CLASS NOTES | SUMMER 2026 | 41 across to Acadia National Park in Maine and back down to Florida, with many stops along the way that included Steamboat Springs (in which we found neither steam nor a boat), Yellowstone (in which there are no yellow stones—tan yes, yellow no), Glacier National Park, Mt. Rushmore, Mt. Washington, a Pennsylvania coal mine, Yuengling brewery and way too many to list (or remember). We walked part of the Appalachian Trail, where we bumped into a mother and son at two different locations who were doing the entire trail. Frog Siren and Firefly, if you are out there, hi! We camped in some very small towns. My favorite was Ten Sleeps, Wyo., (pop. 246) where a cowboy (named Tanner) and cowgirl rode up and tied their horses in front of a saloon we were in. They were the real deal. The takeaway from the trip is that America is vast, it’s beautiful and it’s full of salt of the Earth people.” ’67 GUEST CORRESPONDENT: D’Arcy Roper, darcyroper3@gmail.com. I am filling in for Eric Hamilton, our longtime correspondent. I am still reveling in the performance of the class during Giving Day + March Mania 2026. We ended Giving Day + March Mania with 90 donors, which is 28.6% of the contactable members of the class. Our level of participation earned us the $1,000 participation prize for the sixth straight year. The prize goes into our Reunion Fund to underwrite the Reunion expenses. More importantly, we raised $43,041, which is enough to place us at No. 16 among the classes. It was a great showing, and we can pat ourselves on our collective backs. Our support for this event is unprecedented and likely will never be matched. David Jackson recently made a major gift to Lehigh. The gift will “establish the Jackson Laboratory as the home of First Year Rossin Engineering (FYRE), Lehigh’s ambitious new approach to engineering education. Unlike a traditional course of study in which students focus primarily on math, science and engineering theory courses in the first year, FYRE students are immediately introduced to hands-on learning, research and capstone projects to better equip them for real-world engineering challenges like developing energy storage solutions or advancing sustainable infrastructure,” according to the news story. With his gift, David joins the list of many other members of the class who have made impactful gifts. Bravo, David! Next year we will celebrate our 60th Reunion. I am willing to organize the usual events, but do not wish to do so if a Reunion is not something that you would be able to attend. I may not be able to get there myself. Traveling is difficult for me—so is standing for long periods of time. I intend to send an email to the class soon to determine the level of interest and get an estimate of how many of you will attend. What I organize will depend on your responses. A quick note about Mary and me. In the last four months we sold both of our homes and moved into a continuing care retirement community in Springfield, Va. We are still adapting to life in an apartment, but really enjoy not having to cook or care for houses, yards, etc. All my contact info has changed except for my email, which is darcyroper3@gmail. com. If you are so inclined, send me a brief update on your life. Eric and I always need news for the column. Warm regards, D’Arcy ’68 George Klacik, 27 Oak Forest Lane, Summit, NJ 07901, gklacikjr@aol.com, (908) 273-7850. Paul Shackatano wrote, “After graduation I went to Fairleigh Dickinson dental school. I practiced general dentistry in Forest Hills, Queens, for 40 years. I lived in Carle Place on Long Island, where we raised three children (two boys and a girl). The boys wrestled through high school; though they didn’t set the world on fire, it was fun to watch. I also coached Little League and basketball. Good times! I retired 11 years ago. Five years ago, we moved out to Washington State to be close to my son and his family. I saw Joe Maresca at our 50th high school reunion … (he was president of our high school senior class—Herricks in New Hyde Park, Long Island). Haven’t had contact with anyone else but would like to.” He can be reached at Pshack46@yahoo.com. Dick Gibbs sent the following email: “After graduating Lehigh with a major in math, I took the actuarial exams and became a fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1973. I had a 35-year career with TIAA, the nationwide pension fund for higher education. During my last 10 years I served as the chief financial officer. After that I spent five years with Equitable as a financial advisor. My wife, Eleanor, and I now split our time between Old Tappan, N.J., and Lakewood Ranch, Fla. … We have two children and two grandchildren with one more on the way. I play golf year-round two to three times a week. In 2018 I took my bucket list trip to play golf at Pebble Beach. “I am also a passionate fan of the Yankees, and you’ll see me at just about all of the home Sunday games in the Bronx. Here’s hoping they can do better in 2026. “In March 2025 I had the opportunity to meet with President Helble at a Lehigh event held in Sarasota, Fla. I am looking forward to our 60th Lehigh Reunion in 2028!” Note that Dick was chairman of our 50th Reunion. Hopefully he will step up again! I received a promise from Dick Buffinton to send more info, but it has not yet come. He spent 50+ years in sports TV and traveled the world. I can remember looking for his name in the credits after a sporting event on ABC. He is a Beta and stays in touch with his classmates with monthly Zoom meetings, where usually 15 of his 21 Beta classmates participate. Dan DiMaria graduated with a B.S. in engineering physics. He wrote, “I was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity as an undergraduate. I also received an M.S. (1970) and a Ph.D. (1972) in physics from Lehigh. In 1973, I took a job at IBM Research, where I worked for 28 years until I took early retirement in 2001. While at IBM, I ran a research group working on insulators and semiconductors for almost 20 years. In 1988, I was made an American Physics Society Fellow for this work. From 2001 until currently, I have been a full-time professional artist working in the realism genre out of Santa Fe, N.M. I have published two art books, been in 16 museum shows, numerous galleries, art magazines/publications, and am currently represented by Steidel Contemporary Art out of Palm Beach, Fla.” I thank all who responded to my note last November for information for the column. I still have a couple of items that I could not include in this column since I used up my allotted space. But do send me a note so I have enough for the next issue. MMXXVI ’69 Peter Dane, pkdane@ sbcglobal.net and George Ikeda, gaikeda425@gmail.com John Read has sent a note catching us up on his career and life. His long and varied business affiliations included banking, managing contracts and running a mortgage brokerage business throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s in the New London area. His final career years involved nearly two decades as a financial advisor, finally retiring in January 2024. Sadly, John lost his wife, Maryann, to Alzheimer’s about five years ago. He was a caregiver for her at the end with help from family as he continued to work. Always a sailor, John is still actively cruising and racing the C&C 34 he has owned for 28 years. Meanwhile, his many activities with his yacht club include serving as treasurer, in that role applying his business skills in revamping accounting systems, instituting long-range planning and reducing costs. He is also active with planned giving for his church and fundraising for the YMCA. The loss of Maryann, he said, “leaves a big hole in my heart, but am dipping my toes into making new friends, so will see how that works out.” John adds he still lives in Mystic and is always open to classmates
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