Nov/Dec 2006

This column, although submitted before the start of the football season, should reach you shortly before the annual gridiron confrontation with our arch nemesis. (Last year’s titanic struggle caused damage to your scribe’s vocal cords, and in one of life’s minor ironies, the damage was repaired last spring by an ENT surgeon, who was a 1979 graduate of — yup.) For those who intend to watch this year’s Game in Cambridge, Lang Wheeler(lbw@numeric.com) will again be generously hosting a 1969 pre-game brunch at his house. Start time is three hours before kickoff. I have attended several of Lang’s brunches, and I can say with assurance that this is a wonderful chance to see classmates, hear great Yale a cappella music, and fire down some tasty comestibles. Hope to see you there. Time for a win! (Note: more up-to-date information on this and other events may appear on the class listserv.)

Official report on the mini-reunion from John Gazzoli: “A baker’s dozen of our classmates, along with spouses or significant others, attended the 37.5-year class reunion in California wine country over the last weekend in July. The venue was the Vintners’ Inn in Santa Rosa, California, and the accommodations and Sonoma scenery were outstanding, but not as good as the discussions about mid-life issues and future activities for our class. Tom Jorde, perhaps influenced by 25 years’ teaching at UCal-Berkeley, was our Socrates for the serious topics of mid-life happiness and impending retirement. Our globe-trotting class secretary George Chopivsky convened a meeting of the impromptu class council, which engaged in a spirited debate over a number of possible class activities between now and our 50th in 2019. Rest assured that the next 12.5 years will contain many opportunities for our class to connect and share our lives’ experiences as well as plan a lasting memorial for the many benefits we all have derived from our Yale educations. Sherpas for the weekend were 35th Reunion co-chair John Gazzoli and Texas expatriate and current wine country resident Harold Mancusi-Ungaro. These two caballeros collaborated to provide a kaleidoscope of private fine wine tastings and food presentations that we never experienced in New Haven (or anywhere else for that matter). The weekend culminated with a delightful Sunday brunch and degustation of organic wines of a noted local winemaker chez Jamie and Nina Woolery in the mountains overlooking Napa Valley. Professor Jorde’s questions on mid-life happiness were firmly answered at Jamie’s beautiful homestead. In addition to the aforementioned, classmate attendees included Reginald Ford, Mike Harrington, Rick Lannaman, Carl Lazarus, Art Segal, Rob Shlachter, Dick Treffers, and David Tufaro.”

Via the alumni magazine: Rick Lannaman has been named chairman of the board of directors of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Via Yale ELine: Five Yale University alumni have been selected by the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) to receive the Yale Medal in 2006, including our own Howard Newman! “Inaugurated in 1952, the Yale Medal is the highest award presented by the AYA and is conferred solely to recognize and honor outstanding individual service to the university. The Yale Medal dinner will be held this November 10 in Commons.”

Obituary catch-up: Robert C. Alexander died July 25, 2004, after a year-long battle with cancer. After graduating from Yale cum laude, he married his college sweetheart, Rosie Bailey. Bob graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was editor of the Law Review. He was a partner at the San Francisco law firm of Heller, Ehrman, White, and McAuliffe for 25 years, and co-chaired the Tax Practice Group. Bob was a photographer, naturalist, birder, hiker, and a gardener. (Drawn from ObituaryRegistry.com.) We will miss you, Bob.

More “missing” (55 total) classmates: Edward Jay Ferraro, John J. Fifield, Ellison James Funderburk, Scott P. Garvey. Any information is welcome.

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit / Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.” — the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.