class 
notes
Fall 2025

Tom Bernstein updates, “Just four of us attended our 70th reunion on campus. Sandy Dorfman with wife Barbara, Frank Tysen, Bob Howard, and myself with son Will. We only did the Stagapalooza lunch, which was not as “palooza” as in the past, but was saved by the In-N-Out Burger truck. My son and I did a short campus tour which included the then-almost-finished Robert Day Sciences Center, which recently opened on the southwest corner of the campus. It is really huge, even bigger than Roberts Pavilion in size.

“In the last Class Notes, I wrote about the accomplishments of Ted Burnett, but neglected to include his co-authorship of the infamous “Cess Pool” column that appeared regularly in the Analyst. The other author wishes to remain anonymous, but he’s a.k.a. Gordon Good Guy. We had planned to republish some of the more scandalous articles but it seems all the files have mysteriously disappeared. However, some of the events are chronicled in Frank Tysen’s book, Born at the Right Time.

“On a sad note, Homer Wishek P’81 passed away in July. We were hoping he could attend the reunion lunch, but he was having a lot of serious health problems. See In Memoriam for more details.”

Tom Bernstein ’55

Don Sammis writes, “Our family traveled to the island of Malta. The entire immediate family–four kids and their four spouses plus eight grandchildren–18 in all. We toured that very historic place–all having a very great time, driving our own rented tour vans. Probably most challenging was driving narrow, country roads–driving English style! 

“My business career includes building homes that we sold to home buyers. Based on that experience, we recently introduced some Congressional legislation called the ‘Home Ownership Option’–to amend the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) retirement program. At present, SSA collects 10.6% of worker’s monthly earnings, and invests that 10.6% in Treasury Bonds that earn almost nothing! Our legislation gives that money back to the worker–if they buy a home to live in. We think it is worth millions to the worker family, and trillions to the nation’s wealth. We will keep you posted!”

Jack Stark GP’11 reports, “We are spending five months at our 1924 cabin right on Silver Lake, in the June Lake area, about 20 miles north of Mammoth. We now have three GREATS. Our granddaughter Aly Stark Velasquez ’11, has two kiddies, a girl, three and a boy, one. Our oldest grandson, Cole, has a daughter, Lina, who is two. They all live in Claremont, with the other 22 out of 24 Starks. We are still able to attend lots of College events, and Jil (Harris) Stark ’58 GP’11 and I like going to the Athenaeum at least three times a month.”

Peter Keady ’57 P’86 GP’23

Walter Parry ’57

Bob Beasley writes, “This September marks the 70th anniversary of our arrival on the then-Claremont Men’s College campus! We were greeted by President George C.S. Benson P’61 and a sophomore class of lunatics! Buzz Woolley P’90 P’92 and I drove up (in style) from San Diego in his ’40s era pastel yellow Chevy (I think) convertible. Plus, I have been cancer-free for a year!”

Allyn Scheu writes, “I don’t have much in the way of big news to send along to share with the rest of the class; however, the news that your cancer has disappeared is undoubtedly worthy of a Class celebration. We are in the early stages of discussions with a local museum to have a spot in the museum to share the history of the Scheu Orchard Heater.”

A note from Glenn Hickerson, “Great news on your cancer disappearing! Just arrived from Fiji, going through a Radiance crew change. Great new female captain from the UK! And, just entered the Auckland race for late January, where we’ll be competing among others with a sister yacht named Janice of Wyoming, whose 96-year-old owner had her built 28 years ago. He’s now my ‘mentor.’”

Finally, this note from Bart Brown, “Laurie Schweitzer SCR’59 and I moved to a senior care facility in Newport Beach, Calif., in 2024. Laurie, unfortunately, needs the services they offer. She is doing well, enjoying the exercise classes and social life. I’m fine for an old codger. I use the men’s gym and the swimming pool. We have a bowling alley, but haven’t taken that up yet. On another note, Omer Long passed away earlier this year. I’m in touch with Clark Booth, Allyn Scheu, and Buck Jones periodically. That pretty much covers the life of the Browns in their golden years.”

Bob Beasley ’59

Marshall Sale writes, “Well, I began last quarter’s letter talking about the fires in the Pacific Palisades pondering just what to say. Eight hundred building permits have begun but only three issued. Quite a process. Bob Lowe’s home and his two sons’ homes are very close on the fringe. Bill Symington’s beautiful new home, completed after several years, was untouched. Brent Howell’s home in Rolling Hills, Calif., is farther away, but he sent in guidelines for what to do with old photos and memories (kept for years for heirs) during their last move. The most interesting email came from George Nostrant who offered insights into losing his home and workshop in the 2017 Santa Rosa Fire (Sonoma, Calif.) where more than 5,000 homes were destroyed. He has opinions and recommendations on the process to rebuild including insurance, building codes, permits, and ‘delays’ in the process.

“On a more positive note, Bill Hollingsworth checked in while living on the North Shore of Long Island that he had had a nice conversation with Doug Stewart (author of one of my favorite films, An Officer and a Gentleman. In 1982, it was nominated for six Oscars and won two).

“These comments are not generated by an AI writer.”

Marshall Sale ’62

Bob Boies writes, “Barbara and I are enjoying retirement. We are looking forward to trips to Italy and India in the next seven months. We are excited about our granddaughter’s return from completing her hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. She graduated from Columbia University last June, and started graduate school at the University of Colorado in August. I enjoy playing golf with my grandsons and church friends. I found my CMC education very helpful in my career as a high school teacher in U.S. history, European history, and economics. The business classes I took were very helpful when I became a principal. I look forward to our next reunion in 2028.”

Phil Shires notes, “I had a very successful surgery in January, fusing nine vertebrae together–and no, I didn’t walk home. However, I am back on my motorcycles, driving my vintage sports cars, going camping with the Airstream (August), doing the 1,000-mile Colorado Grand in my 300 SL, a very comfortable car (September), and getting visas in order for a trip the length of Southeast Asia, from Hong Kong to Bali (October). The family is all in great shape and we try to make the most out of living in Colorado.”

Steven Twining P’99 reflects, “I remain active by walking almost two miles three times a week on our road, which is somewhat sloped, as well as hitting the gym weekly. I devour the New York Times, LA Times, and Wall St. Journal daily. I enjoy watching professional tennis and play bridge on the computer. I have been a neighborhood activist, having been a ten-year president of our HOA, and chairman emeritus of our local neighborhood council and of the Hillside Federation (45 HOA’s in the Santa Monica mountains.) I supervise our real estate holdings and, as a CPA, prepare taxes (primarily our own). Recently Viola Iungerich moved to our road (Russell Iungerich P’96’s wife) and we have become friends. My wife of 53 years, formerly the press attaché at the French Consulate in Los Angeles, is a devoted mother and grandmother to our two grand girls. My wife joined me at our 
60th reunion, where she was the only woman at a table with ten classmates.”

Erik Herrick writes, “Going to a reunion would be novel–id est, I have never made one. For years I enjoyed Tortuga reunions but those have become infrequent following deaths. While they lasted, they offered a chance to catch up with CMC and Scripps folk–Coach Bill Arce P’80 GP’22 was a member and showed up in his later years. Reflection: time at CMC was trouble free–nice folks and never hassled. Neither of my children did The Claremont Colleges, so I wound up being a parent of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara students. Grandchildren have done University of Delft and Reed. One of them, though, was wait listed at Harvey Mudd and Caltech–she did not want to wait so headed off to the Technical University in Delft. Three grandchildren though–maybe…. Maybe they will all opt for Dutch universities. That would cheer their parents up as Dutch universities are tuition free. For fun, a couple of years back, I ‘drove around Claremont’ and environs with Google Road View… got lost. If I passed Stinky’s, I missed it.”

Larry Ford notes, “It has been a busy time. We moved into our new summer home in Colorado Springs and are now starting to enjoy the new location. Fly fishing in the Rockies remains an active part of our life. Starting golf lessons to see if I can still learn something new. Our winters continue in Sarasota, Fla., once hurricane season is completed. In this season we fish the Everglades. I am very lucky to have a partner who likes fishing as much as I do.”

Kent Greene adds, “I’m still enjoying life with my wife of the past 38 years. I really lucked out there and with my son and his family. I couldn’t be happier with our home in La Costa, Calif. I play tennis six days a week and enjoy a large social network. I’m hanging onto my software business, just to keep my brain in shape and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from making a useful contribution to other businesses. The last time I attended a CMC reunion was in 2008, where I enjoyed spending time with Russ Ahrens and Dick Edelman. I would attend again if I was assured that other class members would also be there. I recall that our graduating class was exactly 69 guys. Now I see that enrollment is up to 1,376. I probably wouldn’t recognize the place. Reflections on our time at CMC: I feel very lucky to have spent four years at CMC. I can’t believe how dumb I was back then and how poorly prepared I was upon graduation. I am very thankful for Leon Hollerman’s course in statistics and classes in accounting. Happily, I returned to school at UC Berkeley a couple of years later, which proved to be an excellent decision. I was still dumb as a post but slightly better educated.”

