class Note 1981. Highlighting classmates who have followed “less traveled” paths, this month we focus on judges.
Janice Ellis was a Dartmouth hockey goalie and “most valuable player” three years in a row. She says hockey taught her to play by the rules, win gracefully, lose, and be a good sport. An Asian studies major, she was among the first Americans to study in post-Cultural Revolution China. She earned a J.D. from Northeastern, practiced law in Seattle, joined the prosecutor’s office in Snohomish County north of Seattle, and was twice elected its prosecuting attorney.
In 2011 Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed Janice a Superior Court judge. Janice says, “I know from my life experience, including my time in China, how fortunate we are to have a system of laws that allows people to have their grievances heard by a neutral magistrate. I thought of the courtroom as a sacred space. The most surprising part of our judicial system is that litigants follow our rulings. That is the magic of our civil society.”
John Mott spent his college time studying history and skiing cross-country. After college he taught high school and traveled abroad. He got a J.D. to do public service, attending Northeastern like Janice. John represented murder defendants for the D.C. Public Defender Service and then prosecuted hate crimes and police misconduct and ran the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division criminal section.
President Bill Clinton appointed John to the D.C. Superior Court in 2000. He presided over criminal, family, and civil cases for more than 20 years. He says, “I found that I loved the challenge and reward of helping parties settle disputes rather than face the time-consuming, expensive, emotionally difficult, and uncertain aspects of trial.” He therefore stepped down from the bench and now mediates disputes. In addition, “in the face of the assault on the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, which are close to my heart and crucial for our country,” John helped create the Washington Litigation Group, a pro bono bipartisan nonprofit law firm representing individuals and groups targeted unlawfully and challenging government overreach.
Tom Waterman knew at Dartmouth, where he was a history major and swimmer, that he wanted to return to Iowa, where he grew up, to attend law school and practice at Lane & Waterman with other family members. He gained “early litigation experience” at Dartmouth trying to get Phi Delt off disciplinary probation. In private practice he focused on complex business litigation and appeals. He helped win a $130-million class action settlement that he argued three times to the Iowa Supreme Court. He also met his wife, a family law practitioner at the firm.
Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Tom to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011 after three justices were ousted in what Tom calls an “unfortunate reaction” to the court recognizing a right to same sex marriage. Tom loves engaging with lawyers during oral arguments and crafting opinions with colleagues. His most-read decision rejected Iowa’s efforts to revive a dormant fetal heartbeat law.
—Howard Morse, 1836 Milvale Road, Annapolis, MD 21409; m.howard.morse@gmail.com; Christy Hunter Mihaly, P.O. Box 119, East Calais, VT 05650; christymihaly@gmail.com
82 Members of the class of 2026 graduated in June so there are a thousand new alumni/ae to welcome into the “family,” including children of Laura Davis, Eben Jones, and John Nicholson, who were all in Hanover for graduation. I would also like to welcome Alicia Cage ’26 to the Class Secretaries Association. Good luck with your first Class Notes column, Alicia! I also want to say goodbye to Kenneth “Pete” Henderson ’51—a longtime class secretary who recently died. He was the father of our classmate John Henderson.
Congratulations to both Wendy Richter and Sam Carlson on their respective retirements. Wendy had worked as an architect for Joy Squared Design in Boston. She continues to serve as cochair of the Arlington (Massachusetts) open space committee as well as a town meeting member. Wendy and her husband recently bought a little cabin in Hartland, Vermont, about 30 minutes from Hanover. Sam retired from being a solar developer and promptly hit the road for a 7,500-mile, two-month cross-country road trip. “It brought back memories of hitchhiking at 17 across the country.” The trip included 12 days of camping in the Colorado Rockies and a four-day solo fast. I think Sam is trying to get a part in the next Peter Heller film adaptation. Apropos Peter, August 28 is the nationwide release of The Dog Stars, based on his book of the same name directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Allison Janney.
Congratulations to Colin McNay and Tom French, who completed the three-day Arctic Circle Race in Sisimiut, Greenland, one of the most challenging cross-country ski races in the world. There was a complete whiteout on the third day with nightly temperatures inside the tent dropping to minus-18 degrees.
It was a bit warmer in May when Pamela Egan completed the Tacoma City (Washington) Half Marathon, where she won her age division. Next up for Pam is the Seattle Half Marathon this fall.
A shoutout to both Scott Ahrendt and Jenny Chandler Hauge on volunteering in their communities. Scott is working as a volunteer for the Marine Mammal Center in Northern California. “It is vital to keep a healthy ocean. Through rescue and rehabilitation, we can learn more about marine mammals and their importance to the ecosystem.” Jenny is teaching English as a second language to new immigrants to the United States in the Sterling, Virginia, area. She and husband Steve were matched with a married couple from Beijing who want to improve their English conversation skills. “Steve and I have a new appreciation of how difficult English is.”
Kudos to Sarah Riddle Lilja for having several of her photographs selected for the recent Color of Structure exhibition at the gallery for ArtReach St. Croix in Stillwater, Minnesota.
I close with the sad news that Elizabeth Thomson and Scott Appleby have died. Our deepest condolences to their families and friends.
