Class Notes, May-Jun 2026

Lots of sad news. Please go to the class website for more information and pictures.

“William John Stanisich died December 29, 2025, after a brief but complicated illness. At Yale, Bill studied with Vincent Scully and Charles Talbot. He was accepted into the Yale Architecture Department but had to return to San Francisco to attend to his ailing mother.  Bill continued his studies at the S.F. Art Institute, but turned to teaching high school art and English to supplement his career as an artist. He taught at Lick-Wilmerding (1970-71), then at the Urban School (1972-1998), when he retired with disability.  Beginning in the mid-1980s Bill had a series of four painful and debilitating spinal surgeries, but continued painting and teaching in spite of the severe pain.

Bill lived a life devoted to art, and through it sought to represent the world and its truth. Like many artists before him he focused on exploring the world by repeated paintings of the same setting, be it the waves of Greece, the English Lakes, rainy nighttime streets, rugged woodlands, or friends and models. Bill had his first solo exhibition at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery in 1985 and subsequently numerous solo and group shows. His work is collected throughout the United States as well as in England and France. He is represented by the Andra Norris Gallery, and frequently exhibited his work at the Fall Show at Fort Mason, by epoca. His website is: williamstanisich.com.

Bill had a brilliant mind and a fierce intellect, his learning and knowledge were extensive, embracing literature, history, art, music, and opera. He was a huge presence in the lives of those who knew him.

Bill was undeterred to the end – his keen wit, delightful sense of humor, genuine warmth, intellectual vitality, and honest reflections all very much in play – but his body had been stressed past a point of repair. Bill is survived by his partner and husband of 44 years Jim Meyer, his very close friends, many devoted former students, and his many collectors. His art will be his greatest legacy. Rest in peace, dear Bill – you will live forever in our hearts.”

Recently sent to us by the widow of Dov Ospovat:

“James R. Wright, Jr. played baseball for Yale. He worked as a sportswriter for The Norman Transcript while attending law school at the University of Oklahoma. He began practicing law in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. and opened his Clinton practice in 1976. He continued going to his Cheyenne office two days a week for his entire career. He was an active member of the Custer County Bar Association. He was a past chairman of the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Committee. He was on the board of directors of the Farmers Union Cooperative Royalty Company. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was a member of the First Methodist Church in Clinton, where he served as a lay leader, choir member and past president of the Board of Trustees. Jim Bob played football, basketball, and baseball for the Clinton Red Tornadoes. Attending high school sports events in Clinton was a special passion. He enjoyed coaching Little League baseball teams and attending sports events at OU and OSU. His great pleasure in life was getting out in the country to enjoy nature. He loved to fly fish for trout in northern New Mexico and to hunt bobwhite quail in western Oklahoma. Jim Bob died on Sunday, January 20, 2002, while quail hunting with friends.”

From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

“Richard S. Lannamann of Osprey, Florida, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2026, in Stamford, Connecticut, following a heart attack on Christmas Eve. His loving wife, Kate, was at his side. Rick was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather and a distinguished leader in the executive search profession. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973. In 1978, Rick entered the executive search profession, where he would leave a lasting and defining legacy. He advised senior executives at many of the world’s leading investment organizations and helped build and shape the investment management specialty, first as Managing Director at Russell Reynolds Associates and later as Vice Chairman at Spencer Stuart.

Rick gave tirelessly of his time and leadership to numerous organizations, serving on the board of the Foreign Policy Association, the Jackson Laboratory, the Sarasota Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Boys Choir of Harlem. He was President of the Yale Alumni Association in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the Yale Club of the Suncoast in Florida, and also served as a member of the Financial Analysts Seminar Board of Regents, an important advisory body to the CFA Institute.

Rick was a member of the Riverside Yacht Club for more than 50 years. That was where, in 1998, Rick married Kate Lannamann, and the next 27 years were filled with adventure, joy, and deep devotion, spending Rick’s later years in the Sarasota, Florida, community, where they were members of the Oaks Club in Osprey. Music was an essential element of Rick’s life. He played the piano from childhood and, at Yale, sang with the Yale Alley Cats. Rick also loved to travel; a master of research, planning, and patience, Rick often joked that he had missed his true calling as a travel agent. Throughout his life, Rick was admired not only for his intellect and professional excellence, but for his optimism, integrity, and generosity of spirit. He lived with purpose and gratitude, meeting life’s challenges with grace and resilience. In his understated way, Rick touched countless lives, leaving a lasting and meaningful impact on all who knew him.”

From Gerson Sher: “I vividly recall how Rick and I used to sit cheek by jowl on the carillon bench playing “Bright College Years” and “The Whiffenpoof Song,” the latter with the sorrowful phrase, “gone and now forgotten with the rest,” which I recall Rick, sitting on the bass side of the bench, used to play slowly and mournfully on the lower bells.”