Class Notes, Jul-Aug 2022

Ned Culver reports sad news:

“Classmate, roommate, and old friend Scott Herstin died of a heart attack April 14th in Naples Florida, following a period of declining health, including a failed kidney for which he had received a transplant.  He is survived by two daughters and five grandchildren.  He is also survived by his former wife and close friend Marilynn Core, of Fort Myers.

At Yale, he was an American Studies major, a resident of Davenport College, and a member of the Davenport College crew.  Upon graduation, Scott moved to Boston and started a long and successful career in banking and asset management, including positions at The Boston Company, Pell, Rudman & Co., and, after moving to Naples, US Trust of Florida.

Scott and I were bachelors in Boston during the early seventies, and spent a lot of time as self-styled men-about-town (or so we fancied ourselves).  It was then that Scott introduced me to Beefeater martinis, which I ultimately swore off, and for which I am nonetheless grateful.

We rented ski houses together, sailed bare boat in the Bahamas, and had many other adventures.

He married Marilynn and moved to suburban Westwood, MA, a town more suitable for raising his two beautiful and accomplished daughters.  Eventually, when his daughters were teenagers, the family moved to Naples.

Naples agreed with Scott and he became active in The Yale Club of Southwest Florida and many local charities. He enjoyed traveling to watch his grandchildren grow and to keep up with classmates.  In fact, in May 2021, he hosted five of us and our wives and fiancees for a week at a beautiful house he secured at Kiawah Island, SC.  It was the last time we saw him, except for frequent group zoom “cocktail hours.”

He was a devoted follower of horse racing and an astute handicapper, spending time at Saratoga, NY, Las Vegas and many Florida tracks.

Scott was very loyal to his Yale friends, attending many reunions and mini-reunions, but had some doubts as to where the University was headed, doubts expressed in occasional letters to the editor of the alumni magazine. Rest in peace, old friend.  I will miss you.”

Cleve Morris reports:

“I drove over to Richmond, Virginia for a piano recital given by our classmate, Eliot Norman. He is a fantastically talented musician and has played all his life. He studied seriously while at Yale. I didn’t know him then, but we connected when he was endeavoring to create some Virginia events in connection with our 50th reunion. I wasn’t able to participate in any of those gatherings, but we’ve remained in touch and he has visited me in Staunton VA several times. He has been studying assiduously since retiring from his law practice. By studying assiduously, I mean that he has two teachers and practices, on average, four hours a day.

He gave a marvelous afternoon concert in Richmond, and also present were our classmates, Harry Wise and Robert Riehle. Harry played trumpet in one of the pieces on the program. Rob used to be known as Bo and was in the Whiffenpoofs.”

Eliot wrote to say that at the concert,

“I spoke about Scott Herstin and his love of music and dedicated to him the Adagio from the Bach-Marcello Oboe Concerto.  Scott had been planning to watch the concert from Naples on LiveStream but we never got a chance to say goodbye or share that “Joy of Music” event with him.” Classmates can watch the concert and the dedication at https://youtu.be/e2YN9kIUpLE.

Kenneth Loveday (ken.loveday@biogen.com) reports:

“I am still working full-time at Biogen, but I have been working from home since March, 2020. I’ve played a lot of tennis to get outside for sunshine and exercise. I am very proud of the drugs I have helped develop, especially one to treat Spinal Muscular Atrophy, while at Biogen.”