—David Mason Eichman, 9004 Wonderland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; dme4law@sbcglobal.net; Philippa M. Guthrie, 2303 Woodstock Place, Bloomington, IN 47401; (812) 325-7512; philippaguthrie@yahoo.com
Back to 1981 Class Year
More of 1981 Class Notes
Janice Ellis was a Dartmouth hockey goalie and “most valuable player” three years in a row. She says hockey taught her to play by the rules, win gracefully, lose, and be a good sport. An Asian studies major, she was among the first Americans to study in post-Cultural Revolution China. She earned a J.D. from Northeastern, practiced law in Seattle, joined the prosecutor’s office in Snohomish County north of Seattle, and was twice elected its prosecuting attorney.
In 2011 Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed Janice a Superior Court judge. Janice says, “I know from my life experience, including my time in China, how fortunate we are to have a system of laws that allows people to have their grievances heard by a neutral magistrate. I thought of the courtroom as a sacred space. The most surprising part of our judicial system is that litigants follow our rulings. That is the magic of our civil society.”
John Mott spent his college time studying history and skiing cross-country. After college he taught high school and traveled abroad. He got a J.D. to do public service, attending Northeastern like Janice. John represented murder defendants for the D.C. Public Defender Service and then prosecuted hate crimes and police misconduct and ran the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division criminal section.
President Bill Clinton appointed John to the D.C. Superior Court in 2000. He presided over criminal, family, and civil cases for more than 20 years. He says, “I found that I loved the challenge and reward of helping parties settle disputes rather than face the time-consuming, expensive, emotionally difficult, and uncertain aspects of trial.” He therefore stepped down from the bench and now mediates disputes. In addition, “in the face of the assault on the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, which are close to my heart and crucial for our country,” John helped create the Washington Litigation Group, a pro bono bipartisan nonprofit law firm representing individuals and groups targeted unlawfully and challenging government overreach.
Tom Waterman knew at Dartmouth, where he was a history major and swimmer, that he wanted to return to Iowa, where he grew up, to attend law school and practice at Lane & Waterman with other family members. He gained “early litigation experience” at Dartmouth trying to get Phi Delt off disciplinary probation. In private practice he focused on complex business litigation and appeals. He helped win a $130-million class action settlement that he argued three times to the Iowa Supreme Court. He also met his wife, a family law practitioner at the firm.
Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Tom to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011 after three justices were ousted in what Tom calls an “unfortunate reaction” to the court recognizing a right to same sex marriage. Tom loves engaging with lawyers during oral arguments and crafting opinions with colleagues. His most-read decision rejected Iowa’s efforts to revive a dormant fetal heartbeat law.
—Howard Morse, 1836 Milvale Road, Annapolis, MD 21409; m.howard.morse@gmail.com; Christy Hunter Mihaly, P.O. Box 119, East Calais, VT 05650; christymihaly@gmail.com
Congratulations to both Wendy Richter and Sam Carlson on their respective retirements. Wendy had worked as an architect for Joy Squared Design in Boston. She continues to serve as cochair of the Arlington (Massachusetts) open space committee as well as a town meeting member. Wendy and her husband recently bought a little cabin in Hartland, Vermont, about 30 minutes from Hanover. Sam retired from being a solar developer and promptly hit the road for a 7,500-mile, two-month cross-country road trip. “It brought back memories of hitchhiking at 17 across the country.” The trip included 12 days of camping in the Colorado Rockies and a four-day solo fast. I think Sam is trying to get a part in the next Peter Heller film adaptation. Apropos Peter, August 28 is the nationwide release of The Dog Stars, based on his book of the same name directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Allison Janney.
Congratulations to Colin McNay and Tom French, who completed the three-day Arctic Circle Race in Sisimiut, Greenland, one of the most challenging cross-country ski races in the world. There was a complete whiteout on the third day with nightly temperatures inside the tent dropping to minus-18 degrees.
It was a bit warmer in May when Pamela Egan completed the Tacoma City (Washington) Half Marathon, where she won her age division. Next up for Pam is the Seattle Half Marathon this fall.
A shoutout to both Scott Ahrendt and Jenny Chandler Hauge on volunteering in their communities. Scott is working as a volunteer for the Marine Mammal Center in Northern California. “It is vital to keep a healthy ocean. Through rescue and rehabilitation, we can learn more about marine mammals and their importance to the ecosystem.” Jenny is teaching English as a second language to new immigrants to the United States in the Sterling, Virginia, area. She and husband Steve were matched with a married couple from Beijing who want to improve their English conversation skills. “Steve and I have a new appreciation of how difficult English is.”
Kudos to Sarah Riddle Lilja for having several of her photographs selected for the recent Color of Structure exhibition at the gallery for ArtReach St. Croix in Stillwater, Minnesota.
I close with the sad news that Elizabeth Thomson and Scott Appleby have died. Our deepest condolences to their families and friends.
—David Mason Eichman, 9004 Wonderland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; dme4law@sbcglobal.net; Philippa M. Guthrie, 2303 Woodstock Place, Bloomington, IN 47401; (812) 325-7512; philippaguthrie@yahoo.com