CLASS NOTES | FALL 2023 | 49 Hello, classmates. At the first part of July, I received an email from John MacWilliams, who was in the hospital for the second time with congestive heart failure and anemia. He was prepared to spend time in a rehab facility and then spend the summer at his new home in Beach Haven, N.J., where he and his wife, Louise, have moved after selling their longtime Delaware home. John can be reached by text at 302-5095105 or via Louise’s cellphone, which is 302-290-7615. Dave Word followed up his telephone call with a long email, in which he informed me he has been living in an apartment in Hastings, Minn., for two years. He moved there when his wife was diagnosed with dementia to be near his son. Dave still drives and is able to visit his wife, who is in a memory unit about two miles from his apartment. Before moving, he lived for 15 years in Cape May, N.J., after retiring after 35 years as a statistician with the Census Bureau. Dave was the sports editor at The Brown and White in his junior year but remembered when he was a freshman, he was assigned to cover the Turkey Trot. He writes that as the race was nearing the end, Joe Gratto ’58, president of Cyanide and two-time wrestling champion, was winning the race but, yours truly, Bill Millsom, raced into Taylor Field and edged out Grotto to win the race. I had forgotten this entirely. Dave celebrated by never wearing his dink again. Dave also recalled trying to play catch with Craig Anderson, who threw a nasty curve that ended Dave’s interest in being a catcher. Speaking of Craig, I am following the Mets this summer, and they are doing so poorly I am wondering if they will call him up before the season is over. Ira Friedman wrote and mentioned we have lost a couple more classmates. Ed Sider was a captain in the Corps of Engineers in Vietnam, where he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was living in Seattle, where he retired from an engineering firm he founded. Paul Kiselik lived in Short Hills, N.J. He created a successful packing company before retiring. He and Ira were friends since the seventh grade. Ira and his wife, Linda, celebrated their 63rd anniversary in August. His eldest daughter, Lisa has published two books and lives in Sugarbush, Vt. Ira’s company, Material Technologies, continues to do well and keep him busy. Hope to hear from other classmates in the coming months. ’61 Ken Weaver, 13 Coachman Drive, Egg Harbor Township, N.J 08234, kenweaver78@gmail. com, (609) 788-4897 (H) Greetings! I was shocked and saddened to hear of Bob Paternoster’s death, having seen him at Reunion last year, with new bride Rona, where he seemed healthy and very happy. I have no illusions about filling his shoes, but I’ll do my best to keep you informed. You can help by calling me or sending me information. Pete Wright was first to respond to the email that I would be your new correspondent. He lives in Seattle and, sadly, his wife has Alzheimer’s, so he’s not able to attend any functions back East. Pete notes that he spent about 30 years as Alcoa’s guy at Boeing, helping to make sure they had new alloys to build their planes. He was in Seattle in 1970 for the delivery of the first 747 to Pan Am and was invited as a guest to the recent delivery of the last 747. Fun to come full circle! When I spoke with Harold Barnes, he was inside his Virginia Beach home sheltering from a strong thunderstorm. He spends a lot of time caring for his yard, so that had been interrupted. Like many of us, he enjoys spending time on the internet. Originally from Wilmington, Del., he’s been living in Virginia Beach for 48 years. He and his wife, Virginia, are both in good health and had recently returned from a 13-hour drive to upstate New York (only 15 minutes from Canada) to visit her family. She is the oldest of seven, having three brothers and three sisters. After graduation, Max Blumenthal went to the University of Pennsylvania Law School and then over to Vietnam as an officer in the Army MP. He’s had a sailboat for years, having learned as a kid in Maine, and even sailed on the Mekong! He came home and worked with a law firm in Baltimore before joining two acquaintances to found their own law firm. He finally retired last year at 82. Max and Brenda have two daughters and four grandchildren. They love to travel and have been to New Zealand, Australia and much of Europe, but their favorites were Patagonia and the Galapagos. Living in Baltimore, Max keeps his sailboat in Annapolis. He and a friend once sailed the boat to Bermuda. Going over was fine, but crossing the Gulf Stream on the way back was very rough and scary. Our undergraduate class president, Jack Davidson, has had a difficult time but continues to be the most optimistic person I have ever met. He first showed symptoms (undiagnosed) of MS in his 30s, was on a cane in his 40s and completely bedridden by 1998. He moved into the senior living facility of Magnolia Manor in Americus, Ga., in 2004. He unfortunately had to have both legs amputated and suffers repeated UTIs, but he is indomitable and insists he “will not go quietly into the night.” His son, Ken Davidson, is his strong advocate and spends many hours with Jack at the Manor. I had the pleasure of speaking with the two of them. Jack enjoyed sharing stories of a trip in his jeep, the “Yogi-mobile,” to Ocean City, N.J., right after graduation, pilfering steins from the Hofbräuhaus in Munich and several other tales not repeatable here. Hang in there, Jack! On a quick personal note, Bob previously reported my two different toe infections had ruined or canceled trips to Europe. I’m happy to report that Jessica and I had a great two-week trip to Scotland and the southwest of England this past May. Contact me! ’62 Philip J. Kinzel, 808 South Drive, Brick, NJ 08724. (732) 295.2106(H); (973) 226.1430(W); (973) 464.8282 (cell); pkinzel@kinzelco.com Mike Gennet and Ron Johnson crossed off destinations on their travel bucket lists. Mike’s travel goals included a visit to all 50 states. In July, Michael and his wife Chris completed an 11-day trip to his 49th and 50th states. Mike reports “both South and North Dakota were delightful surprises, with beautiful scenery, lots of Western history and deep information on the Native Americans, who preceded the settlers by centuries. Some highlights were, of course, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial but also the site of mammoth digs, Custer State Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Badlands, Sturgis (the motorcycle capital) and more. We enjoyed perfect weather and a true learning experience. … We visited a Minuteman II missile site (decommissioned post-Cold War), the interior of a major dam on the Missouri River, Lawrence Welk’s homestead on the prairie, two state Capitol buildings, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming (featured in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”) and a spectacular stage show outdoors in Medora, the tourist capital of North Dakota.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==