Ken Chiate notes, “I planned to retire from Quinn Emanuel as senior counsel at the end of last year, and went to Australia and New Zealand mid-December. I returned January 6, 2025, and my Malibu home was destroyed by the Palisades Fire on January 7, with everything I owned, including 20 boxes of almost 60 years of practicing law and living the good life being sorted out to save or give away. The firm requested I not retire, and remain available to help build a plaintiffs wildfire practice group, which I have been doing since the fire. We filed required government claim notices for 2,000 fire victims on July 6, and are suing the State of California and City of Los Angeles. I am considering, but not convinced, whether to rebuild my home, which I built 30 years ago when our then home was destroyed by another wildfire. But other than that, I am happy, in good health, a fair golfer and fly fisherman, and have a great companion, my late wife’s caregiver, and two wonderful children and grandchildren.”

Larry Ford ’63

Editors’ Note: There may be some of you who read these notes and wish to be included in the next collection before feeling the full effects of Father Time and Darwinian hypotheses. If so, please let us know and you will be included in the next issue.
—Bill Dawson, Larry Berger, and Steve Hallgrimson

Orley Ashenfelter writes, “It has been an interesting couple of years for me. An honorary degree from the University of Bordeaux gave me a good excuse to take a victory lap to the Loire and Burgundy. By recognizing my work in labor economics, I have no doubt my revelation of the “Bordeaux Equation” was influential–what university wouldn’t like to have an equation named after it? Last spring I went emeritus at Princeton, and I finally have the flexibility to do some travel I’ve always put off.

Larry Berger writes, “Three generations of the Berger family, 16 in all, traveled to the Eastern Mediterranean this summer, visiting Istanbul, Troy, Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, and several Greek islands. A great family experience, recalling several chapters from our freshman humanities courses.”

Gil Ferrey P’03 P’03 reports, “I am still living in Berkeley and Napa, which keeps Lotta and me busy just driving back and forth. I am also still the general partner of Ferrey Investment, our extended family’s limited real estate partnership.

“Our four children are all gainfully employed and, together with their spouses, have given us six wonderful grandchildren, five of whom attended college. I am still active with a number of veterans groups, including the Blackhorse Association (the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment continues to train all units in the Army at Ft. Irwin, Calif., the National Training Center, where it serves as the Opposing Force). I am also active in the Quiet Birdmen and recently retired from Rotary after 30 years. I will always remember meeting Larry Berger in a Quonset hut in Uijeongbu, Korea, when I was first stationed at Tong-do-Chon-I, right out of flight school. Best wishes to you and all of our classmates.”

Rex Heeseman P’95 writes, “I regret that I missed the Reunion to see and visit with you and several others. My news: still doing JAMS arbitrations; recent foreign trips to Istanbul, Cape Town, Namibia, Rio, Iceland, and Norway. Trust all is well for you and yours.”

Dennis Higman writes, “Lee Hasting SCR’64 and I celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary last year with a party at the Round House on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley with our two sons, their wives, and seven grandchildren. We’ve now lived in the Sun Valley area for 30-plus years and while we still enjoy skiing, hiking, and kayaking, we finally sold our horse ranch and moved into town where we aren’t tied down with farm work and animals.

“Last winter we were able to follow our 15-year-old granddaughter Tula around. Her Bozeman, Mont., cross country ski team won the Junior National Cross Country Championship and she won a gold, silver, and bronze. She’s sponsored by Rossignol, skied in the Scando Cup in Norway (the big leagues), and was selected as an alternate for the U.S. World Cup Cross Country Team. Needless to say, we’re very proud of her. Looking forward to another great winter.”

Marshall Jarvis P’08 reports, “In August 2025, Larry Berger, Bill Dawson, and I explored Baffin Island and western Greenland north of the Arctic Circle. We visited Inuit villages and travelled among enormous icebergs searching for polar bears, narwhals, blue whales, arctic puffin, and other wildlife. We learned how the Inuits survive in these harsh conditions.”

Steve McClintock reports, “While I have read many biographies over the years, I had never taken the opportunity to read about General George Marshall. He was the chief of staff of the U.S. Army from 1939 to 1945. He actually ran WWII for America, overseeing all personnel and logistics. While most of us know of the ‘fighting generals and admirals,’ he was also secretary of state, knew the key world leaders including Stalin, Churchill, Truman, Chiang Kai-shek, etc., and was trusted by FDR and Truman. Marshall was a key leader in getting legislation passed and was attributed with the development of the Marshall Plan–although he claimed they used his name as he was considered politically neutral. Excellent read, by Irwin and Debi Unger. I don’t know if this is useful, but it’s a great book.”

Dave Moffett P’93 P’94 GP’24 reports, “I’ve been working at not working so much, and success is slowly coming. As many of you know, after nearly 55 years of marriage, I lost Susan five years ago. For the last 1½ years, I’ve had a significant other, Gretchen. Recently, we attended a well-known summer school in Cambridge. I’d never been outside of London, and it was a fantastic experience. Classes included AI for the health industry, European politics, and art in the 20th century. Gretchen and I are also spending time in my condo in Wailea, Maui.”

Wes Naef and Bill Dawson: Wes reports “In September 2024, I lost Mary, my beloved wife of 60 years. Then, in January 2025, the fires came to the Pacific Palisades. By an act of God, our home was saved, but was damaged by the smoke and fires that took down nearby properties. My home is not habitable and, since January, I’ve been living in an apartment near Santa Monica. The property has been cleared of all furniture and personal property that are now in the hands of a contractor who will clean the items of toxic materials. Another contractor will scrub walls, floors, and ceilings and repaint the interior, as well as remove the toxic ash from the exterior and perimeter. I hope the remediation will be complete by year end.”

Bill reports, “My circumstances are not unlike Wes Naef’s. In December 2023, I lost Ruth, my wife of 50 years. Then, when the fires swept through Altadena, Calif., in January of this year, our house miraculously survived. Almost all who knew Ruth are sure it was her, from the Great Beyond, intervening to save the home she dearly loved. Like Wes’s home, however, it has been undergoing the tedious process of ‘remediation.’ With my life having taken turns I had never anticipated, I have decided to hope for less tumultuous days by living at Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Claremont, where numerous CMC retired professors and graduates live. One can even take courses at the colleges. A little rusty on Plato’s Theory of Forms? This will be a chance to brush up on what might have been missed 60-odd years ago.”

Ralph Nichols writes, “It’s been close to 20 years since my wife, Karen, and I retired in Florence, Ore. This little coastal town has been everything we had hoped. It’s big enough to provide all the activities, fun, and services we need, but small enough to escape the woes of larger cities.

“Since arriving, we have developed a nice network of friends, and I have been involved with the development of a long-delayed model railway as well as several civic projects. Karen is equally or more involved, and is part of a local artist’s co-op art gallery. Our kids and grandkids are thriving in their own lives, and we’ve been fortunate enough to be part of that. I really enjoyed the Zoom call at last year’s reunion. I would like to do more as travel has become more difficult. As with some of you, I have been helping to support the medical/industrial complex. At 83 and counting, some of the original equipment begins to wear out! Just about a year ago I lost a couple of good friends and classmates–Ken Henderson and Phil Mann. It’s definitely hard to replace friends of 60-plus years who can remember when you were young, tan, and vigorous.

“Stan Hahn ’63 and I are holding down CMC’s Northwest outpost with weekly lunches, which includes a telephone hookup with John Taylor from his place in Cupertino, Calif. The three of us are consistently able to solve the world’s problems and keep the flame burning.”

Joe Ulloa reports, “There is not much excitement in my world this year. I am living in the City of Orange but I am still affiliated with the Wells Fargo Advisors office in La Jolla, Calif. I work remotely and am in the office one week a month. I usually stay in Carlsbad when I work out of the branch. My business partner, Anne Fomon, and I ended our 19-year marriage six years ago. We are good friends and we still manage a clientele of mostly individual retirees or about to be so. I have now been a registered representative of the NYSE since January 1970. I still enjoy the interaction with clients, and I have not definitively set a retirement date.

“My health is very important to me as we are reminded of our own mortality almost daily. I have made many new professional acquaintances in the medical profession. None of my ailments has deterred me from normal activity. I will confess my memory can let me down at times but we get a free pass at our ages.

“I am very excited about the expansion at CMC. I am amazed whenever I am on campus. I live too close to Claremont not to visit often. I am overdue. I hope all is well with our classmates and I look forward to the exciting news they often relate in our class notes.

“The Fall season and football are the magic time of year for me. I am an avid college football fan. I will be rooting for USC as I have since I was old enough to read the newspaper. Fight on!”

Bob Walker reports, “My day starts by swimming 34 laps before going to work. By instinct I am still a political animal; I’ve had to reinvent myself as a businessman. Fortunately, my 65 colleagues at Walker Foods hold me up with their dedication and skill. We enjoy record sales.

“My addiction to history/toy soldiers continues. At 13, I was determined to achieve a world-class collection. We’re there! Displayed at the plant and 19 rooms split between the houses in West Covina and San Jose, the collection is a Mecca for fellow enthusiasts from both coasts, and as far away as England, Germany, and even Hong Kong. Jennifer Pritzker spent three hours ‘reviewing the troops.’ I add to the collection every week, which puts a strain on space. Construction on three more display rooms begins next month. Twelve libraries between the two houses provide ample reading material. The rooms here in West Covina are surrounded by three acres of garden, my latest passion, truly “Paradiso” (a tribute to the Divine Comedy, required reading in three of my CMC courses but which I never finished). A confirmed Luddite, I refuse to be a slave to any device–so, no time for cell phones or Internet.

“I enjoy the third stage of life: youth, middle age, and . . . ‘You’re looking good!’”

Larry Berger ’64

Bill Dawson ’64

Steve Hallgrimson ’64

Richard Lewis writes, “Tony Childs P’02, Jim Pignatelli, Wally Dieckmann, Lee Livingston, Keith Nightingale, and I met in Aspen, Colo., this year for our annual mini-reunion. Keith briefed us on the military situation and we all attempted unsuccessfully to solve the world’s problems with bloody marys and chardonnays. Oh well, maybe next year we will succeed.”

Keith Nightingale provides another take on the Aspen gathering, “The Dirty Sort of Half Dozen Class of 1965 met in Aspen at the behest of our premier member, Richard Lewis. Absent personalities were dissected, world events (the Iranian bombing, etc.) were discussed at length, tips on stock trading revealed, and immense quantities of food consumed. This was a joyful, satisfying meeting of old folks with young minds who had exceeded the actuarial tables and were reveling in the consequences. It was unanimously decided by the group that if it ran the world, it would be a much better place.”

Dean Davidge checks in with, “I’m still trying to retire from the company I sold my son-in-law eight years ago. It makes electric meters and I wrote all the software for calibrating them and controlling the laser engraver that prints the labels. They haven’t found anybody else who can maintain the code and troubleshoot any problems that come up. Working at a family rate is probably a disincentive for them to really look for someone else. I finished a year as president of the Rotary Club of Albuquerque Sandia in June. Hoping a recently diagnosed aggressive prostate cancer is not going to interfere with my three days a week at a ninja gym. I’ve never been one for pumping iron, but conquering a new obstacle is a real thrill. They rearrange the gym every week so there is always something new. Barbara and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in April and are enjoying Albuquerque, having bailed out of California five years ago when the meter company moved.”

Joe Bradley contributes, “CMC did a great job on Alumni Weekend on campus in June, however, very few of our classmates from 1965 were there to enjoy it. Dick Cline, Don Johnson P’16, Greg Smith, and I were the only representatives of our class.”

Joe Bradley ’65

Robin Bartlett comments that our classmate, Marty McGarry, passed away last February. “This is the part about being the class liaison that I do not enjoy. This is the third notice I received from the ’66, ’67, and ’68 classes.”

Guy Baker reports that he and Colleen just celebrated 58 years of marriage. “It was a hot night: Prime rib through Door Dash and two of our favorite TV shows. Then it was early to bed. I have just turned 80 and am amazed at how much has happened since our CMC days. Sending you all my best, blessings, and joy.”

Steve Rudd comments that life is still good. He celebrated his 80th birthday this year by taking his family to the Disney Aulani Resort & Spa in Oahu, Hawaii. His better half, Martie Vaughan, treated him to a three-day pre-resort stay at the Moana Surfrider Hotel on Waikiki Beach. The Waikiki seafood restaurants are terrific, and the beaches attract lots of surfers. Mai Tai drinks are still served at the Hula Grill overlooking the Outrigger Hotel, and beachside bands are still in vogue. Their first daughter and son-in-law celebrated their wedding anniversary at Roy’s Restaurant at the Olina Golf Course. He added, “Steve and Martie celebrated 20 years together at Mina’s Fish Shack at the Four Seasons Hotel; our second daughter and grandsons plundered the poolside sushi bar at Aulani. My daughters ensured that I enjoyed a memorable 80th birthday. My older daughter e-mailed my friends, requested they submit ‘memory comments,’ and read the replies to me at my birthday party. My younger daughter filled the villa with balloons, decorated the walls with tennis mementoes, and provided a black 80th birthday sash, a gold 80th birthday crown, and a custom-designed 80th birthday cake.” Disney provided a spectacular July 4th luau; the best Steve had ever attended. The luau was complete with pre-dinner activities including ukulele songs, lei making, poi making, and arm tattoos. The luau was presented by indigenous Oahu Hawaiians, who presented the history of Oahu in song, in music, in hula, and in fire dance. The open bar included five different Hawaiian drinks, and the buffet table included prime rib in addition to the traditional Hawaiian ham. “All in all, a spectacular and memorable birthday I’ll never forget.”

Bruce Bean added his contribution to Steve’s 80th celebration with the following story. “The scene: freshman year (freshmen weren’t allowed to play varsity tennis) SCIAC freshman tennis playoffs at Caltech. Steve and I were playing doubles against a Redlands doubles team. One of the Redlands guys was John Ferman. I was serving to John early in the match. I served to John’s forehand, and he returned it with a speed neither of us had seen before. His return whizzed by Steve. I was just able to get out of the way before the return went by my chest. The ball hit the back fence at the same level that it had passed my chest. Steve and I looked at each other in amazement, didn’t say anything; but our looks said to each other, ‘For God’s sake, don’t serve to that guy’s forehand again!’ We lost the match in three long sets, but I won the long-term match. I married John Ferman’s sister, Mary, and we are still happily married. Happy birthday, Steve!”

Robin Bartlett also contributed to Steve’s birthday memories with an amazing story from Steve’s freshman year titled “Stoughton Court Is Not a Public House Owned by the National Trust.” It’s too long to include here, but I can send it to you if interested.

Aaron Fuller writes that he and his wife, Sharon, were on the Elbe River in Germany and the Czech Republic in late April and early May, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the War in Europe, VE Day, May 8, 1945. His dad was a U.S. Navy World War II combat veteran who survived two ship sinkings by German submarines in the North Atlantic. “We are charter members of the National World War II Museum and, with other members and historians, we laid a commemorative wreath in Torgau, Germany, where the U.S. troops on the Western side of the Elbe and Russian troops on the Eastern side ‘linked up’ on April 27, 1945, effectively ending German resistance with VE Day following on May 8. We started in Prague and first went to the Lidice Memorial a few miles away. Lidice is less well known today. In late 1942, it was known worldwide as the village the Germans destroyed June 9-10, 1942, as reprisal for the assassination of Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s overseer of Czechoslovakia. All of the men, women, and children were murdered and the village buildings were blown up and buried under mounds of earth. At the Lidice Memorial, a powerful sculpture of each of the 82 murdered children stands watch over the barren ground where their village once stood. Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay penned ‘The Death of Lidice’ as a U.S. Government project in late 1942 to tell the world about the German atrocities at Lidice.”

Sandy Mackie enjoyed a big family reunion on Whidbey Island, Wash. in July (sunny with an average temp in the mid-70s) with more than 30 attending. “We enjoyed picnics, farm tours, and celebrations. It was my youngest son’s 40th birthday at his farm, the Skinny Kitty Farm. It was my 80th, and a half-dozen more July birthdays in between. A good time was had by all. As Van Smith recently noted, the Pacific Northwest near the water can be charmingly inviting this time of year.”

John Pyles wrote to say that one of his five grandkids just got married. “We had lots of family in attendance including my younger brother and wife, my wife’s sisters and their kids, our kids, and their kids. We watched our great-grandchildren run around. If we make it to our 90s, we could even witness our great-great grandkids. The weather was good. The food was great. A wonderful celebration.”

Stephen Woodworth advises that 2025 has been very eventful. “First and foremost, my wife, Robin, and I entered the year and remain in great health and of ‘good mind.’ Much can be attributed to our addictive adherence to the Fitbit, its governance policies, and to our avoidance of most television programming, especially the news. Significant physical progress has been achieved without sacrificing (and in fact, modestly increasing) our wine consumption. However, we are still awaiting the advertised AI benefits for my mind. Earlier this year we moved into a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in North Scottsdale, about 10 miles from our former home.

“Robin and I and our fabulous 14-year-old feline (the ‘trio’) are loving our new and smaller space and involving ourselves in our new community on a moderate, self-directed basis. It is so nice to (1) have our last move behind us; and (2) to be in an environment where all requests, however unreasonable, are granted. There are ‘firsts’ for everything, I guess. Lastly, Robin and I just returned to Arizona’s monsoon season (always great for patio viewing) after spending almost five weeks at a downshift pace in the Santa Ynez Valley above Santa Barbara. The trio’s strategic and temporary exit to our former state was largely motivated by the triple-digit and very dry temperatures in Arizona in June and July. We rented a home in the middle of a historic vineyard. We enjoyed a 210-degree view once the ‘June gloom’ dissipated from the Coastal Range of California. During our stay, Robin and I took full advantage of the region’s wine, food, hiking trails, and outdoor splendor and viewed regular rocket launches from Vandenberg AFB and 4th of July fireworks, all from well-worn Adirondacks. We were also fortunate to have family and friends visit and stay with us. In fact, I met up with old Toga pal and CMC classmate, Ed Stanton, for a midpoint luncheon in Ventura one day. Over identical salads, we summarized our last 60 years with haste (‘it’s all about tomorrow’ we exclaimed). And then the stories and memories started flowing. Non-stop laughter ensued, as our embellishments strayed further and further from the truth! It was a great time. That’s all for me for now. Here’s hoping the rest of 2025 is good for everyone as well.”

Ray White reports some health challenges, “Having turned 80 in October, I’m experiencing tachycardia with BP 110-120 24/7; expensive hearing aids that fail in groups as small as six; multiple drugs to keep the pulse down and let the heart recover, making me sleepy and tired. But almost every day I walk my dogs a mile in the morning.”

Rob Maggs notes, “Debbie and I celebrated our 58th wedding anniversary on August 5th. We both celebrated with several classmates on that special day in 1967. Many wonderful years and special memories ensued. Both of our daughters and their husbands, and all six of our grandchildren, are thriving. We could never ask 
for more.”

James Stephenson comments, “The most intelligent thing I did while at CMC was to meet Marcia Martin on my first Christmas holiday in 1963. She was then a junior in a Bay Area high school. We quickly fell in love! Feeling confident in her ability to get into Stanford and knowing that I would end up at Stanford as a dual-degree candidate from CMC, I encouraged her to apply. Therefore, I had a readymade girlfriend at Stanford when I got there halfway through my junior year. We proceeded to get married in March 1968 after I graduated from Stanford in 1967. We are still married and still in love. I deferred my graduate school and went to work as an electrical engineer for Hewlett-Packard. We spent the first five months of our marriage in Europe, traveling from Southern Italy to Northern Sweden. With Ph.D.’s from the Stanford Economics Department and the Stanford Business School, we moved to Vancouver, where I taught at the University of British Columbia Business School for five years before hanging up my shingle as an economics and business consultant. My next venture was with a spreadsheet program called VP-Planner with Adam Osborne. This venture ended in a lawsuit loss after five years. I am now retired and living with my wife of 57 years.”

Fred Merkin filed the following brief, “In the past year or two, for some reason I rediscovered comedy and now seem unable to get enough of it. I find myself to be more attuned to the humorous side of life despite living in an era marked by negativity generated by the envious, angry, and/or hateful. On many evenings, I watched videos on YouTube of favorite comedians from my youth many decades ago. It turns out that, today, I am able to see in these video recordings far more of these comedians than I ever saw on television or heard on the radio, most of which occurred before the technology came along to enable us to record shows for later viewing or listening. I imagine that I am 
now able to see most of what I have never seen except for certain shows that my parents watched regularly, but most of which I can’t remember anyway.

“I enjoy watching, for example, comedic sketches featuring Sid Caesar in the early days of television–the ‘Show of Shows’ (1950-1954) and ‘Caesar’s Hour’ (1954-1957). Caesar had a remarkable supporting cast including Imogene Coca, Howard Morris, and Carl Reiner, and had wonderful writers who included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner, Michael Stewart, Mel Tolkin, Lucille Kallen, Selma Diamond, and Woody Allen. I learned that Caesar’s first, if brief, television series in 1949 ‘was an immediate success. However, its sponsor, Admiral, an appliance company, could not keep up with the demand for its new television sets, so the show was canceled after 26 weeks, ironically, on account of its runaway success’.” Wikipedia ‘Sid Caesar’ (citing news article).

Bob Groos has spent many hours watching birds, photographing birds, and writing about his fascinating experiences. For a compelling drama about bluebirds nesting, many more stories, and beautiful photographs, please visit his website at robertgroosphotography.com.

John Mazza reports that the “Sons of Berger” annual foray aboard Paul Scripps’ stunning ketch, the Miramar, around the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara set sail in the true spirit of Berger Hall in August. For almost a week, much merriment and comradery took place between Paul Scripps,  John Mazza, Eric Hass P’18, Tom Burton ’68, and John “Bunjar” Pettit P’91 who have participated since 2017. Many toasts were made to Andy Choka and missing Berger Boys from the golden years of Berger Hall. After a year of fires and chaos in California, it was a much-needed escape from the challenges of real life, a return to the spirit of Berger Hall, and keeping Andy Choka’s memory alive!

Steve Rudd writes, “Last summer, at Zephyr Cove, Lake Tahoe, my teenage granddaughter and I completed a scenic ride in the High Sierra (no windmills). Returning to the riding stables to dismount, one ranch hand held my horse’s bridle and another brought out dismounting steps. Realizing that my right leg had gone completely numb, I leaned way forward to pull my numb leg over the horses’ rear end. In doing so, I inadvertently pulled back hard on the horse’s reins, and the horse correctly started running backwards, much to my dismay.

“Since I was practically falling off the horse, I didn’t ease up on the reins, and the horse didn’t stop running backwards. After about ten seconds riding full speed in reverse, I decided the only remaining option was to eject myself from the noble steed, resulting in multiple cuts, scrapes, and bruises. My teenage granddaughter was a great sport; she told no one in our party about the incident, so I guess I will get to go riding again, hopefully in the near future. I will be off to Rathjanistan, India, so maybe my next ride will be a dromedary camel.”

And last but not least, Dennis Mann, after a long hiatus from his prolific daily political email string, offers the following, “There are three evil words to avoid in your future: ‘Some Assembly Required.’ My brother arrived on July 20. Our task was to organize 20 linear feet of wargaming magazines for shipment and resale. It took three days to organize boxing, itemizing, and preparations to ship. This went well enough to where we decided to add one more task to the pile. Bad idea! Very bad idea. Akin to playing ‘Angry Birds’ and expecting all the structures to survive. It seemed so easy! Order a desk that has legs to be raised and lowered–all the better to get me and my wheelchair under the desk surface. It arrived on Saturday the 26^th. The manual was our first clue. It was all diagrams (27 pages of them), designed to be read in any world language. Not a word of text, except for ‘DANGER’ or ‘See page 27.’ My brother succeeded in assembling the desk and pressed the buttons to raise and lower the legs. One raised; one didn’t.

“Troubleshooting was only achieved through a portal on Amazon. (No, we didn’t buy it though Amazon, either). Then five days of troubleshooting passed working through that website (Phone number? Customer service? You’re kidding, right?) We were introduced to six new error codes, solutions for which left the desk in a half-built state when my brother gave up and returned to Michigan. A genuine Costco table is now standing in for my new desk, until further notice. All the same, I needed the break. Did anyone miss me? I have to go through roughly 6,000 emails and make sure that nothing important is being overlooked, plus continue boxing magazines and games and return as I can to my daily postings. Wish me well: it’s been a stressful period when little went right. At least I still have my basic health, my Beautiful Bride, and my caregivers.” (You have your classmates too, Dennis! RB)

Robin Bartlett ’67

Michael “Mike” Ivan Line passed away suddenly of an aneurysm in February of last year. He is survived by his brother-in-law, Sam Knight, and his sister, Pam. Mike was retired, having spent quite a few years as a librarian at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. He was a beloved fixture in the Morro Bay Community, walking his big dogs on the beach daily come rain or shine, greeting friends with good wishes and a kind heart. He will be missed.

Ted Mogey writes that he was sorry to hear about Roger Mizumori’s passing. He continues to be busy with his hobby of cutting gemstones, and church work. “Jackie and I just finished a Viking River Cruise down the lower Danube, from Budapest to Bucharest, for our 57th wedding anniversary.”

Paul Wiener reports, “Just returned from hiking the Lechweg, an 80-mile trail in Austria. I highly recommend it. It follows the Lech River from its origin in an alpine lake in Voralberg to its finish in Fuessen, Bavaria. They have both hiking and biking trails, with a string of small towns along the river valley, with luggage service, so you just need a day pack. There is a bus line, so you can shave a few miles off the longer days, or if you feel the need for a break. I’ve skied there but never visited in summer. It’s a lovely area. Good food and pleasant accommodation.”

