Class Notes: January/February 2025

Class Notes: January/February 2025

Since the goose population remains relatively small, and the deer now ignore our presence completely, I’ve been hoping for some new development in our natural surroundings. It happened two days ago: four bald eagles flying together as though they were on their way to a party. I’ve not seen anything like it in the 26 years we’ve lived on the Bay. A good omen, perhaps? 

There is a lot to report in this issue—things past and things to come. First, the Asheville minireunion was a great success, thanks to the tireless efforts of Ralph Protsik and Janene Castaldi, our YAA representative, who made sure everything ran smoothly. Fifty classmates and guests enjoyed great experiences and excellent meals, culminating in a final dinner in downtown Asheville. Sadly, our memories of the event are clouded by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene just a week after we left. Ralph and Susan suffered minor damage to their home but lost water and electricity. A link to a photo album of the event is posted on the class website, yale1965.org.

At its meeting prior to the class dinner on October 25, the class council voted to make a gift from ’65 to one of the relief agencies helping the people of Asheville recover. The council heard reports on the 60th reunion from David Roscoe, and on the class gift from Mel Shaftel. Reunion planning is in full swing, and David invited ideas for topics for our portion of the program. Mel reported the gift committee is getting organized and the goal is $9 million. We are well on our way thanks to several large commitments. Remember, you can designate your gift for specific programs at Yale, and bequests count towards our goal. Thanks to your class dues, we have a healthy balance in our treasury and will be exploring ways to use it to support class activities.

The class dinner drew 80 classmates and guests to reconnect and hear Bob Woodward speak about the upcoming election and his latest book, War. David Roscoe reviewed the results of our traditional pre-election survey—it was not predictive of the outcome. Bob expressed concern that should Donald Trump win the election, he has no plan for achieving the results he has promised. Bob’s talk is available on the class website.

In other news about our 60th, Jerry Libby has been doing an outstanding job recruiting classmates to organize pre-reunion lunches after the first of next year. The number is approaching 20 lunches—stay tuned for details about a gathering in your area, and if you want to volunteer to organize a lunch, please contact Jerry.

After a brief pause, the ’65 Zoom program resumed in December with classmate Justs Karlsons speaking about a very timely issue, “Latvian Freedom: A Precarious Future,” with Shaun Byrnes and John Shattuck moderating. We can look forward to another year of Zoom programs in 2025 as the Zoom team has already lined up programs for the first quarter. 

In brief notes: Chris Cooke reports, “Two of my grandsons are again on several episodes of Life Below Zero on the Nat Geo network this season.” Chris also informed me: “Four of the 1965 Whiffs—Kyle Pruett, Jon Ingham, Dave Hawkins and I—attended the Whiffenpoof alumni reunion in New Haven on the weekend of November 8–9, celebrating the 115th anniversary of the group’s founding.” On October 13, ’65 was in the spotlight as David Martin interviewed Bob Woodward on 60 Minutes. Bob’s closing to David: “You know this. Being a reporter is the best job in the world.” 

I received sad news about Peter Barnet from several sources: Bob Leich, Carl Farrington, and from John Gardener, his Lawrenceville and Yale roommate. John wrote: “I visited Peter about two weeks before he died, on October 20 in Carlsbad, California.” John also reported the death of Robert (Bob) Spiel on October 25 in Lake Forest, Illinois. Joel Papernik sent news of a memorial for Simin Allison (widow of our deceased classmate Herb Allison) held at the Fairfield Museum on September 8. “In attendance from our class were Bruce Alexander and his wife Nancy, Nancy Fischer (widow of Dodd Fischer), Gil Ott and his wife Lisa, and Joel Papernik and his wife Barbara. Also in attendance from the Class of 1966 were Tom Barry and his wife.” Finally, Dennis Mack reported the loss of John Leo on September 26: “I just received a message from John Leo’s guardian angel that said in part, ‘John’s health was slipping but his bout with COVID three weeks ago kicked his ass.’ On Wednesday I received a call and I contacted two of John’s best friends in Providence. We arrived and held John’s hands. Within an hour, John was set free. We were happy that John had friends with him. We were lucky to have John.” Please go to our website and post remembrances.

Ending on a hopeful note: Make sure you have May 22–25 marked on your calendars for the 60th. By the time you read these notes, or soon thereafter, you should get the alert that hotel room blocks are open for reservations. One last thing: it’s not too late to get your information updated for the class book; most importantly, get your essay in by January 15. Go to yale65.reuniontechnologies.com and if you have problems go to support@yale65.reuniontechnologies.com.