Class Notes

Dispatches News From Alumni

1955

Richard Shriner reports he is doing well after turning 100 last December 21, 2021, and he is living in Falmouth, Mass. He fondly recalls playing hockey at Kimball Union, where his nickname was “Mouse.”

1953

Stanford B. Vincent (508) 457-6473 • stan@vincentcurtis.com

The biggest news for the class of ’53 is our upcoming 70th reunion in June. Nearly one-quarter of our class is still active, a significant milestone. Who among us will make it back to The Hilltop next spring remains a question, but I’m sure all will join in celebrating the occasion. Full details about our reunion will follow.

In addition to the reunion itself, plans are already in place to publish and share a brief bio of current members of our class. They include Allan Bell, Illinois; Pete Bowser, California; Tony Brockelman, Florida; Roger Brown, Colorado; Joe Fay, Connecticut; Tom Fay, California; Paul Haczela, Florida; Charlie Harriman, Florida; Charles Lawrence, Vermont; Pete Meleney, Massachusetts; Peter Morse, South Dakota; Jerry Pringle, Oregon; Ralph Rose, Pennsylvania; Paul Russo, Massachusetts; and Pete Whiteside, Florida.

Classmates looking for contact info of our other classmates are welcome to call or drop me a line.

I’m sad to report that our friend Sam Cummings passed away last fall. A graduate of the University of Vermont (UVM), Sam worked almost 30 years in Vermont for IBM in various financing positions. His passions included scuba diving and spending summers at his camp in the Northeast Kingdom with his family. He leaves his wife, Joy, two children, and four grandchildren. Sam recently remembered his days at KUA saying, “The best teachers were Coach Carver and Ed Spaulding, math and science. We did get a good college prep education! I often felt my first year at UVM was made a lot easier.” Best wishes for the new year!

1955

Warren Huse (603) 524-6593 • warrenhuse1@gmail.com

This column will be a joint effort between George Place, Howie Goldberg, and me. To begin, however, I regret to report the death September 22, 2022, of Byron Koh’s wife, Mary Frances Wall. Fran was 84 and had a long career as a clinical social worker, including her own counseling practice.

George managed to reach a number of classmates in early January, including Howie, with whom he has lunch a couple times a month; Ron Harrison, still teaching watercolor art in the Salem, Mass., area; Joe Dickinson (planning lunch with Joe in February); Vin Godleski, who “appears to be doing very well as he had just returned from ice skating with a group of friends; Walter Phelps (see below); and Dick Rose, “on daily dialysis, which cuts way down on his flexibility and mobility, but he is coping as best he can.” George also reports Tom Eggert has “some health issues but like all of us octogenarians is dealing with everything as needed. He reported his area of New York had received two major snowstorms.” Pete Smith is “in good spirits as he was working on his estate plan and bemoaning his lawyer’s legalese. He promised to keep his political leanings to himself and particularly from Warren so they would not be subject to publication.” Tony Crovo is fine and is off to Fort Myers, Fla., shortly. He has been going there for many winters, long before it became fashionable. “As for me,” George adds, “I just finished the six-day protocol for Covid, just in time to go to Antigua with my daughter later in January. My other daughter and her husband have a boat at the island and that will be our base. The boat was in the Bermuda race last spring and came in just after the leader in his class.

In 2021, I visited Pearl Harbor on the 80th anniversary of the attack and, despite the rain, had a very historical, educational, and emotional visit. Last year I bought a condo on spec in Pinehills, Mass., with a distant view of Cape Cod Bay. It’s for rent and classmates can get a good deal.” George adds, “I recently visited Bill Bullen ’50 at Brooksby Village and he is in a memory unit at the facility. He is 91 and was in good spirits, although I wasn’t sure he remembered that I was in the great class of ’55. I saw Stan Vincent ’53 last fall at a get-together at the house of Jim Grey ’60 in Falmouth. We see Deborah Bullen, widow of Jed ’52, quite often for lunch.”

