Jan/Feb 2007

Mike Pfeiffer (MGP@Capdale.com) has taken the midlife marital plunge. Mike writes: “Robin Taub (who accompanied me at the reunion) and I were married in October 2005 in Washington, D.C. Robin is a lawyer with her own family law firm in Bethesda, Maryland, and we reside at my former residence in D.C., which was enlarged and renovated last year to accommodate our five children (her two and my three). . . . [My son] Charlie is a member of the Class of 2009 and a resident of Pierson (which was my college). He was a ‘walk-on’ on last year’s freshman heavyweight crew and continues this fall on the varsity. . . . I took early retirement from Ernst & Young’s national tax office in January 2004. A month later I became a member of Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered, a Washington tax boutique, where I continue my international private client tax practice. . . . My eldest son, Mike, is a junior at Miami of Ohio.”

Lee Bachman sends this along with his class dues payment: “I am home in Minneapolis celebrating the Twins’ division championship and my three grandchildren, Julia, Michael, and Will. Hope to see some of you at the Republican National Convention in 2008. Kudos to our classmate Mark Dayton as he finishes his term in the U.S. Senate.” Uh, Lee, about those Twins . . .

“Lost” classmate report from Norm Zamcheck: “T. (Angus) Ferguson is alive and well in Portland, Maine. He left Yale in the late 1960s, and subsequently earned his BA and law degrees at the University of Maine. He is currently practicing law in the Port City, happily married and the father of son Adam and daughter Katrina. I had the pleasure of visiting him about a month ago.”

Obituary catch-up: Anthony Covell died of cancer on November 3, 2004. His wife of 35 years, Natalie, reports, “He was very well known as the founding director of Poole Centre for the Arts in Dorset, a large complex comprising concert hall, theater, cinema, art exhibition space, and studios. As well as hosting national and international orchestras and solo musicians, touring theater, opera, and dance, the Centre is the home of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Anthony left the Arts Centre ten years ago to manage a prep school together with me. I find myself left in the unusual position of owning and running the school now. Thanks to Anthony’s astute directorship, Yarrells School is a sound business that serves as the basis for a small flourishing and innovative educational establishment for children aged 2 to 13. Not surprisingly, our school has a very strong bias towards drama and the arts. . . . [Anthony] maintained a passion for the theater, for sailing, and for architecture. He was a wonderful family man; our two sons and I shared his great interests. Despite endless, time-consuming responsibilities, he found time when our sons were young to be with us sailing in our boat or on long, adventurous camping trips all over France, or revisiting the USA. The boys enjoyed an idyllic childhood savoring a rich diet of theater, music, and the arts in general and a life by the sea in Dorset.” Natalie and Anthony met at the Dramat and were married in 1968 at Dwight Chapel. She would love to hear from anyone who knew Anthony at Yale; her e-mail address is headmistress@yarrells.co.uk. Natalie is paying Anthony’s class dues, and your scribe thinks we should make her an honorary member of our class.

Dr. Douglas John Groome died peacefully at home with his family on March 27, 2006, after a long battle with cancer. After leaving Yale with a BA in psychology, Doug got his MD at the University of Connecticut in 1973. His daughter writes: “He practiced pediatrics at 285 Broad Street, Meriden, Connecticut, from 1976 until his retirement due to the progression of his illness in 2004. He was a compassionate and patient doctor, loved by many generations of patients and their families in Meriden. Doug was a member of the medical staff of Midstate Medical Center and its predecessors from 1976 to 2004. . . . In addition to his love of practicing pediatrics, Doug had become an avid genealogist, having meticulously traced his ancestry back to the early eighteenth century. He loved to play golf, basketball, and drink beer on his Thursdays off with his good friends John Gittzus and Fred Pope. He continued to attend Yale football games whenever he could get the day off from work, teaching his children all the Yale Band fight songs over the years. The Yale games were truly memorable times for our family. He is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years, Zita Groome, his daughter Bethany, and son, Jeremy Groome. Memorial contributions can be made to Midstate Medical Center or WNPR.”

More “missing” (55 total) classmates: Richard H. Griest, Neal H. Grossman, Frederick H. Hahn, Geoffrey H. Hamway. Any information is welcome.

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill.