class 
notes
Spring 2026

Tom Bernstein writes, “There are just a few of us, the Class of ’55, left. There are only 11 other e-mail addresses left on my list. The sudden passing of Bob Howard was a big shock. He seemed in great health at our 70th reunion last June, but just two months later, he was gone. I can now ‘out’ him as Gordon Good Guy, co-author with Ted Burnett of the infamous ‘Cess Pool’ columns. He and Ted also served together in the Army’s super-secret AIS branch and both were called back into service during the Berlin Air Lift crisis. Bob never got the full credit he deserved for his 45 years on the board of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government.

“I was also saddened by the passing of Stuart Ho ’57. I played a lot of bridge with him at CMC. And I got to visit with him on several of my trips to Hawaii—went to his beautiful home near Diamond Head and met his father, Chinn Ho, at his office. I was also good friends with Al Harrington (another Punahou alum), who played a very popular role on the TV series Hawaii Five-O, but that’s another story.

“As for myself, I play 12 holes of golf twice a week and work out regularly at my club’s fitness center. We’re planning on moving to a brand new, large retirement community in Woodland Hills. As of this writing it’s still under construction and scheduled to open some time this summer.”

Tom Bernstein ’55

The class was saddened by the news of Gary Ryan’s death. Gary was one of our class “jocks.” Shortly after we read a short novel for English class entitled The Eighty-Yard Run, Gary accomplished the precise yardage for a touchdown against LaVerne College.

Glenn Hickerson writes, “We’re off to Auckland for a three-day match race with a duster boat plus some others on the Bay of Islands, back in February for a while.”

Bob Beasley ’59

Brent Howell met his wife Beth in 1966 on the original TV show The Dating Game. He recently retired from the commercial real estate company CBRE. When he joined, they had approximately 200 employees; by the time he retired it had become a global company with over 140,000 employees in 100+ countries. Amazing!

Bill Hollingsworth reflected on our new Robert Day Sciences Center, an expression of vision by Robert Day ’65 P’12. Bill spent two years at Fort Ord (after college) and would visit Robert at his mother’s home in Pebble Beach. In May of 1966, they drove to Paris in Robert’s newly delivered Porsche 912 then on to Monaco for the Grand Prix. They then shared a rental on the island of Ibiza. While at CMC, Robert told Bill he wanted to outdo his grandfather, William Keck, who developed the giant wildcatter Superior Oil, subsequently purchased by Mobil Oil. Robert went on to build his firm Trust Company of the West, but his real vision was the sciences center at CMC ... some vision plus hard work.

Marshall Sale ’62

Larry Ford writes, “We are in the middle of selling our Sarasota home, preparing for a move to a retirement community that will require a lot of downsizing and trips to several local charities. The new place has single family homes and an active social program, as well as tennis, bocce, and fitness programs as well as nursing, memory, and recovery care. We will continue to summer in Colorado Springs and fly fish in the Rockies. Next month we fish the Everglades. Life remains an amazing adventure. CMC prepared me well.”

Bob Boies writes, “Barbara and I spent three weeks in northern Italy in November. Highlights included Milan, Lake Como, the House of Ferrari, Verona, Bologna, Florence, and Rome. I had a great visit with my CMC roommate Orley Ashenfelter ’64 and other friends from the Class of 1964 (Bob Walker ’64, Doug Noble ’64, and Bill Dawson ’64). Barbara and I are looking forward to the Res Publica presentation by David Brooks at the Nixon Library.”

Dick McKay reports, “Same stuff at new year. Still traveling up a storm. 2025 took us on a 1,200-mile self-driving trip through South Africa. A beautiful adventure with 10 couples, each with a Toyota 4x4. All the animals you would expect, as well as wine districts, Cape Town and the southernmost tip of Africa, as well as beautiful country more reminiscent of Arizona and Utah. Actually, our third time there but with a two week drive about. From there back to Dubai for five days. An amazing place including dinner at the Atmosphere restaurant on the 126th floor of the 175-story Burj Kalifa. Actually, I went skiing in Dubai (indoors) a few years back. Later trips … a couple of weeks in Maui, a week on a rally to car week in Monterey, and our third trip to Prague for Christmas markets and their special atmosphere—In my opinion the best Christmas markets and atmosphere anywhere. Still driving my ’73 Porsche 911 RSR tribute in the twisties in Malibu once or twice a week and hanging out with my driving and flying buddies and having fun. I have the fond wish to continue doing all that stuff, Lord and body willing.”

