Jul/Aug 2008

I promised better news (as best I can make out the handwriting), and here it is:

Terry Benson (terrybenson@nyc.rr.com) writes: “Now that my daughter Kara (’06) is out and off on her adventures, singing in the Yale Alumni Chorus is what keeps me connected. Being an ‘Ambassador of Song’ isn’t easy—18 days of a ‘bus and truck’—but it was a wonderful Yale experience.”

Ted Robinson writes: “Aboard the Topaz, a 33-foot sailboat. Did a rescue at sea last October 6. Sailing in a local Newport-to-Block Island race, encountered a disabled fishing boat about five miles offshore. Towed him upwind, under sail, across the finish line before taking him to his home port.”

Jim Grew (jimhgrewjr@cs.com) writes: “I was elected, in January of this year, president of USA Water Ski, the USOC-recognized governing body of towed water sports, and reelected as one of the three VPs of the international governing body. Remaining healthy and waterskiing daily when home in Florida, between trips to Colorado to snow ski, water-ski-related meetings around the world, and stints as captain of various U.S. water-ski teams, also worldwide (last three years: Australia, China, Singapore, Mexico, Austria, France etc.).

The March/April issue of the Yale Alumni Magazine had an Association of Yale Alumni feature that included a story and picture of our own Roy Niedermayer. He is the president of the Yale Club of Washington, DC, which has been singled out as one of the more innovative Yale clubs in the U.S. Lookin’ good, Roy!

Frank Shorter was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in April. In addition to his Olympic achievements (gold in ’72, silver in ’76), the Denver Post reports that Frank has been an owner of successful sportswear and athletic supply companies, and a crusader for anti-doping causes. Frank was the chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency until 2003, and testified before Congress with league commissioners.

But the bad news cannot be kept at bay for long. Stephen F. Parks died in April, as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He is survived by his wife, Louise, whom he met in Austin three years after Yale, and two daughters. Steve was a long-time resident of Austin, Texas, where he served seven years as technical director of the Austin Lyric Opera. He was also a board member of the Austin Ballet Theater. His life was the theater and his family. Sam Weisman writes: ”We got to know each other late in our Yale career, through the Dramat. But then in 1970, we worked together at a summer theater in Maine, the Brunswick Music Theatre. Steve was one of the technical directors, and I was a clueless general manager, a job that was handed off to me by our classmate, David Johnson. We had a great many laughs that summer, and Steve may have been one of my earliest mentors in the entertainment business. At our 35th reunion, I saw him for the first time since that summer, and he was the same witty guy, with the same beard and smile. It was a joy to see him again. He will be missed.“ Andy Schnier writes, ”Steve was one of the nicest people I met at Yale. Always smiling. A kind soul whom it was always nice to be around.“

John Gazzoli writes: ”Steve had one of the sharpest wits in our class. Wonderful guy whose sense of humor will be sorely missed by all of his many friends.“ And from John Nelson: ”Steve seemed to always have that impish smile on his face, an easy laugh, sometimes caustic wit. He loved the theater, which he taught at the University of Texas for many years. He was smart as a whip, very funny, a fabulous friend, teacher, colleague, husband, father, son, and brother to his two elder sisters, who have been a comfort to Louise in Austin. Amazingly, his mom died just weeks ago, following a bout with dementia, though no illness could dent her powerful kindness and gentle way. His dad had passed away many years ago, and his mom remarried a filmmaker, also from their circle of friends in Rochester, with whom Steve bonded pretty easily. . . . I am hopeful that anyone who knew Steve from either Directed Studies of our class or the Dramat will please forward news of his passing to fellow DSers of our class or other Dramat classes during our time at Yale (especially ’67, ’68, ’70, ’71). He really loved the theater. And dancing to the Beatles.“

More missing (55 total) classmates: Marc J. Strassman, Neal A. Waldrop, David P. Watson, Philip Werlein. Any information is welcome.

”. . . to keep having fun every day I have left, because there’s no other way to play it.”—Randy Pausch (thelastlecture.com).