Class Notes, Mar-Apr 2025

From Stephanie Jones via Pat Madden:

“Bruce Jones passed away from metastatic melanoma October 17th, 2025. He is survived by his wife Victoria, daughters Karen and Stephanie (Yale 2000), and his son Christopher. Bruce earned his graduate degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs. As a World Bank senior economist, he worked in health care and education in the Philippines, Lesotho, Uganda, Zambia and Kenya.

Bruce enjoyed 20 years of retirement. For the Lemon Road Civic Association (LRCA), he tackled issues such as rail noise generated in the WMATA rail yard, changes to the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance Reform (zMOD) and opposition to the proposed Tysons casino. Bruce was also active in the McLean Citizens Association (MCA) and was a member of the MCA Transportation Committee. As a tennis player, he was known for his team spirit, gentlemanly demeanor on and off the court, and signature modest grin after hitting a winning lob or lightning speed forehand.

Bruce is a major character in Karen’s memoir Heart of Miracles. Bruce is deeply missed. He will be remembered for his keen intellect, sense of humor and dedication to the neighborhood. Bruce’s daughter Stephanie encourages people with stage 2 melanoma to go to a top cancer center such as Sloan Kettering or MD Anderson for comprehensive scans to check for spread, as this may not be done locally.”

Happier news: Stewart Palmer writes: “Finally retired at age 79 just in time for pacemaker surgery.” Stewart identifies with our class (your scribe remembers him living in Saybrook) but he did not graduate until 2014. Not a typo. If you don’t know the story, you can read about him here: https://news.yale.edu/2014/05/19/first-person-student-completes-his-ba-48-years-later.

From the Charlotteville Daily Progress:

“Dr. Paul Wilkins passed away on November 13, 2025. He graduated magna cum laude and received the Albert Angier award in Psychology. He received his M.D. from U. Va. in 1973… He was a caring and compassionate human being who dedicated his life to helping other people. While he excelled as a psychiatrist, his true calling in life was that of a father and grandfather. He loved nothing more than spending timer with his son, followed by his two grandsons…Dr. Wilkins died peacefully at the Hospice of the Piedmont due to complications sustained from a stroke suffered  two weeks prior… Every Christmas, one of Paul’s presents to his family was a donation made in their names to a family in need via Heifer International.”

Doug Colton writes:

“I am enjoying the learning opportunity created by incurring one, possibly two, minor strokes in October. I have always been prone to lurch into door jambs and furniture; now I tend to lurch into things that are not there at all. A little aphasia, some new holes in my memory…but mostly, I’ve lost the vision in the lower half of one eye: the world looks different now! As strokes go, I am quite lucky!”…I occasionally consort with Michael Folz and Charlie Lamson and maintain fairly cordial relationships with the well-educated Christian Nationalist/MAGA types whom I lunch with weekly. They remind me that folks with (to me) totally incomprehensible beliefs can be very nice, kind people…Only one or two have recommended I take a Central American vacation.”

Our Yale 1969 Scholarship recipient is David K. Yun JE ’28. He writes:

“I am currently a sophomore in Jonathan Edwards college looking to double major in economics and religious studies. I would like to begin by thanking you all for supporting my academic journey the past couple years! I personally had a phenomenal first couple semesters, and there are some highlights I would like to share.

To start, I joined the club soccer team here at Yale during my first semester. The tryouts were difficult, and the first-team only selected around 7 players from a pool of 80+ tryouts. I have been playing soccer my whole life, so being able to join the club team here was a great accomplishment and wonderful way for me to meet and connect with some upperclassmen.

Additionally, I connected with fellow Korean Americans at Yale by joining the KASY (Korean American Students at Yale) board my first semester as a first-year liaison. In 2025, I ran for Outreach Chair and had the opportunity to serve a bigger role by connecting with past KASY alumni and finding sponsors and supporters for our various events throughout the year. This upcoming year in 2026, I am super excited to be co-president for KASY! We had board elections a week before our finals, and I am grateful for this opportunity to lead such a wonderful community and board.

Lastly, one recent interest of mine has been powerlifting. I joined the club powerlifting team as a captain and social chair this past fall and it has been an amazing time working out and competing with lifters of all ages (including graduate students) and levels of experience. I actually competed in my first official powerlifting meet this past summer and broke the Texas state record bench press for my weight and age class!

The sport has been growing on me a lot and I hope to stay involved in the community.”

David is supported by our Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund, which has a market value as of June 30, 2025 of $930,962. Annual Spending Distribution for 2025–2026: $42,599. New Gifts since June 30, 2025: $4,595.