Michael Houghton writes that he and his wife Susan (Kaneshiro), who graduated from Whittier College in 1968, have now lived in Australia twice as long as they lived in the States. “During my years at CMC studying psychology, I could never have imagined the course my life would take. Post graduation, I spent three years living in the Philippines as a Peace Corps volunteer, working in elementary school science education. We were both serving in the Peace Corps Philippines, and after getting married there, we moved to Japan and worked three years as English as a second language teachers, while I studied traditional Japanese ceramics. Next stop was New Zealand, going bush, living a very alternative lifestyle as a potter, and volunteering as a rural St. John’s ambulance officer. Our two sons were born there and, after 11 years, the next move was to Australia to complete a degree in chiropractic. After working a number of years full-time as a chiropractor, and Susan in advertising, we discovered Bikram Yoga. Suddenly, we found something that was not only beneficial to our general well-being but also awakened a vision of the two of us working together. A decision was made to go overseas for Bikram teacher training, and within two years after returning, we both left our other vocations and became full-time Bikram teachers and studio owners. Every day, we feel grateful that we have been given this opportunity to serve others, as teachers and guides, to help them practice self-care, and in turn be better able to serve and help those around them. The COVID period here in Melbourne was incredibly challenging for us as a small business. Melbourne had one of the longest periods of shutdowns of any city in the world. Nonetheless, we kept the studio running during shutdowns by going online and then reopening when we were able. The current financial climate in Australia remains challenging, but we are determined to try and keep the studio going, in service to others. We are so determined that we have signed a new ten-year lease for our studio, which will take us up to the age of 88. We love the practice, teaching, community, and general feeling of waking each day with a fulfilling purpose in our lives. So, hopefully, we can remain financially viable and keep on teaching yoga as long as we can. So, that’s what a psychology degree from CMC has helped me achieve. I send well wishes to my classmates, far and wide.”

Bob Bernstein P’02 reports he has recently published a book titled My Sailing Odyssey: On the Way to Sturgeon Bay and Other Stories that centers around a sailboat adventure from 1964. “That was the summer before I went to CMC. What I realized was that the adventure itself was in many ways connected to other life experiences, and especially personal connections. I entered CMC sight unseen and without knowing anyone. It was a personal adventure that had connections that have been fulfilling throughout my life. This year, my granddaughter graduated from Pomona College and I had the opportunity to revisit the CMC campus and reunite with Jack Schoellerman in Newport Beach, Calif. Prior visits to CMC were to our 50th class reunion and the graduation of my son from CMC. At CMC, I studied economics and math. These studies along with other liberal arts courses were critical to my success at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. I still trade options, sail, and play tennis; all of which are CMC connected.”

Donald Drummond writes that he is still practicing law and is a volunteer pro tem judge for San Francisco and Marin Superior courts. “My son, daughter, and granddaughter are living in Wisconsin, London, and Spain. No more tennis or flying for me but I still try to do some fly fishing.”

Jim Arnold P’09 reports from the San Francisco area that all is as well as can be expected. At this point, it is a matter of beating the alternatives, whatever they may be. “I see Jon Andron P’96 P’10 from time to time. It is remarkable that he is still competitively sailing and co-piloting planes with one of his sons. I have stayed connected with Dave Preskill ’69 and Catalina Peters. These are the only other CMC-Scripps people I can recall at this moment, outside, of course, of Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 and Jil (Harris) Stark ’58 GP’11. As for Johann Carl, I found an old photo of the two of us on the Phantom Ranch bridge in the Grand Canyon during a spring break. My recollection is hiking in, camping, cooling refreshments in the Phantom Ranch Creek for a couple of days and nights, and then hiking out faster than we hiked in. I heard stories later about a group from Green attempting the same thing, but with more gear and fewer refreshments. I think this was before Green beat Appleby in the 1966-67 interdorm competition. Mike Talbot ’69 was my roommate and did a wonderful job with our musical presentation. And it is always good to hear about Doug Campbell. We were roommates in our sophomore year. And I do recall Jack Davant using his ranching skills to get a rooster into a cage, one that someone had bought from a farmer out in the orange groves. It was pretty noisy at 2:00 in the morning when it started crowing. Lastly, I do miss Kurt Karlsgodt, Jeff Arthur, Bob Muzzy, and Bruce Lyons ’70, among others. All of them were great guys, who simply ran out of runway way too soon.”

Doug Campbell comments, “At the suggestion of a couple of classmates that I communicate with, I recently read Robin Bartlett ’67’s memoir, Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History. Like Robin, I enrolled in ROTC at CMC. Upon graduating in January 1969, I received my commission as a second lieutenant. After officer basic, I was assigned to Oakland Army Base in California and had the good fortune to remain there during my entire tour of duty. Several classmates served in Vietnam, but until I read about Robin’s experiences, I had little understanding or appreciation for what they endured. Thank you, Robin, for sharing your story. And Welcome Home!”

Michael Barkin comments, “We took a 35-day Holland America cruise in the North Atlantic: Boston, Nova Scotia, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Rotterdam, Dublin, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Iceland (again, YES!!), Greenland, Boston. We did this instead of spending our summer at home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where the weather was a little toasty.”

Rich Osmanski wrote that he read Robin Bartlett ’67’s book. “It’s a good ‘story.’ Glad you came home. We are keeping healthy and ‘fit-ish.’ Grandkids are growing. If not otherwise previously reported, I went off to Istanbul and environs earlier this year to see something of the place and visit my roots, climb the interminable hills of the city, and eat some good food. I’m a sucker for old cities on the water. Boy, their palaces put even the Brits to shame! I loved all the history and water-related lifestyle things to do around the city and environs...even went to a ski resort in the mountains just for a lark. It was fun to see so many shops named Osman. I was amused by all the smiles and jests of folks when they heard my name. Got a lot of free tea! I think I will research a little more of my family history. Istanbul could work as a place to live. Also, it seems that I can get either a Euro and/or Polish passport because of my granddad! Imagine that!”

Robin Bartlett ’67

Ken Gilbert reports, “We held our quarterly class reunion Zoom call in late July. Eighteen of us. Another good catch-up. Key themes (not surprisingly) were work and retirement, grandchildren, travel, and medical issues! Priority order by individual! As one attendee said, ‘We’re all in it together.’ All classmates are invited to join the calls as they can, as announced by periodic emails.”

Two celebrations of life were held in recognition of Paul Fisher, one in May in Moraga, Calif., hosted by Jackson Taylor and Bob Jacobsen, and one in June in Santa Ana hosted by Paul’s children. Additional classmates at the Northern California get-together were Ron Hanni, Don Waddell, and Lowell Sears. Those at the Southern California event were Peter Gastaldi P’02, Steve Hessen, Tom Keene, Ron Hanni, and me. Very nice to also attend was Kate Peters PIT ’74. Between the beer and Scotch whisky toasts, Paul was definitely celebrated.

Randall Lewis P’10 P’11 P’13 has created the Randall W. Lewis School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Randall W. Lewis Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino. The School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is the first and only school of entrepreneurship within California’s public higher education system. This school is similar to the Randall Lewis Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship that Randall supports at CMC. Great to see such philanthropy. Well done, congratulations, and thank you.

Our class has a number of authors. Orlando Davidson says, “My second Jimmy Sommes crime novel, entitled North of Foothill, will be released by Artemesia Publishing on March 10, 2026. The book’s time period is May 1974 and features many San Bernardino County and Claremont locales. I owe a debt of gratitude to CMC professors John Dunbar and Keith Berwick for teaching me how to write. I did a Claremont Library reading from North of Foothill in October. It was exciting to return to my home town for this event.” Congratulations and well done.

Craig Luther reports he published his tenth book on World War II after almost a half-century of research and writing: Guderian’s Panzers–From Triumph to Defeat on the Eastern Front, 1941. The book offers an introduction to tank warfare on the eastern front by focusing on one of Germany’s most famous tank generals and his tank group. Congratulations to our class historian.

And Bill Armstrong is about to release his fifth and sixth brain teaser puzzle books. Stay tuned.

Mark Rosenthal checks in, “I continue working seven days a week on my biomedical research. My hold-up so far is the lack of sufficient peer review. I just finished three publications with remarkable results, better than standard therapies for both MS and Parkinson’s and chronic pain. I will keep you posted.” Our continued best wishes, Mark.

Don Waddell has moved into genealogical research: “I am beginning to write the histories of my Waddell ancestors. For example, my great-grandfather and his brother were notorious London accountants who handled bankruptcies and led a very high-society life. They were last seen heading to the Thames River docks with a satchel some say was full of money. We have an engraved coffee service given to them by the Amateur Athletic Association. I was never good at writing, but this is becoming fun!”