From Howie: “Sheila and I got a unique 63rd anniversary present. I was diagnosed with B cell lymphoma. At our first meeting with my oncologist, he said, fortunately, it was totally curable and that I would lose my hair, but it would grow back. We started on a six-month campaign of chemo and radiation treatments at the Mass General satellite cancer center at the Newton Wellesley Hospital. This allowed me to have all my appointments about five minutes from our apartment. I finished December 16 and was declared all clear. Sheila was an unbelievable rock during the whole process. I also am very grateful for the support of George Place during that period. Obviously, our social life was quite curtailed. We did finally get down to New York and New Jersey during the Christmas holiday to visit two of our daughters and their children (our grandchildren). That was our first trip there since before Covid. Our grandson, who is now working and living in the Boston area, gave us a ride back and forth.”

Walt Phelps turned 86 in early January. Walt suggests investments in energy: “No guarantees, but this is the world we now live in.”

I (Warren) am still writing the weekly local history pages for the newspaper and am looking forward to passing the torch as treasurer of the historical society shortly, after 36 years. I had an email exchange with Dan Anderson ’54 back in September: “We live about 60 miles from downtown Houston but no longer drive in—big cities have gotten much too dangerous and the drivers have gotten crazier. The little town we live in is the county seat. A few years ago, I’d go to all the county council meetings and sometimes talk. It felt good to live in a place where the connection between average citizens and local government was so close. I was never interested in any involvement in state or national politics—it will be up to the next two generations to fix anything.”

1960

Arthur Greene of Bedford, N.H., writes:

“After all these years of following the lives of many of my classmates in the Class Notes, I am long overdue in sharing some information. Last December I retired after a 55-year career as a trial lawyer, law firm managing partner, and more recently a business consultant to law firms. During that time, I was active in the American Bar Association, making presentations and authoring several books on the business aspects of running a law firm. I now look forward to retirement years with my wife, Ellen, splitting our time between Bedford and Scottsdale, Ariz., where our daughter lives with her family, including two granddaughters.”

1967

Bob Jamback (508) 561-1013 • bobjamback@yahoo.com

I attended a couple of varsity hockey games in mid-December and plan to see more. This year’s team, while young, skates well, moves the puck well, and plays well together. I look forward to the rest of the season.

1969

Malcolm Cooper (802) 867-2528 • tractormalc@gmail.com

Covid still keeps us from much travel and contact. I was going on a bike trip with Bill Barney ’70 but cancelled. Saw a great article in the October 31 New Yorker about Will Sheff ’94. KUA is mentioned in the first paragraph.

1989

Melissa Longacre (603) 675-9974 • mlongacre@myfairpoint.net

I’m writing my column from The Hilltop this year. I have finally left the demands of retail and am working as the administrative assistant in the Student Life Office at KUA. We should all be proud of the work being done at the school and the quality education KUA faculty continues to provide. We currently have three classmates who have students here: Andrea Bueno Keen, Ray Mann, and Dhamey Norgay. I love seeing their names come up on caller ID! Candi Osgood Strickland has moved to Orlando, Fla. She says if you are visiting Mickey and want to catch up, let her know!

Jim and P.J. Jonas have had a busy year! They are now grandparents to three, with their first granddaughter arriving this summer. One child was married this summer and two more are engaged, so they are looking forward to two weddings in the next six months! They also received a visit from Andrea Bueno Keen.

I had a great visit with the Bishops this summer, when they were house sit ting next door for a few weeks. It was fun to catch up.

If you have any questions about the school or want to stop by and see the campus, let me know. I would be happy to give you a tour! The spring musical is Little Shop of Horrors—funny how things come around again! Hope to hear from you soon.

1996

Steve Lieberman reports: “During Covid, my family and I moved from California back to the East Coast and bought a home in North Stonington, Conn. We opened a second location for our brewery, Surfridge Brewing Co., in Centerbrook, Conn., next to the Essex Steam Train. It is great to be back on the East Coast, and my 10-year-old son has taken after his father and picked up lacrosse. Our brewery and restaurant hits 1-year-old on December 17, 2022, and we hope to have an alumni gathering there soon.”

Katy and Jon Romero live in Garden City, N.Y., with Jack, 4, and Emma, 2. Jon enjoys remaining in touch with a handful of KUA classmates and is thinking of bringing his family for a visit to The Hilltop this spring.

Jon shares this from Tim Knox H’96: “Donal [Knox] will be coming from Bali with his wife and three kids for an extended stay during Christmas. He is now basing his international telecom business there for the time being. He will be at his house in New Jersey for a week before coming up to us in New Hampshire. Liz joins me in sending Christmas wishes to you all.”