Class Notes, Nov-Dec 2025

Rob (Bobbo) Arras died on July 9, 2025. Richard Livingston (via Henry Fuller) reports that Bobbo died peacefully at home, in San Jose, Costa Rica, surrounded by family. He had battled Parkinson’s for many years.

Richard Livingston writes: “Rob played varsity soccer and was the lacrosse goalie at Yale…He was a gregarious, fun loving and very humorous individual, always with a twinkle in the eye. He was a caring friend and devoted to his family. He is sorely missed.”

Henry Fuller spent a day with him in May 2024 just before our 55^th reunion. Rob’s widow Karen told Wayne Willis: “…in June, they travelled to Todo Santos, Mexico for the wedding of his youngest child.  Returning to San Jose, Costa Rica, he told her that ‘he felt complete.  They are all on their paths now.’  And he was done.”

On a happier note, we just received notice that Lloyd Suttle will be honored by Yale for over 50 years of dedicated service to the University. This well-deserved award will be presented the night before The Game. You can read the full citation of his many accomplishments here:    https://yalebulldogs.com/news/2025/7/25/general-blue-leadership-ball-returns-november-21-celebrating-six-distinguished-honorees.aspx. Lloyd has never written in to the Class Notes, so he qualifies as a “hidden gem.”

Your scribe uncovered another hidden gem in our class by assiduously studying all the posts on our new class “Everyone” listserv. (The many posts about our Vietnam-era experiences may be turned into a published work.) One poster was a complete unknown to me: Djelal Kadir.  When I contacted him, he compared the initial contact to Captain Cook vis-a-vis the Pacific Islanders whom he “discovered.” With help from Djelal and the redoubtable Wayne Willis, I have compiled a short list of his accomplishments below, extracted from an updated version of his Wikipedia entry:

Djelal Kadir (born 1946) is a Cypriot-born American academic and writer, currently the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, at Pennsylvania State University. He is known for his work in the fields of world literature, literatures of the Americas, and literary theory. Kadir taught at Pennsylvania State University from 1998 until his retirement in 2016. Previously, he was the editor of the literary journal World Literature Today from 1991 to 1997. He has published numerous articles and authored or edited over a dozen books. His scholarly works have been translated into Greek, Polish, Turkish, French, Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese. Since his academic retirement, he has served as the Founding Director and cellist for The MAC Chamber Ensemble in Portland, Oregon.

Kadir is the Founding President of the International American Studies Association and has served on the boards of numerous professional organizations, including the American Comparative Literature Association and the International Comparative Literature Association, where he chaired its Standing Committee on Literary Theory. He has many honors and awards which are listed in his Wikipedia entry. Hidden gem, no more.

BTW, your aquaphobic scribe ain’t no Captain Cook. He is just doing his job of compiling the chronicle of the lives of our classmates. If any other hidden gems are reading this, they can make my job easier by contacting me while there is still time!

Your scribe will be at The Game, rooting for the Elis to make it four (!) in a row over the Cantabs. Hope to see you there.