Kent Greene writes, “I’ve given up on lengthy travel for now, having too much fun close to home. I still play tennis at La Costa every day, enjoying friends and family close to home plus new friends made through tennis. I also do an annual hiking trip with guys. Last year was Sedona, later this year will be Lake Tahoe. That plus a day spent at the Indian Wells tennis tournament every year keeps my engines going and important long-term connections intact. The big challenge for me this year will be the challenge of retiring. The plan is to stop writing software code after this year. I miss it already. Reports I’ve read tell me that AI is going to take over the industry, anyway. I think that’s way over-hyped.”

Darryl Wold writes, “Good to hear from a number of you. I couldn’t think of much to report, so I asked ChatGPT to write something interesting about me. I’m still waiting for a response.”

Jim Mason reports, “Not much has changed with me. I’ve been retired for five years and am still living in Mariposa. We are planning a couple of trips this year. Eastern Sierras in June plus Toronto and Montreal, Canada, in October. I’m still dealing with some health issues but am being well taken care of by the VA.”

Larry Ford ’63

From the 1964 Class liaisons, “Three of us shared lunch together, and the talk turned to those of us that have gone, and the accelerating rate depleting our Band of Brothers (appropriate to say for a then-men’s college). We reflected on the lives we have lived, and those of classmates. In 1964, we set out on paths leading to what adventures and misadventures we could not know.

Now, instead of asking you to update the profiles you have previously provided, we thought we would simply celebrate our ability to still get together, as we hope you do. The Bard assures us that he who has survived the battle will stand tall, ‘strip his sleeve and show his scars,’ and tell the story of how they were earned. We may be few, but we are surely the lucky few.”

Larry Berger ’64

Bill Dawson ’64

Steve Hallgrimson ’64

In Memoriam: Dick Baumer

Our classmate Dick Baumer passed on October 29, 2025.

Dennis Mann writes, “I miss Dick for his laugh, and for how he reconstructed his life in a positive way when he got older.

Marty Kaplan writes, “Those who were Knickerbockers knew Dick as ‘Banjo.’”

Robin Bartlett writes, “Dick and I went through ROTC together; we had similar Army training and were in Vietnam at the same time with the 1st Cavalry Division. I interviewed his Scout and Tracker Dog Platoon during my staff assignment with the 14th Military History Detachment. He was on R&R at the time so we missed seeing each other. He was kind enough to review an advance reading copy of my book, pointing out a caption error on a photo: ‘Labradors were used for tracking and German Shepherds for scouting.’ He truly loved his dogs.”

Steve Rudd posted this travel story, “I have checked off a bucket list trip this fall, by traveling to India to participate in a Rotary polio immunization project. Two of my close high school friends were afflicted with polio, which motivated me to raise funds for Rotary’s polio eradication campaigns for the past 40 years. The Rotary Foundation, together with the Gates Foundation, WHO, and UNICEF, constitute the World Polio Eradication Initiative, which has reduced the incidence of wild polio by 99.9 %. India borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have a few 2025 wild polio cases. So, India still conducts polio immunization projects in rural areas to ‘Keep India Polio Free.’”

Steve and fellow Rotarians first conducted a village polio immunization rally. A tractor towed a flatbed sound truck blaring Bollywood music and was followed by tuk-tuks with Rotarians and students. They stopped every few blocks to distribute golden flyers, printed in Hindi and English, announcing the following day’s polio immunizations. The next day Steve immunized over 80 infants and toddlers in a medical clinic by administering the Sabin oral polio vaccine, and the Rotary teams vaccinated more than 320 children in village clinics and schools. The children were rewarded with small, brightly colored balls for their participation, which made the project fun for them.

Steve’s Cupertino Rotarian team also toured other Rotary-funded projects in India, including pediatric acute care beds and equipment for a Pune hospital, an oxygen generation plant for a Delhi hospital, a charitable cataract surgery clinic in Agra, and a charitable elementary school in Agra. They also toured several Indian world heritage sites.