Paul Beninger P’09 retired from teaching at Tufts University School of Medicine July 1. “It’s been a great run: FDA, pharmaceutical industry, academia. I still have a part-time job as a co-editor-in-chief of the medical journal Clinical Therapeutics. I’m looking forward to volunteer activities in the community to give some focus to my retirement.” Congratulations and welcome to the Retirement Club.

Ken Gilbert ’73

The 50th anniversary of graduation was celebrated in June. The turnout was very good. All the events were well prepared and went smoothly.

Len Apcar writes, “It was an extraordinary reunion weekend. Thank you all for your friendship and support. It was so good to see familiar faces. My thanks to the CMC staff who kept the organizing committee on track. It was a pleasure to work with all of you.”

Mario Mainero P’10 notes, “Harry McMahon P’08 P’09, Len Apcar, Bill Cramer P’04, and David Dreier presented a fun panel that certainly captured some of the typicalities of life at CMC. And Cary Davidson, thank you for gathering all of us together and generating enthusiasm and organization for a memorable time.”

Ed Heidig adds, “I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the stories and reminisces and appreciate the staff facilitating such a wonderful time. I hope everyone arrived safely home! I look forward to the next one and some special trips in between. If you need a waystation and are driving through Sacramento, give me a couple of hours and I will have some steaks on and the beers cold.”

An additional update from Ed, “I ran into Tommy Ross and gave him a quick rundown on the reunion, and we hope to grab lunch next week in Sacramento. I also phoned Thadd Blizzard and reported on the reunion. I hope to see Rand Bleimeister ’76 soon but we chatted it up via phone as well.”

Richard Eaton added, “The reunion exceeded my expectations, and it was a real pleasure to reconnect with so many throughout the weekend. The growth and development left me in awe and very excited for CMC’s future.”

Bob Clark P’03 writes, “President Hiram Chodosh’s talk on Saturday morning was certainly a highlight and exceptionally well done. The wrap-up at our class dinner was also special. It was great hearing from those class members I hadn’t had an opportunity to talk with at our other gatherings. It was a pleasure to reconnect with everyone. Continue to lead interesting lives.”

Kent Scroggs writes, “Very thankful for our time together. Hope to see many of you again in five years.”

From James Sotiros, “Thank you, everyone. Great to see you and, for several, to get to know you better. And great to see Claremont McKenna College thriving!”

Before our reunion was held, Cary Davidson wrote this in regards to Scott Lichtig, “As some of you know, our classmate, friend, and fellow member of this committee, Scott Lichtig, unexpectedly passed away on May 24. Kim Megonigal, Stuart Gilfenbain, and I attended his funeral. Sorry to share this sad news with you. We will deeply miss Scott, and his joy and laughter will be noticeably absent from our reunion festivities. May Scott’s memory be a blessing.”

Dave Doss wrote in from Maine where he is vacationing with his three children. He was unable to attend the reunion at the last minute, having to cancel due to business at home.

Vikram “Vik” Bath: “My wife, Belinda, and I drove from Houston, adventures aplenty. The reunion was great, the campus has changed, but the North Quad is still intact. Opinions among us are as diverse as they have always been, and it was good to have the different views of the world in which we live. However, the 5x7 class photo was a little bit disappointing.”

“We spent some time with Charley Tuggle ’76 and Catherine McIntosh SCR’76. Brunch at Collins Dining Hall was spectacular, and the window view of the north campus is still compelling.”

Vikram “Vik” Bath ’75

Dan Goldzband reflects on the passing of Professor Colin Wright: “I only met Colin Wright once, but it was a substantive meeting, one that even in its brevity made a life-long impact. I had made an appointment with him to suggest that the Class of 1978, being the first coed graduating class in the school’s history, should have a female commencement speaker. He was intrigued and asked whom I might suggest. Well, I said, it’s probably impossible, but Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir came immediately to mind. There were others, I said, but their more liberal political orientations might disqualify them. He chided me, asking how such a statement could square with academic freedom? It was the first time I had ever heard the term, but certainly not the last. Thank you, Dean Wright, for informing me about that.”

Frank Chmelik ’78 P’18

John Faranda, CMC’s long-time ambassador-at-large, continues his whirlwind travels, including Taiwan with Tao Li ’02 and Michael Wang ’05 to welcome 2025, an alumni trek to Antarctica (the CMC plane made it through, unlike the Pomona plane, which had to turn back twice!), a sailing adventure in the British Virgin Islands, CMC’s Worldmeet 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a new student welcome party in Shanghai, China. The latter was supplemented with a visit to Suzhou and Hangzhou supervised by Tao Li ’02 and Ben Xu ’05, featuring multiple delicious feasts of local cuisines. John returned to campus just in time to start the 35th season of CMC sailing classes.

Clint Greenbaum ’79

Art Dodd writes, “As of July 2025, I will have travelled 150,000 miles in the last two years, by land, sea (primarily), and air. Includes: 45 degrees South latitude. New Zealand. Australia. Panama Canal. Colombia. Costa Rica. Guatemala. North of the Arctic Circle. Eastern Canada. Greenland. Iceland. Now six times in Alaska. Japan.”

Scott Tate shares, “It’s a joy to report that on August 6, 2025, Michelle Goodwin ’16 (longtime Santa Cruz ocean swimmer) swam the English Channel, leaving Dover at 9:00 a.m. and, after encountering strong currents on the French coast, arrived 15 hours, 24 minutes later. Father Kevin Goodwin ’79 P’16 was her feeder while Mom Eileen Goodwin ’81 P’16 supervised the adventure. (Dave Mgrublian ’82 P’11 and I watched the swim online from the safety of our laptops.) Great job Michelle!”

The Class of 1980 (THE first class of Women Pioneers) showed up in force to see Mari (Baumgarten) Adam and George Davis P’07 sweep the Alumni Outstanding Volunteer award ceremony and, except for a couple of younger classes, would have had the largest showing with 32 attending. Seems the following comments were universal: campus looks great–a billion times better than “back in the day” (Thanks Dave Mgrublian ’82 P’11 and Ken Valach ’82), and the North Quad is getting AC! Yippee, the campus expansion (seemingly threatening the Upland/Montclair city limits) is inspiring. As Jeff Hotchkiss (recently moved from Tucson to Minneapolis) pointed out, “after 45 years, it’s great you only remember the fun times.” In addition to those mentioned below, those attending included: Steve Algermissen P’14, Bill Anderson, Lou Caron, Dave Flatten, Carrie George P’14 P’16, Karl Heim, Kathy (Evans) Hurley P’07, Carol Kazmer, Bill Kennedy, Dave Laybourn, Cheri Strelow, Jay Tremblay, and Paul Utrecht.

We had several first-time attenders:

Mari (Baumgarten) Adam: “Loved everything about it, especially the chance to catch up with old CMC friends, make new ones, and share stories with fellow 1980 female alumnae. Hard to believe 45 years have gone by since graduation, and I’m gratified to feel like we may have even more in common now than we did 45 years ago.”

Brooke Traut, who, as a married student, had lived off-campus, was so pleased to connect/reconnect, joining new friends at Collins and staying in a dorm (Fawcett) for the first time!

Bill Kirby reported, “We’re a friendly group of older and wiser people. Many had not been back for many years.”

Veteran attender John Bolmer’s highlight was goat yoga (he stayed later than most others, hmmm?).

Jeff Arce P’22 appreciated all our Pioneers and the speakers (we all enjoyed Jennie J. Werner walking us through the crazy world she and Derek (Rico/Reeko) Werner enjoyed), and he really enjoyed staying in a mid-quad dorm to fulfill his dorm residence card (north, south, and now mid) and it is convenient to get up and grab coffee at Collins and safely wander home after a few extra cocktails in the evenings (his advice: bring some hangers).

Patty (Harper) Wilmink came because Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Bev Chom Hong reached out and since no one is assured they’ll make it to the 50^th, she got to reconnect with freshman roommate Alison (Melnick) Hightower and Atheneum co-worker Nancy Enzminger.

Wayne Slavit: Highlights of catching up with familiar and unfamiliar faces, discussing grandkids, work status, even medications, the new Robert Day Sciences Center (which reminded us all how difficult it would be for us to get into CMC these days), and spending time with Gordon and Susan Bjork. (The Prof. turns 90 this year. Woohoo!)

Art Dodd sent regrets as he was in Seattle, heading north of the Arctic Circle and visiting with walruses during the reunion! A shoutout to Alex Crutchfield, who sent regards that caused me to remember his classic college dilemma senior year: during a Berger Dorm midnight naked soccer game, Alex faced the dilemma of kicking the ball for a sure score even though his glasses had fallen onto the ball and surely would be destroyed if he took the shot. Not one to shirk his Berger duty, he sacrificed his glasses, kicked, and scored!

