Classes & Obits

Class Note 1996

Issue

September-October 2026

Class Note 1996. As I compose this column, we are wrapping up what has been an amazing 30th reunion in Hanover! It was both heartwarming and inspiring to be gathered with so many special people (and their families) in the place we all call home. Expect more ’96 updates from Hanover in our next column, as they will take up enough space to fill multiple Class Notes and we have some prereunion news to share.
First, with great sadness we note that Brian Snyder succumbed in May to a long, valiant battle with lung cancer. Hailing from Philadelphia and majoring in biology at Dartmouth, Brian practiced neurosurgery at multiple hospitals across Long Island, New York. His research was widely cited, and he was one of the foremost practitioners of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and other disorders. Monica (Osofsky) Weinberg described Brian as a “wonderful person and great physician. I remember seeing him on the hospital wards at Mount Sinai, where we both did our respective residencies.” Brian arrived at Dartmouth with a strong love of the outdoors, spending much of his time in Hanover hiking, climbing, and enjoying the Upper Valley. He learned to ski at the Skiway, visited most of the DOC cabins, and led trips up Moosilauke in all four seasons. He passed his love of New Hampshire on to his kids, and they spent frequent weekends together at the Ravine Lodge. Brian is survived by his wife of 20 years, Dr. Carly Wachtel Snyder, one son, and two daughters. He was also social chair for Phi Delta Alpha, and fellow Phi Delt Gabriel Schlumberger beautifully eulogized Brian in saying that he “left us far too early, but we feel immense gratitude for the time we got to spend together. We will miss the late-night pontificating, wry smile, tunes, his sage advice, and, most of all, Brian’s friendship.” May Brian’s memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him.
In happier news, Oliver Will and his wife, Meredith MacVittie, announced the arrival of their second daughter, Magdalena Elizabeth Will, in mid-May. “Lena” was born via surrogate on Mother’s Day—a few weeks earlier than planned!
Congratulations also go out to our own Drew Brady and Evelyn Waters Brady ’95, who celebrated 30 years since their engagement (it’s a great year for all things 30!). He asked “a young lady from North Philly to marry me, a year before I even graduated from college. It has worked out incredibly well for us. During the past 30 years we’ve endured medical school and graduate school. We’ve seen what it is like to have a child while in medical school with only one parent working and the other racking up debt. [Secretary’s note: The child in question would grow up to be Ashleigh ’21.] We’ve endured buying a house when we probably shouldn’t have, with one of us working 80-plus hours a week in residency and the other navigating baby and childcare duties while trying to break into a career in a new city.” Drew summed up his loving tribute to his bride by saying, “So here’s to 30 years, Mrs. Brady.”
Dan Kalafatas, cofounder of 3Degrees and governing council chair of Northern Sierra Partnership, announced a meaningful milestone in the Sierra Nevada by way of a $5.5-million grant approved by the California Wildlife Conservation Board. The grant advanced the return of 10,000 acres of ancestral lands to the Washoe people, the third largest tribal land return in California history. “As chair of the Northern Sierra Partnership, I am thankful to witness and support a moment that honors history, restores land to its original caretakers, and reflects what is possible when many hands work with patience and purpose.”
Garrett Gil de Rubio, 1062 Middlebrooke Drive, Canton, GA 30115; ggdr@alum.dartmouth.org

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