In summary: Had a wonderful time reviewing Rotary projects and seeing world heritage sites. No camel rides, but did ride a rickshaw, tuk-tuk, palanquin, elephant, and train. No naked gurus, but did see cobras, decorated camels, striped tigers, and wild dogs. No “bridge too far,” just a 24-hour flight each way, punctuated by a disruptive passenger who received handcuffs for his trouble.

Ed Stanton responded to my note about three inches of snow in New Jersey by saying, “It never snows in Pacific Palisades. Yes, we have fires, no duh, but as the nation is freezing their butts off the temp here was in the mid-70s. (Eat your heart out!) After nearly 60 years, we have evolved to a mini ‘point-checkpoint’ communication, much like the 1970s 60 Minutes show. John Mazza started this email chatroom with Van Wolbach who almost every Monday, throws out a topic. It can range from the Palisades fire, deportation, U.S. News and World Report, college rankings, and lots of political banter. We now have a following of some 25+ participants, including many from ’67: Dennis Mann (our token leftie), Van Smith, Bruce Bean, Jim Carson, Marty Kaplan, Rob Maggs, John Pettit P’91, Steve Rudd and me. It’s great fun, and I don’t have to read the entire WSJ to get a smattering of opinions. Have a great 2026 and hope to see everyone in ’27 for our 60th.”

Marty Kaplan notes that regarding the email thread in which he participates, “I can’t believe we’re all still here. Everyone seems reasonably sane with a few having outstanding intellect to keep up within the rails.”

Steve Schmidt sent this post, “I am alive and well. So is Caroline. I finally found Randy Fingland who I also went to high school with in St. Louis. He lives in Berkeley, where he has spent most of his life. I visited him with three other high school friends in the summer of 2024. Please contact me or Robin if you want his phone number as he does not have an email. Right now, I am at home in Tucson, Ariz. We spend summers at Priest Lake, Idaho. It is also much cooler than Tucson in the summer.”

Bruce Bean provided this philosophical treatise, “Well, there has been a lot of weather here lately in Lake Wobegon. Over the last few weeks, it’s been so cold that the ice has been piling up well beyond that of past winters. Some say that this is the first time since the last time that the ice has been so thick. Just a reminder to those of you less familiar with ice, it’s never a good idea to park your car around ice. Sometimes the ice can give way and spears of ice can put holes in your car and even in your head. There have been instances where ice spears have injured or killed people. Of course, this is Minnesota, so there are always some hearty souls who choose to jump through the ice with almost nothing on. That usually leads to a rather cold reception as you imagine.  Well, that’s the latest from Lake Wobegon. I’m going outside now. It’s warmed up to -12 degrees. I’ll try not to slip on the ice.”

Bruce also commented on the recent topic of health issues, “My allergies/asthma kept me out of the military. I didn’t want to be drafted, so I applied to the Army, the Air Force (twice), and the Navy. All turned me down because of allergies. This was all while I was in graduate school in Boston. By the time I was drafted, I was so well known at the Boston Army Base that when Sgt. Brown, who must have seen hundreds of draftees, saw me in the line for the draft, he said, ‘Why Mr. Bean. What a pleasure to see you again!’ Anyway, you get the idea. The draft people didn’t like my body any more than the officer side of the military did, so I did my public service for over nine years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. My allergies/asthma, like yours, still dog me today.”

Sandy Mackie, also commented on health issues, “I share balance issues with many of you (something about a severed nerve and a titanium ankle courtesy of 25 years on the basketball court). AFib heart prevents any serious exertion, and last year with a serious infection I managed to lose 30 lbs. in three weeks (can’t recommend it as a weight loss alternative). I have managed to gain back 10 lbs. but am much weaker than before—still small stuff compared with some of our cohorts. I do manage to get around the golf course (forward tees, if I swing too hard, I would fall flat on my face). As a good client once told me (two cancers, blood clots in lung and heart, among other ailments) ‘old age ain’t for sissies.’ I prefer looking down at the grass to the alternative (looking up at the roots) and follow the mantra ‘do the best I can with what I have left.’ At least I’m still shuffling along!”

Tom Moore commented, “Still on the right side of the ground. Two more grandkids and a wedding. Caty and I are planning our fifth trip to Paris. Feeling very blessed.”