We all remembered that our unique Class of 1980 led CMC during a time of big changes as the College transitioned from a single-sex to a coed institution. Starting in 2026, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of coeducation at CMC and hope to see even more of you from the Class of 1980 back on campus to join in and take part! It will be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to celebrate what CMC has meant to you, as we all recognize just how far we have come over the past 50 years. Visit https://www.cmc.edu/50-coeducation for more info and to join in. See you in 2026!

“As for me (Scott Tate), I was fortunate to spend early morning hours over coffee with Jeff Hotchkiss, have some in-depth discussions with a number of wise, beautiful people, and enjoy the gym while looking out over the pool at the San Gabriels. A great time was had by all. PS: I was assigned to Claremont Tower–it sucked; give me Green any day!”

Scott Tate ’80

loss this year. Our dear classmate, Jerry Schwartz, husband of Karen Jacobson ’83 and father to Aaron and Benjamin, passed away on May 27, 2025. Several CMC alumni accompanied Karen and her sons at his funeral. Among those in attendance were Mike Seder and Diana Seder, Bruce Colin and Pat Colin, Dan Debevec, Jim Gervang, David Mgrublian P’11, Rick Starratt, Ken and Janie (Parker) Valach, Julie McCallin ’83, Frank Ferguson P’17 and Nohemi (Gutierrez) Ferguson P’17, John Faranda ’79, Bill Woods ’77, Cary Davidson ’75, and Steve Hessen ’73. Jerry was a dear friend and is greatly missed. A fund in Jerry’s memory is being established at CMC; donations are encouraged.

Nohemi (Gutierrez) Ferguson ’82 P’17

Tammie Calef Krisciunas writes, “Hello classmates. My beloved husband of 28 years, Vic, died a year after being diagnosed with glioblastoma. I am crushed. We were inseparable. He was a good guy. We had a year to get our affairs in order, as they say, and that has protected me from paperwork hassle at a time when I don’t have anything extra in me. You all should stop procrastinating and do it now: get your trust established and have your lawyer put everything in it for you, do your durable power of attorney, health care power of attorney, make sure your beneficiaries are as you want, etc.; discuss after-life and service preferences; stay in touch regularly with your friends and family, no matter how distracting life is. We did all this, and I am grateful. I was sent love and condolences from many classmates, who I list here—in random order—as proof of life for you all: Peter Hutt, Jay Lugar, Susanna Pineda Rodriguez, Chuck Brownstein, Tim Howett P’05, Skip Sanzeri, Robert Kemp, Gail Silberman McCarthy, Elaine Rossi, Karen Jacobson, Lynn Sones, Chris Hulla, Wendy Welsh-Westley ’84, Dean Jensen, Don Phelps, Jack Newman, Julie Steury Reynolds, Henry Olsen, Kerry McKelvey, Peter Muižnieks, Brent Lower, Noah Mesel P’25, Ahmed Al-Sager, Matt Pyken, Jeffrey Ryan, Andrew Haskell P’14, Michael Turpin, Elizabeth Kieschnick, and Steve Dalzell.”

And this group also sent me updates in addition to condolences:

Elaine Rossi: “My husband Ted (a Williams grad) and I had wonderful and heartbreaking visits with Tammie [Calef Krisciunas] and Karen Jacobson–each lost their beloved husband recently. Karen was married to Jerry Schwartz ’82.”

Tammie continues, “Separately, for a fun aside: almost every time we go to an event here in Honolulu, I meet a CMC grad—last weekend it was at a wedding (Robby Field ’07, brother of the groom).”

From Eric Helm, “After 41 years with SoCal Edison (yes, I started the summer of 1983), I retired last September with the intent to travel more—since then, we have visited the Maldives, Amsterdam, Fairbanks (Northern Lights in March), and Scotland. Edison was a good career and where my wife, Carol, and I met, but I’m happier now at home and on the road.”

Peter Hutt and Libby Vance Hutt ’85 are still mostly splitting time among Mercer Island, Palm Desert, and Paris. “I’m playing as much pickleball as my aging body can withstand. I’ve all but given up skiing and am drinking 0.0 beer. (Young me would be horrified.) Libby is planning our daughter Caitlin’s wedding in Edinburgh later this summer. We feel blessed!”

Lisa Schamel Cundall writes, “We just finished 4H horsemanship here in Fort Dick, Calif. (I am seriously not making that up–and I moved off of Morehead Road a couple of years ago.) I never thought I would live in the PNW or this close to the ocean again, but here I am on a decent-sized ranch with a bit of primal forest... Plenty of room here for anyone to come visit for a lovely, cool glamping (or other) getaway.”

Bill Jones writes, “We still live in Claremont, walking distance from good ole’ CMC. My son, Samuel, is now 12 years old and busy with middle school things. He is interested in France and took a French language class for kids. He is fascinated with Napoleon. We are planning a trip to France in August so he can practice his French. My wife, Juliet, is an ICU nurse at Pomona Valley Hospital, and I continue to work as chief appraiser for a bank in Los Angeles. I work remotely so I don’t have that commute.”

Tammie adds, “I’m struck by the passage of time. At our last reunion I had hoped to visit with two CMC professors but they had both passed away by the time the reunion came around.

“Van Morrison turns 80 in August! I first discovered his music at CMC. Thanks to Steve Nesbitt for getting me ‘Into the Music.’ If anyone is in touch with Steve, please let him know I would like to connect with him. I hope everyone has a blessed late summer and fall!

“I remain, Your devoted, but devastated, class liaison, Tammie Calef Krisciunas.”

Tammie Krisciunas ’83

Rod Streeper and Jeannine put up with the summer heat in East County San Diego. It’s a busy time for Rod’s screen businesses, and Jeannine has a new therapy hot tub—a huge wooden barrel, six feet deep—guests welcome. This means you, Carl Rossi! Rod attended the visiting life science networking trip at the San Diego mixer a few months ago and hosted a CMC alumni group at the Cabrillo tidepools in March—definitely a do-again.

Tricia Knott writes, “I am going to Patti Chambers Kohler ’85’s daughter’s wedding in Savannah, Georgia, in September with Madeleine (Estey) Clyde, Martha (Cobb) Shanks, Sandy (Goodnow) Jara ’85, and Laura (Gilbert) Russell ’85. In October, I am going to Jim Burgess P’20 and Elizabeth Casey Burgess ’85 P’20’s daughter’s wedding. My daughter met the Burgess’ twins at the start of their freshman year at Marymount High School together. For obvious reasons, they are really close friends.

“After that I plan to buy a home in a brand-new 55+ community and play games all day like in preschool, which I dropped out of. You don’t ask where? Well, somewhere. Fortunately for me I find myself humorous.”

Jim Baker reports, “I retired from San Diego Gas & Electric Company in July 2024 after 17-plus years with the Sempra family of companies. Paula Baker SCR ’83 and I are in the process of moving from beautiful San Diego to even more beautiful southern Maine. Yes, I know that it snows in Maine. I am keeping myself busy until we move by volunteering with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program. I became a member of the Maine Bar in March 2025 and plan to practice law in Maine. Time to enjoy God’s great outdoors and coastal Maine.”

Eric Swanson P’25 and Debbie (Serbin) Swanson P’25 write, “We visited with Mitch Gold and Rebecca Gold at their beautiful home in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, (we saw lakes, still wondering about mountains, ha). A great time was had by all! The Golds are amazing, generous hosts. We made it to NJ via Washington, D.C., where our youngest, Noah Swanson ’25, is now working for the House Ways and Means Committee. He is the first of our four boys (men!) to leave the LA area, so we will have reason to visit the East Coast more frequently. Our oldest, Jacob, and his wife, Katie, gave us our first grandchild, Hannah, who will be two in early September–we adore her. All the offspring are employed and are doing great. Best wishes to everyone!”

Jerome Haig ’84 P’22

Deborah (Koster) Gonzalez P’14, Geoffrey Baum, and Tony Gonzalez P’14 had a magnificent time attending the 1985 Class Reunion in June, rekindling old friendships and regaling stories of how we made it through CMC during the transition from the typewriter to something called the computer. It was great to see the huge turnout of Optima Omnium Classis–The Best Class Ever. Deborah is the director of government affairs at the Public Policy Institute of California and vice chair of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, and Geoffrey, as has been his wont for many years, travels the world, and Tony continues to fight the good fight in the public policy arena in Sacramento for various clients as well as chair of the Board of Trustees of the California Historical Society. In July, Deborah and Tony hosted the new student party for Sacramento-area incoming freshmen. Attending were fellow CMC alumni Michael Gunning ’79, John McDowell ’79, and Christiana Dominguez ’01. In August, Deborah and Tony met up at Orcas Island with three other CMC alumni, David Fish, Jill Romo Wheeler ’87, and their daughter, Lauren Gonzalez ’14, who is the assistant director of scientific communication at the Poorvu Center’s Graduate Writing Lab at Yale University, where she earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology.

