Class Notes: November/December 2024
By John M. PinneyFall is here, the trees are turning, and I have to declare this osprey season a failure. The two couples who began the season have broken up, no one occupies our nest, and no chicks hatched. The only one happy about this is the eagle who will appear in a few weeks to sit in the osprey nest and “thumb” his beak.
Class activities: this issue always goes to bed before the fall activities take place, but thanks to the tireless efforts of Ralph Protsik, the Asheville minireunion will convene soon, with 53 classmates and guests and the onsite assistance of our excellent YAA representative, Janene Castaldi. As noted before, Bob Woodward will be speaking at the class dinner on October 25. Full reports on these events will be in the next issue of the magazine.
On the topic of our 60th, make sure to mark your calendars for May 22–25, 2025. This milestone event is being planned by the perpetual reunion team of Roscoe, Leich, and Farrington. Bob Leich reported: “I called Jerry Libby and he graciously accepted Jeff Miller’s old job, which was to coordinate the regional class lunches in anticipation of the reunion. Jerry and I will host the one in Los Angeles in February, and he’ll try to get the others scheduled from February on. If any of you hear of someone interested in coordinating, please let me know.” Finally, in his spare time, Ralph Protsik is leading the team developing our 60th reunion class book.
David Roscoe is finalizing the class election survey, the results of which will be presented at the class dinner on October 25. The ’65 Zoom team is closing in on a record of continuous exceptional programs worthy of the Guiness Book of World Records. Dennis Mack kindly previewed some of the upcoming attractions: December: Miroslav Volf, a Croatian Protestant theologian and public intellectual, and Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale. He will speak related to his book, Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most. And in January, Michael Crair, vice provost for research and the William Ziegler III Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Remember, all the Zoom programs are recorded and available for viewing on our website, yale1965.org.
Brief notes: Donna and I made our annual trip to the 1000 Islands, where we were joined by John Shattuck and Ellen Hume, and Peter Desjardins. Peter’s family, including three lively grandchildren, made the trip. Bob Kaplan’s new book came out in August: “It’s called Grappling: stories, fictionalized cases, of senior leaders working on themselves with help. My whole career I’ve written nonfiction. Looking for a possibly better way to convey some of what I’ve learned, I hit on the idea of writing fiction. Which meant I had to learn to write fiction.” Landon (Bunky) Carter launched a new seven-week online course entitled Creating the Life You Love.
We’ve lost two classmates since the last issue. Dave Williams copied me on an email about the passing of Larry Houghteling on August 3; and Ford Draper passed away peacefully on June 22 at his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Their obituaries are posted on our class website, yale1965.org. Please visit and post remembrances.