Van Webster wrote to say that things are “normal here in Highland Park, Calif. My health and mobility are good. I continue to work as a volunteer at the Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains. I additionally volunteer at a couple of astronomy clubs and a model train club in Southern California. I get to play music with a group of long-time friends who meet typically on the second Tuesday of the month at a rehearsal studio in Pasadena, Calif. My recording studio is now leased out to another person who is running it much more successfully than I did. The driveway access is busy on a daily basis with musicians from around the world heading off to make new music. Barry Hansen, aka Dr. Demento (Reed College ’63) an early client of the studio, announced his retirement from over 55 years of broadcasting last year. I got to catch up with him at his 84th birthday celebration. My younger son, Stefan, and his wife welcomed my first grandchild this summer. The last time I visited their home, he burst into tears in apparent terror at the sight of me so it’s likely that it will take some time for him to get used to me. 2026 looks to be more of the same.”

Bob Novell P’94 says that his good news is that he is alive! “At Christmas, Sharon and I spent a warm, sunny week in Colorado with daughter Jennifer Alvarado ’94 and her family while Southern California was being pounded by pouring rain. We flew JSX, a small public charter of 30 seats from Burbank to Centennial. It sure beats DIA, the TSA, and the train! It was such a kick because you can take your dog, BIG dogs, on the flight with you. We had five on the outbound flight and seven on the inbound flight. One lab spent the whole flight sleeping in its owner’s lap. We love dogs and the owners were so proud!

“We have great family news to share. Grandson Ben, son of Jennifer, has been accepted with academic and music scholarships to Cal Baptist in Riverside. Our San Francisco daughter, Kelly, is getting married in Sonoma next July. It will be a small, intimate wedding in Glen Ellen followed by a ‘Happily Ever After’ party a couple of days later at their second home in Sonoma. We look forward to a fun week of celebrations of marriage with friends and family.

“I am turning 80 in February and find that nothing works like it used to: brain, legs, bones, and balance. A few years back, I wrote a book about my life so that my children and grandchildren would know who I was. If I forget who I am, I know where to look. I am spending my time re-reading my favorite books like The Boys in the Boat and For the Love of it: The Mammoth Legacy of Roma and Dave McCoy. I can still play a decent game of bridge and would love to hear from you.”

Raymond White reports, “I am looking forward to the Men’s Chat Group meeting of the Palo Alto Jewish Community Center because the topic is wealth inequality, and the background material supplied assumes terrible inequality and negative effects of extraordinarily rich people. Having read a lot of Thomas Sowell’s work and The Myth of American Inequality by Phil Gram, Ekelund, & Early (2022), I will be able to lead the discussion significantly.”

Fred Merkin GP ’28, files this report under the grandchildren category and tells us that his two collegian grandchildren are on the move. Cathryn Perry, UCSB ’26, served as an intern in KPMG’s San Francisco office prior to her current (senior) year. She is scheduled to begin employment on the office’s audit staff following her anticipated graduation in a few months. In the summer following his freshman year at CMC, Nate Perry ’28 served as an undergraduate intern in the Santa Cruz County’s District Attorney’s Office and as a Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 Fellow in Global Affairs: The Future of the Global Capitalist and Democratic Order. For his junior year, Nate is scheduled to study abroad at the London School of Economics, returning to the CMC campus for his senior year.

Frank Petterson added this note, “Umm…almost 81! And life has just begun. Now I’m dwelling more on how my life did or did not turn. I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the jungle, never the quickest, but I befriended many who knew how to give sage advice. This was a skill set that has helped me throughout my entire life; it should have been a mandatory course (a buddy system approach). One act that has paid a big dividend was related to my doing something for my country. Before reaching my age of majority, I was looking for something to do, to somehow contribute. Being a C.O. was out because I would have fought in WWII. Working in a hospital as an orderly would not work as I don’t particularly like blood. Though I opted for it, the U.S. Army was my least likely choice. Being an officer seemed a ‘rewarding’ path which I could start as a freshman at CMC. As a cloud king, I was a junior before realizing that Vietnam was a possibility. And after Stanford, a reality.

