ALUMNI
Class Notes
Class Notes
Penn Charter magazine wants to hear from you, and your classmates do, too! Submit your news (limit 150 words) and photos at penncharter.com/classnote. Digital photos should be 300 dpi JPEGs.
1689 Bruce MacCullough writes, “I am enjoying my retirement (I prefer ‘re-wirement’) and to my surprise, in roughly April 2019, I felt an inner impulse to write a book, Jesus Beyond Religion: The Truth that Sets You Free. The book is a culmination of my faith journey of many decades and offers a discussion that criticizes ‘the many weeds of religion,’ but behind which there remains the wonderful, broad and inspiring message arising from Jesus and the Hebrew prophets. It is concise and presents a compelling way of life that leads to ‘fullness of life,’ including a deep involvement in working for the wellbeing of all of God’s children.” Bruce’s book is available on Amazon.
1950 Richard T. Claus writes, “Since retirement 23 years ago as the CEO of an industrial chemical company, I have immersed myself in a longtime hobby of collecting antique toys. As frivolous as this may seem, it has not only been personally rewarding but profitable. The driving force is the history
of the objects and what they represent. The research required is often quite daunting. I have also authored and published two books and many articles on the subject. Hopefully this will continue to spark my interest as the years progress.” Allen W. Donahower writes, “My wife, Ann, died nine years ago. I am living in Florida and at the Jersey shore. My three sons and eight grandkids are all well.” William S. Kurtz writes, “We’re still in Washington, D.C., on the Hill. Christine and I are both retired now. I’m busy writing and publishing. My first book, Letters from a Soldier, is a collection of WWII letters from the European theater, including the Battle of the Bulge. Proud to say, it is being included in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. Working on a six-volume children’s book of letters from a group of animals. First volume was published last year; number two might make it by the end of the year. Christine stays busy being grandma and keeping us going on the homefront. Having cancelled our usual trek to an island in Northern Michigan, we are working our way through quarantine, waiting to be liberated. We’re using the time to restore a bedroom in our old Victorian row house and visiting our daughter and her family in Alexandria, including a new grandson.” When Bill wrote, he and Christine were awaiting the birth of their first great-grandchild, in Madrid. Christopher W. Parker writes, “This selfquarantine bit for the virus has slowed things down a lot for Janie and me. We did our annual stay in Sanibel, Fla., in JanuaryFebruary, but things were very slow; didn’t go out for dinner at all or even get to see Bon and H. Curtis Wood in Naples. A bit of a bust. Not
much going on back here either. Our 70th PC reunion got cancelled, of course, rescheduled for next year. Look forward to that. Daughter Pam Nauen and family are nearby and we do cross paths a lot. Granddaughter Sammy Nauen is now in sixth grade at PC, and all think PC did a first-class job with remote teaching last spring. Good to hear. Hope many ’50 classmates will make it back for our rescheduled 70th.” H. Curtis Wood was elected treasurer of the Paradise Coastmen Barbershop Chorus in January and has spent a lot of time since then mastering the task. “No rehearsals or performances because of covid-19. Bonnie and I continue to enjoy life here in Naples, Fla., where the weather is great and we remain active on campus.”
1951 W. Michael Cassell Jr. writes, “I try to keep in touch with Old Penn Charter every 60 years or so, so here it goes. I graduated from Colgate University and earned three master’s degrees from the Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia and Temple University. I was ordained a priest and wound up serving as rector and headmaster in parishes from Washington state to New Jersey. Upon my retirement from parish ministry, I served as a fundraiser for Food for the Poor, raising millions of dollars for the poverty-stricken of the Caribbean, from Haiti to Dominica. We build schools, houses, leprosariums and much more. I have five successful children and was married to Sharon Cassell, a psychotherapist, until her death five years ago. At present, I live in Delray Beach, Fla. I have lived in Florida since 1985. I miss the excellent teachers I was blessed with while at PC.”
FALL 2020 •
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