Peter Otte ’85 P’26

Todd Thomas published three books in 2025—Unleashing Abundant Energy, Unleashing an Abundant Energy Revolution, and Unleashing an Infinite Future—each reaching #1 on Amazon’s Best Seller list. Endorsed by CMC professors Nishant Dass and Ran Libeskind-Hadas, and alumnus Nick Bagatelos ’86, the series explores how AI, breakthrough technologies, and bold entrepreneurs are transforming global energy, driving climate solutions, and shaping a more sustainable future.

Todd Thomas ’89

Greg Cullison writes, “At our 35th reunion, I enjoyed sleeping in, beer, and pistol shooting. I was barred from the new Robert Day Sciences Center (forgot my pants), 100% financed by Lisa (Coel) Harrison P’22M’22 and Tom Harrison ’86 P’22M’22 kids’ tuition. Michael Shear has progressed from White House reporting to humorous articles about destitute British coalminers. Todd Achilles P’25’s independent Senate campaign is the Achilles heel of the two-party system. Michael Shoag re-discovered the decrepit Fawcett furniture and slept on that couch he broke. Talmadge O’Neill P’21 P’25 controls half of California’s wineries. Tony Poer the rest. Unsurprisingly, our class dinner wine arrived via armored truck. Kirk Peacock and Pam Tanase ’88 are still cuter than Bennifer. A perfect dive earns you a free pass to their SB co-working space. Ivan Svitek P’20 P’28, taller since graduation, owns a Ukrainian bank as his side hustle. Jeff Hausman P’27 advises the CMC entrepreneurship center, the Randall Lewis Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is ‘not a tech bro, people!’ Mel Carlisle Financial Wizard LLC launches soon. Pete Gertmenian P’26 was featured in Costco Magazine—get your autographed copy. Scott Mauvais remains shy about sharing opinions on any topic. Jeffrey Johnson is a professional lacrosse dad in Michigan. Joel Reynolds may forgive your speeding ticket in Mesa, Ariz., if you have a CMC bumper sticker.”

J.P. Kloninger writes, “After 38 years in the U.S. (yikes!), I moved back to Costa Rica to be closer to my mom and brothers last fall, and I am working as an entrepreneurship consultant for the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN). Come visit ‘The Garden of the Americas!’ My e-mail is [email protected], and my U.S. phone/WhatsApp is (512) 632-5502. ¡Pura Vida, y’all!”

Ashwin Gulati writes, “It feels like things have come full circle—I’m honored to be speaking at the Athenaeum at CMC this fall. My book, Soul Venture: A True Life and Death Journey into the Startup Culture, has been a deeply personal project, decades in the making. Part memoir, part hard-won knowledge share, it captures the entrepreneurial rollercoaster I’ve lived since graduating from CMC 35 years ago. I’m grateful for the reception it’s received and am looking forward to returning to campus. More at soulventurebook.com.”

Finally, from Tony Poer, “A great time was had at Alumni Weekend 2025. The class of ’90 made a strong showing, and we were especially proud that our classmate Michael Shear (New York Times international correspondent, former White House correspondent, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist!) was the Friday evening keynote speaker. I won’t attempt to add to my friend Greg Cullison’s adventure in recapping—clearly, he’s a master of hyperbole. But I will note, with appreciation, that CMC pulled out the stops yet again to welcome its alumni back to campus… and late-night beer pong in Beckett continues to be equal parts fun and ill-advised.”

Faye Karnavy Sahai ’90

Monte Albers de Leon writes, “The California Foreign Press Awards, which had 40K entrants from 34 countries, named my script, ‘Mecca,’ ‘Best LGBTQ’; and me, ‘Best International Screenwriter 2025.’ I have completed my third script, ‘Hi: Part One,’ and will begin writing ‘Hi: Part Two,’ the fourth and final story of “The Parables” (theparables.net), in August.”

Cami Griep ’99

Louis Levine ’99

Tao Li continues his service on CMC’s Board of Trustees. He recently attended the Class of 2029 welcome party in Shanghai, then went touring with Ben Xu ’05 and John Faranda ’79 to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Kaitlin Waterson ’02

Happy 20-year reunion Class of 2025! We had a blast at our reunion this year. More than 40 classmates and their spouses invaded the campus, taking over Beckett Lounge. We had a great time learning about current topics during the day and partying at night! It was great reconnecting with classmates and meeting other classes. FYI North Quad is finally getting air conditioning! They should be ready for us at our 25-year reunion!

Gwen Gordon writes, “I loved Alumni Weekend. My favorite part was the Monte Carlo Night dance party. Wouldn’t it have been cool if there had been a live band and a disco-inspired dance floor when we were students? I can’t wait for the 25th! Catalina Mumm Witman came to San Diego last weekend and we met up with Tiffany Fong. Our kids had an epic time at the beach.

Ben Xu met up with John Faranda ’79 in Shanghai (twice), Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Claremont, setting some sort of record. Michael Wang hosted John and Tao Li ’02 in Taiwan for a New Year’s Eve reunion.

Mitch Browne writes, “With heavy hearts, we share that earlier this summer we lost our classmate, Caleb Nerstad. Caleb touched so many of our lives, whether as a teammate, classmate, friend, or even in his role as resident assistant, where he patiently and graciously provided leadership and mentorship. Caleb continued to lead after CMC, serving as an Army Ranger overseas, to no one’s surprise exhibiting and excelling in those same traits we all knew and loved about him at Claremont. Caleb was truly one of the best; honest and empathetic and loyal. We will remember Caleb as an exemplary husband, father, teammate, and friend, and we are all better people for having known him. We send our condolences to his wife Erin (Evans) Nerstad and their two daughters, Ava and Vivian.”

Mitch Browne ’05

Tiffany Williams ’05

Emily (Hudson) Jackson, along with her husband, Brett, and son, Beau, welcomed Luke Edward Jackson to the family on April 20, 2025. They are excited to be a family of four!

April Weathers ’12

Andrew Sheets writes, “Still working for political campaigns, hoping to find a new opportunity as a campaign manager soon. Last election cycle, I was the field/data director for Vicente Gonzalez for Congress in South Texas, the closest congressional election in Texas and the South.”

Hunter “Ash” Ashburn got engaged to his best friend, Megan Rohn POM ’18. Catch them in Washington, D.C.!

Sidd Mandava reports, “After a few years in the UK, I’ll be moving to Melbourne, Australia, in the fall—pretty excited, but let me know if anyone has any leads on potential jobs, friends, or trips planned out there!”

Stephanie Wong writes, “I’ve been working in regional governance in Los Angeles County, helping deliver major infrastructure projects in the San Gabriel Valley. My work takes me to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., on occasion to advocate for key funding and policies that will support housing, sustainability, and transportation initiatives. Just the fun stuff!! I’ve enjoyed working with a handful of CMC students who did some project work for my organization (the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments) through the PATH student group. Their interest in public policy was impressive and the research they performed for me was mature and thoughtful. Good stuff!”

Jack Blattner moved back to Davis, Calif.

Micky Ferguson is still living in the Pasadena area and working in post-production for scripted television. She loves to bake, go to afternoon tea, and spend as much time with her girlfriends (including former roommate Jessica Ng) as she can. Micky is currently working on season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for AppleTV+. She visited Italy again this summer (surprise, surprise). This time, she went to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, where she stood just 20 feet away from Pope Leo XIV. The energy in the crowd was electric. The last time she’d experienced that emotional high was at the Eras Tour in the summer of 2023. She also decided to return to the stage for the first time since her days in Under the Lights at Claremont, starring in a murder mystery play at a local theater for a Newman Center fundraiser.

Micky Ferguson ’17

Matthew Swift and Caroline (Peck) Swift are wrapping up their time in San Antonio, Texas. After three years in Austin and one in San Antonio, they are making a final move (at least for now!) to Dallas. Caroline will be starting her job at a law firm there, and most importantly, their golden retriever, Theia, will finally have more room to romp around.

Phil Reid writes, “Growing my hair back out.”

Claire Klein updates, “This May, I married Johnny Giuffre in Charleston, South Carolina, with CMCers Laura Reifsnyder, Shruti Topudurti M’18, Tarah Gilbreth, Collin Barraugh, Jack Brown, Garrett Myers, and Marion Goldberg ’19 in attendance! After five years in North Carolina, I matched at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Western Psychiatric Hospital (along with Kai Kellerman!) for my clinical psychology intern-ship and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this summer. Come say hi to us if you’re ever in the area!”

Christina Cheledinas writes, “I’m still living in San Francisco, and I’m building houses with my brother in Seattle in my spare time. I have a guest room that some CMCers frequent—Tarah Gilbreth visited in June! I also saw Jordan Aronowitz, Vera Armus, and Jackson Cooney in Los Angeles over the summer!”

Tarah Gilbreth ’18