“And the war was a war alright. Before shipping out, I first saw my outfit on the cover of Time magazine: ‘Engineers turn into Infantry below Rocket Ridge.’ It’s hard for me to talk about war with folks who have not experienced it. Other than to say that I led a platoon that rebuilt a road through the rice paddies and then operated a rock crusher and quarry complex. It was called the Cobra Quarry because a PFC’s pet mongoose killed one there. Many interesting personalities appeared throughout my time, from an Eskimo who appreciated clouds and could use a knife with ease (one of my drivers), to a guitar-playing colonel who next became the commandant of West Point. All types of people and experiences, some sweet and some brutal. When I returned from Vietnam, little respect was shown. But I was through—safe, sound and I did feel that I had done my duty. Time passes in spurts and jerks.

“Roughly 45 years after Mike Harrison succumbed to metastatic melanoma, I came down with the same diagnosis. I’m in my seventies and feel that life has decided to let me go, way too early. This is why I missed the last reunion rodeo after asking others to join in—Stevenson with white hair! Doing my duty to the country was rewarded in spades. For many years, I have been taking two gene therapy meds which stop the growth of cancer. They are brand new; so new that they retail for approximately $31,000 per month, a retirement drainer from way back! Here is the VA’s charge: $22 per month, what a tremendous relief! My country thanked me for my service after all.”

John Percy is our classmate super traveler. He describes his latest adventures and updates us on his total county, opera, and play/musical counts, “Last year I described the ordeal of flying to Doha right after a snowstorm in St. Louis. The flight to the Seychelles this time was without incident. The Seychelles has some beautiful islands and beaches, and I made good use of them. I next flew to Mauritius, which is another gorgeous island in the Indian Ocean with lots of things to see and beautiful beaches. My airline troubles resumed when I tried to fly to the Comoros Islands. My 4:20 a.m. flight to Nairobi and connection to Moroni was canceled. I ended up spending 22 hours at the Mauritius airport when I finally took a flight to Dar es Salaam at 1:55 a.m. with a connection to Maroni at 9 a.m. I ended up spending the second night at the Dar es Salaam airport. The Comoros Islands are not ready for tourism. My hotel extended my stay by a day, which confused me as to when I was actually leaving. I missed my 2:15 AM flight to Nairobi and my connection in Dubai. I ended up taking an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa, where I connected to Doha and then Male Maldives. Another 22 hours of travel. The Maldives are basically atolls. They are gorgeous and very expensive. I have now visited all of the island countries in the Indian Ocean. On the way home, I stopped in New York to see the modern premiere of Morgiane (1887) by Black American composer, Edmond Déde. I was home for a week and then off to Georgetown, Guyana, Paramaribo, Surinam and Havana, Cuba (country 159 out of 193).

“The rest of 2025 I spent seeing plays and operas in Europe and the United States. I ended the year with opera number 1,209 and play/musical number 1,797. I was fortunate to see two major art exhibits in Europe, the Caravaggio in Rome on the day the new pope was named and Fra Angelico in Florence. I saw my last Rossini opera in Pesaro.”

When asked about luggage and travel arrangements he responded, “I have been booking my own flights out of the United States on American or other One World Airlines for years because of my ‘exalted’ status (Platinum Pro). Kensington Tours has booked the inter-country flights, for example in Southeast Asia and South America. However, when I went to the Indian Ocean last year, I had to book all of my flights as my travel agent refused to do it saying that the airlines were too unreliable. She arranged great guides for me in the Seychelles and Mauritius. For my January trip to four Pacific Island countries, I booked all of my flights and hotels except for using a local travel agent in Papua New Guinea. Even then I booked my own internal flights. I’m in the process of booking another trip to the Pacific and I’m doing everything myself. I haven’t been able to get a U.S. travel agent to give me much help on the countries I’m now wanting to visit. If all goes well, I will report on four new countries by January 2026 and four new countries by February 2026.

“As a sidenote, my luggage was lost for one week in 1967 when I flew to Seattle for ROTC training camp. I haven’t checked luggage since then. I travel with one standard carry-on bag and a small cloth bag for my travel documents and reading material. My motto is if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t go. I rely on hotel laundry and I often go commando.”

Rob Maggs writes, “Debbie and I are watching our backyard wildlife: foxes, deer, and owls all bravely trudging through what promises to be 18 inches of snow. As a friend once wrote to his executive assistant, ‘Weather is here, wish you were beautiful.’ (She was). We are plowed out about every four inches, so no problems in Western New York. But it’s darn cold. Happy New Year to all.”

