S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 | 6 1 N O T E S at football games and over the summers for alumni reunion weekends. He was a great guy, and all of us in the 97 miss him.” In the words of Andy Dufresne, if you’ve come this far, maybe you’re willing to come a little farther. How about a little class news about you and your friends? I love the new news and I would love to hear it from you! “All new news is old news happening to new people.— MalcolmMuggeridge ’85Jennifer Sheehan, (240) 401-3724, jksheehan@aol.com Last October, Mike and I returned to Paris for the first time since the pandemic. We’ve been fortunate to travel there fairly often, since our first visit together in 1985, and we usually stay at the same hotel, Relais Christine. A couple of doors down fromRelais Christine is a cozy restaurant called Chez Fernand, which has been a favorite for many years. Early into our stay, we popped over to Chez Fernand for dinner and were seated next to a woman dining alone who was about to get her check. The restaurant is banquette style and very tight, so it was as if we were dining together. We struck up a conversation and learned that her husband had passed away and she was there at Chez Fernand to remember him because they loved coming to Fernand together and had also always stayed at Relais Christine. Mike asked if we could buy her a drink, so she got some champagne, and he asked what her husband’s name was, and she said Bill, and we toasted to Bill’s memory. We kept talking for at least another hour. She was in France to attend cooking school, and the next day she was going on a pastry tour of Paris. (Pastry tour has been added to my bucket list!) We landed on the topic of howMike and I met, and we said at school. She asked where we went to school and we said Lehigh, and her jaw dropped … her husband, Bill (Goodwin, ’73 ’74G), went to Lehigh. They had been together since high school, and she visited himat Lehigh many times. If you’ve been kind enough to readmy column over the years, you know I’ve shared many Lehigh small-world stories, but this one feltmagical tome. I amso glad to havemet Debbie Goodwin, and here’s toBill! I was lucky enough to see Patti Scanlan, Kyle (Friedman) Greenberg, Mary Swatek, Stephanie (Hosfeld) Olsen and Lisa Seward Kirwan in person for an Alpha Phi reunion hosted by Kyle inNewYork. Patti got the prize for coming the longest distance, fromKansas City. Our class also had a great turnout for Lehigh-Lafayette. In addition to several of the same group of women from the Alpha Phi reunion, Lynn Anne Miller, Clare (Crabtree) DeNicola, Beth Berns, Julie Anderson Rakestraw, Joe Yammarino, Phil Kopenhofer, Dik Blewitt, Tony Arturi, Jim Snyder and Eric Lewis were all hosting and/ or attending tailgates. Back in September, I received an invitation from Lehigh for a Zoomwebinar as part of the Segal Accounting Distinguished Speaker Series. Our very own Ken Gordon was the featured speaker. “Ken began his career with KPMG, where he worked in auditing for three years before enrolling in Boston University’s School of Law. Over his 30-year legal career, Ken has worked as a partner at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP and, since 2005, as a partner with Goodwin Proctor LLP in Boston. Ken is co-chair of Goodwin Proctor’s technology group and specializes in the areas of general corporate representation, corporate finance and acquisitions,” according to the announcement. ’86Dave Polakoff, 400 E. 71st St., #3K, New York, NY 10021. david@dpolakoff.com. Look for “Lehigh University Class of 1986” on both Facebook and LinkedIn. “We’ve been through some things together. With trunks of memories still to come. We found things to do in stormy weather. Longmay you run.” (Neil Young) There is a lead time between solicitation for column input, writing, submission and publication. We got caught in the pit of despair, two columns ago, when I included Derek de Bastos’ update, based on ourMarch 2021 conversation, fivemonths ahead of his passing. Unfortunately, the column had already gone to print; condolences were shared with Derek’s family and friends, and their understanding was appreciated. Little did I know, having befriended Derek on our Taylor One/West frosh hall, that he would go on to great accomplishments: personally, with his wife Lisa, and their three children; professionally, with RCA and XM Satellite Radio (he designed the XM radio delivery technology system and the signal test equipment, which led to his induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame) and EchoStar; and in the community, using his pilot’s license and Beechcraft 58 Baron volunteering for Angel Flight. I’ll miss connecting with Derek and seeing himwith the Sig Ep boys at the New Orleans Jazzfest. Phil Anthony offered the eulogy, and Chris Baran shared thoughts for Derek’s Colorado and N.J. services, attended/Zoomed by Lehigh alums, including Bob Conway, Dave Guild, Al Brodherson, Rich Grebe, Jim Gasek, Bob Randall, Bruce Gibson, and Scott Sendel ’85 and Rebecca (Shapiro) Sendel. Herb Betz ’85 and Lisa (Ellis) Betz celebrated 35 years of marriage and welcomed their first grandson. Evidently, the path to book authorship is to first be a plant engineer and then a substitute math and science teacher. Lisa’s first novel, 2021’s “Death and a Crocodile,” has won several awards including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year. Her second mystery will be released in 2022. Lisa remains connected to her Lehigh roommate, Bozeman, Mont.- based Carole (Cochrane) Kankelborg. Mike Aronow ’85 and Ronni (Levine) Aronow are now in the Berkshires, where Ronni is a student success advisor at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Mass., providing students with social, emotional and academic support. Ruth Hausen and her husband live in the Philadelphia suburbs, with their two daughters, where Ruth is a “professional volunteer.” Ruth also dabbles in local town politics. Ruth remains in contact with Ilene Laufer, whose son recently graduated from Lehigh. It’s been two paragraphs and I’ve not mentioned more 1986 class authors. Lori Soderlind’s “The Change: My Great American, Postindustrial, Midlife Crisis Tour” hit bookstores in 2020, and includes references to the sweet smell of steel mills a steeling (which should be an offering from the good people at Glade), from her Lehigh apartment. Lori is also the author of “Chasing Montana: A Love Story.” Lori segued from director of the master’s of fine arts creative writing program at Manhattanville College (yes, located where you think it would be) to teaching writing at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. ( just two miles from Saratoga Race Track, whose track is not five
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