Class Notes: March/April 2023
By John M. PinneyIn case any of you were concerned about my report last issue on the “no show” geese, you can relax. They showed up, somewhat late but in force, and are behaving normally. Any ideas about recycling goose guano much appreciated.
Following the highly successful class dinner, the ’65 Zoom team picked up again on November 16 with our own Bill Torbert speaking on “Leadership and Power: How Great Leaders Get Things Done.” Bill is professor, researcher, consultant, and author at Yale, Boston College, and Action Inquiry Workshop. His excellent session was ably moderated by Bob Kaplan and Mac Rogers. It would be good to get Bill’s views on the recent Speaker of the House election. Bill was followed on December 21 by Lauren Noble ’11, founder and executive director of the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale. Her timely and challenging presentation, “Free Speech at Yale,” was moderated by Gerry Doyle and his Yale roommate, Ralph Protsik. Both of these sessions were recorded and may be accessed on our class website. The Zoom program launched the 2023 season on January 18 with Bob Woodward, together with “official” recognition and celebration of our two new honorary classmates: Jennifer Julier, our long-serving YAA representative who has retired, and Jean McKillop, our long-serving webmistress, who hasn’t even mentioned retirement. Many thanks to both for their patience and support of all our activities.
Planning for the fall 2023 Santa Fe minireunion mentioned in the last issue is proceeding, with Earl Potter working to narrow the dates to one of the last two long weekends in September. As soon as we’re able, we’ll begin sending specific information on the dates, events, and registration. In the meantime, everyone keep your vaccinations up to date.
Brief notes: Mike Harrison, now professor of surgery emeritus at UC–San Francisco, wrote: “Still having fun doing medical device development and entrepreneurship at UCSF. Three new grandkids (now a total of 8-1/2) keep Gretchen and me hopping.” After mesmerizing the class dinner attendees, Bill Nelson celebrated the successful launch of Artemis with an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal describing the evolution from Artemis to manned exploration of Mars. Dennis Mack reported on his attendance at the Yale assembly in November, including the awards ceremony at which David Roscoe was honored: “Bob Hammond and I sat together with our spouses during the award ceremony. After the organization awards were given, they turned to leadership awards, focusing on the contributions of five individuals of great merit. Without notice, they called me up to accept the award on your behalf. The speaker mentioned the early programs we produced and then turned to your other contributions and your leadership style. It was clear that the YAA was not recognizing our class for having a great series but you for being a leader in many ways.” Congratulations, David, and thanks for your many contributions to ’65.
Finally, Bob Leich alerted me to an event this past October featuring Jerry Libby in his capacity as secretary and general counsel of the World Justice Project. The event was the launch of the 2022 Rule of Law Index, covering 140 countries and jurisdictions around the world, measuring how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations.
I’m sorry to have to report we lost five more classmates in 2022. Bob Cook died on April 26 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Mel Shaftel reported that John David Weinland died on July 22. Herb Kohler died on September 3, 2022, in Kohler, Wisconsin. John Howell’s daughter Alison Stallings informed us that John died on September 11, 2022. And Peter Worsley’s daughter, Hannah Held, reported that Peter died on November 16, 2022, in San Luis Obispo. Their obituaries are posted on the class website. Please visit and post remembrances.