Steve Rudd (again), “I represented our Class of 1967 at CMC’s annual alumni-student tennis match. My doubles partners and I were able to prevail this year, with the fairly decent scores of 6-2, 6-2. Coach Paul Settles did a good job of matching fairly even teams, so everyone had lots of fun and a wonderful taco lunch afterward. I was the most senior alumni playing this year, for the third year in a row, so I pretended to apply plenty of WD-40 to my joints while I was being introduced.”

Robin Bartlett ’67

In Memoriam: Ray Drummond

This contribution is from John Achorn, “As many may be aware, our classmate Ray Drummond passed away on November 1, 2025. He was my roommate in our junior year at Marks Hall. Ray taught me a stirring course in jazz. We even formed an improvisational group in my senior year combining jazz improv with theatre improv. Anne Archer was part of that group as well. We remained close friends for all these subsequent decades, he in Teaneck, N.J. and I in San Francisco, then here in Venice Beach, where I still reside to this day. We spoke a few times at the end. I miss him terribly. I also continue teaching in Santa Monica at Emeritus College (free for those over 55). I teach Shakespeare (thank you, Professor Riccardo Quinones), American Novel (thank you, Professor Ladell Payne), and the incredible English department at CMC in the 1960s. Of course, I can’t forget the ‘History of Comedy’ class (thanks to Professor Jesse Swan!) I am also working with the Company of Angels in Boyle Heights converting some of their short plays about the mixed-life population of L.A. with the characters and routines found in the Commedia dell’arte.”

Charles Bullock reported that unfortunately, “I had several medical incidents this past summer which put me on the ‘disabled list.’ Fortunately, nothing has been life-threatening, but they have limited my mobility. I had hoped to attend our 60th reunion this June, but unfortunately a scheduling conflict will prevent me from coming. I will miss seeing you all at the reunion.”

The Fred Levy report, “All good here in NYC. Kathy and I are healthy and enjoying one replaced knee each. I’m busy being co-chair of the United Charter High School Network, the largest high school network in NYC with four schools in the Bronx and three in Brooklyn-Queens. Tom Clark would be proud. I’m also playing a lot of tennis to stay young as 80 approaches. I was so glad to touch base with Doug Grimwood and Steve Tessler, as well as Scripps grad Carol Vernstrom Reilly.”

Rodger Baird P’11 submitted the following for class notes. “I attended the tailgate for the CMS–Pomona-Pitzer football game with my son, Rory Baird ’11. We enjoyed talking with Harry Wright ’71 and several of the guys from the 1970 Stag championship team, including Ken Solomon HMC ’67 who had returned as a coach that year. I still have monthly Zoom calls with Stan Eubanks, Craige Citron, Doug Campbell, and Tom Ryan, all ’68, and occasional calls with Ed Hicks, Pearson Cotton ’69 and Don Bell ’65.

“I stay pretty involved with family matters, but in October, I published my tenth novel, Lotus Quest. It’s the last book in a trilogy of stories set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. [Other titles in the trilogy include Spell of the Lotus and The Lotus Blossoms. Amazon shows Rodger as having published 10 novels and one chemistry book!] I’m working with a couple of teammates from the ’66 Holland baseball team to organize a 60th reunion of as many of us as can make it. It’ll be late spring and in the L.A. area, so if you were part of that championship team, be alert for more information (there likely won’t be a 70th).”

We were pleased to hear from Doug Grimwood who provided several recollections of practical jokes from CMC—back in the day. Here’s a very wintry tale, “I was studying for my first finals at CMC. My room was in Green Hall, directly below one occupied by Mike Donovan ’67 and Gary (‘Moley’) Clark ’67. About midnight I noticed water dripping from the ceiling. I ran upstairs to see what was happening. No one was home. I went back to my room to move my stuff around. Soon I heard a big crash. Gary and Mike were returning from the Midway. When they tried to open their door, it came off. They found ‘someone’ had removed the pins from their door hinges. Inside, they found that someone had gone up to Mount Baldy, gathered up a lot of new fallen snow, and packed it into their room.

“On another occasion, ‘someone’ bored a hole between their room and Pete Cannon’s room. They ran speaker wires from their turntable to Pete’s excellent speakers. At about 2:00 a.m., Pete was awakened to the soundtrack of Victory at Sea played at high volume. Barely awake, nothing he could do to his own turntable could stop the music. We were always looking for creative ways to blow off steam. It seems unlikely that the girls at Pitzer or Scripps pulled these kinds of stunts.

