May/Jun 2016
Your scribe sought out Tom Orum, who was in Econ 10 (Saybrook CDG) with me in the Fall of 1965. Here is his first-ever report for this column: “I got a master’s in agronomy and plant genetics from the University of Arizona and worked for 25 years as a research specialist in the plant pathology department at the University of Arizona. My wife, Nancy Ferguson, and I both retired in 2000 to volunteer with the Saguaro Juniper Conservation Ranch, which you must have discovered in your search. That has kept us more than busy since then.” Internet search cost: 10 minutes. Reconnecting with a classmate after 50 years? Priceless.
Richard Senechal (dick.senechal@gmail.com) writes: “I have retired from Loews Hotels as executive vice president, facilities. We’ve sold our New York apartment, but I will continue to consult with Loews part-time on their new development initiatives. I will also be taking on consulting assignments in hotel programming, planning, design, and construction for other companies, so I guess this is technically more of a semi-retirement. We are staying in the Dallas area, where our older daughter, Ann ’98, ’04MBA, also lives and works with Ernst & Young. We’re in the process of downsizing into a new house we are building in a lakefront golf resort community, and looking forward to being grandparents for the first time in a few weeks.”
Brad Gascoigne reports on the death of Frank Knoblauch: “A West Hartford psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Frank died on January 24, 2016, due to complications from prostate cancer. Frank entered Yale in September 1965 from the Blake School in Minneapolis and graduated, a member of Trumbull College and Book and Snake, in 1970, after spending our sophomore year teaching English as a second language in Colombia. His MD was from the UConn School of Medicine, and he completed his psychiatric residency at Yale and his psychoanalytic training at Western New England Psychoanalytic Institute, where he was a member of its society. He was a staff psychiatrist at the Institute of Living in Hartford, at Windham Hospital, and, since 1991, in private practice. He was passionate about his work and happy to have helped countless numbers of people over the course of his career.
“Frank was a gentle soul, highly intelligent without pretense. Humble and kind, he possessed an endearing sense of humor, further enhanced by his ‘Minnesota optimism.’ He was always inquisitive and interested in learning, a true lifelong student. He eagerly engaged in conversations and discussions that could range from Noam Chomsky to the origin of words, to golf or UConn basketball. Frank was fluent in Spanish and enjoyed studying languages throughout his life. He loved family gatherings, his numerous friends, vacationing in Cape Cod, and chocolate cake.
He married Elizabeth (Bette) Kriscenski in 1971 and leaves her and his beloved son Daniel as well as brothers Loring ’64 and Tom ’73. Roommates Steve Bemis, Mabry Rogers, and Ralph Schmidt joined many scores of friends and family in tribute to Frank at a memorial service held January 30 in Farmington.”
Next issue: News from Dues!
“Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.”—Carl Sagan
Frank was my roommate for two of our Yale years. We did not get along Freshman year, but during the next year in Colombia teaching ESL in (I think it was ) a Rockefeller program, we corresponded and when he returned, our friendship was firm. His year away moved him from ’69 to ’70. By 1972, both of us safely graduated, Frank was best man at our wedding. By the time of our 45th he had been battling prostate cancer for many years, and the prognosis was not getting better. A group of Durfee/Trumbullians ’69 and Book and Snake alumni from ’70 gathered in a micro-reunion where we could all celebrate his life with Frank in attendance. He had a towering intellect; he was a compassionate counselor and fast friend, and harbored a wickedly sharp sense of humor. He is missed.