“One of my memorable characters was Leonard Mosqueda. One afternoon after ROTC drill some of us were having coffee at The Hub. Galen Griepp said that we talked a lot about combat and casualties in ROTC, but he had never even seen a dead body. Leonard was seated nearby and sought to reassure him. Leonard said that when his dad was working for the State Department in New Delhi, he insisted he and his brother find a way to earn money. Leonard heard that the New Delhi Board of Health offered 12,000 rupees (about $5.00 US) to anyone finding a body and bringing it to the morgue. So, early every morning he and his brother would suit up with gloves and protective clothing, take a cart, and look for people who had died in the night. Leonard assured Galen, ‘it was sort of like collecting pop bottles and turning them in for a deposit.’ Leonard’s manner was calm and assured, and his story was incredibly detailed. I thought, ‘Leonard, your dad worked as a stevedore at the Port of Los Angeles. I know you have never been close to New Delhi, but that was a GREAT story.’

“Leonard loved stories. He became a schoolteacher. I wonder what must have been like to be in Leonard’s class? What must it have been like to be Leonard’s principal?”

Craige Citron said that he feels a little like George C. Scott, in the movie Patton when he shouts, “I read your book!” after defeating Rommel’s army in Africa. “Out of respect, five of us read Robin Bartlett ’67’s book Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History. We held a one-book book club meeting discussing his experiences in Vietnam, while recalling our own during that disruptive period in our lives. I went to Vietnam a year after Robin. I was in the AG branch (Adjutant General) with the 1st Air Cavalry Division, stationed in Bien Hoa. Spent my year helicoptering out to our firebases and making weekly trips to the hospitals in Saigon. There, I was often overcome by the magnitude of some injuries and the spirit with which our boys-to-men coped. Our well-published author, Rodger Baird P’11, turned a few of my yarns into a book trilogy, The Spell of the Lotus, The Lotus Blossoms and the newest volume, Lotus Quest. For crying out loud…I know how to tell a good story or two, but talk about running with the ball… his work is so well researched, the man did his homework and knows how to tell a tale.

“This is my print version of ‘Long time listener, first time caller.’ I always enjoy reading about the old crew; but usually don’t have much to say unless you catch me live. Just ask Rodger Baird P’11, Tom Ryan, Doug Campbell, or Stan Eubanks, all ’68. Ever since our 50th reunion, headed up by our ringleader, Rodger, we’ve stayed in touch via Zoom. First, it was on our respective birthdays. Then, someone among us thought we ought to make it monthly, given, ahem, per recent longevity reports, we’re all playing with house money and waiting between birthdays might have been stretching our luck. We now Zoom monthly. On the 9th of each month, to be exact. My final comment, one that amazes me these days, is how much I was able to get done when I was a working man. Still, life has a way of filling time.”

Robin Bartlett ’67

Mitch Fisher writes, “Our 21st annual gathering to honor our friend and teammate Dave Wells was in Oregon again this year. Our group of champion roundballers includes John McKniff, Rick Reed, Jerry Groff HMC’69, Don Lewis, Brent Hanson ’73 P’10 and myself. We hunkered down in the beautiful home of Don Lewis in Lake Oswego. As usual, we played golf, barbecued, and watched shows ranging from A Gentleman in Moscow to It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World to The Ryder Cup.

“Our discussions and goofiness covered a variety of topics: The House of Pancakes, hospice, and the Apple Pan in L.A. Traffic tickets (two in one day for Don.) Jackson Pollock and women’s pro basketball. College football budgets and NIL valuations. Arch Manning $6M. Jonathan Winters. Robin Williams ’73. RMDs and inflation. Flo the insurance lady and pharma commercials. Hearing aids. Piled up books and mathematical equations. Steroids in baseball. Yogi Berra quotes. Assassinations. Bad banking techniques. Saving passwords. Civility. Entitled college students. The Wormhole. J. Boogie Fland. Russian life. Gorbachev, Levi’s, and McDonald’s. Driving up on the curb. China’s objectives and GDP. Logging on to YouTube. Homelessness. Things flying out of vehicles (surfboards, water heater, ski rack.) Dorothy Parker. Decorum. Blueberry pancakes. Fescue. Alloro Vineyard. Chippendales. Mar Vista. Din Tai Fung. StoryCorps on NPR. (Everyone has a story.) Crossroads. 7,000 LPs. Fruitcake. And a lost 7 iron.

“How joyful it was to be together again and feel like we were back at CMC…even though we look different…still young at heart.”

Robert Bills ’72

To be sure everyone knows: We are holding a mini class reunion as part of this year’s CMC Alumni Weekend. We’re not waiting until 2028 to formally get together again. We’ll meet for casual conversation, drinks, and dinner on Saturday afternoon, June 6, on campus. Of course, everyone is invited to attend the whole weekend or more of it than just our part, and some of us, especially those from out of town, will likely do so. Details and registration are on the College’s Alumni Weekend web page. We’re hoping for a good turnout, even though it’s an “off reunion year” for us. We hope you can join. We look forward to seeing you.

We held our quarterly class reunion zoom call in late January to kick off the year. There were 21 of us this time. As usual, we caught up on what each of us is doing now (the goods and not-so-goods), and we recounted a variety of stories from 50+ years ago, many of which shall not appear in print! Watch for emails about these calls. There is always room on the call.

Jeff Allen-Young and his wife Darcy Allen-Young SCR’73 report, “We sold our 40-foot boat that I built and we spent 11 years on. Off to other things. Now building a smaller boat—more of a lake boat.”

Bill Armstrong says that “I had the pleasure of attending an authors’ event last fall with fellow classmate Craig Luther. I am now promoting six of my puzzle books on my websitewww.williamarmstrong.com. The most recent book (ALL WAYS PlayIN’ WITh WORDS) targets a middle school audience, but adults have been happy to find easier brain teasers than my usual books. The website and Amazon.com have information about the books.”

Roger Winsby has a good update of what’s going on with him. “My daughter Alix was sworn in as District 14 legislator for the Dutchess County N.Y. legislature in early January. She is a first-time candidate who was drafted by local Democrats to run against an incumbent Republican. She not only won her district, but the Dems flipped the county from 10 D/15 R to 15 D/10 R. Republicans have had a majority in this legislature for 46 of the last 48 years. It’s a part-time job and a big commitment of time. This was a completely unexpected direction for her, but she seized the opportunity and really grew into the role. She did a lot of door-to-door campaigning. Very proud of her! I was there to celebrate both the swearing in ceremony and the first legislative session. An enormous thanks to the Berger boys who contributed to her campaign!

“For Thanksgiving, my son and his family from Oregon came east to share the holiday with my daughter and her family (and me) in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. On Thanksgiving morning, I took off with my four grandchildren (ages 12, 10, 9, and 7) to have breakfast at the local Perkins pancake house. We had so much fun that we did it again on Friday. I am Grandpa Howdy (self-chosen) to this fascinating brood of three girls and a boy.

“I continue to have the most fun and rewarding work of my career providing business valuation services to privately held businesses. There are so many interesting companies that we have been introduced to by CPAs, lawyers, and financial advisors around the country. While I enjoy making valuation concepts understandable to our clients, I also learn a lot from their stories, company decisions, and different ways of leading their companies. It also keeps me in touch with Jeff Taylor ’74, who has provided my company with some of its most interesting projects.

“Last Halloween, I flew out to Portland to spend time with my son. While there, I met up with Joe McNaught, who lives nearby, and Bob Vernon, who drove down from Whidbey Island, to have a Berger troika. Joel Jutovsky was there in spirit. Joe is a wonderful tour guide.

“Paul Beninger P’09, Lowell Sears, and I had our second Boston-based Berger troika in 2025, this time just after Thanksgiving. We solved many of the world’s problems over breakfast.”

Craig Luther will be giving a talk about Operation Barbarossa (Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941) at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, D.C. on April 27. “They actually called and invited me!”

Chip Allen has a definition of retirement worth considering—not to mention our figuring out which part of it we are in. “Based on my father’s experience, I figure my retirement will be about 30 years, and it can be split into three trimesters. They appear to essentially reverse the prenatal markers. In my turning 74 this year, I transitioned from the first trimester of retirement to the second.

“The first trimester has some notable components, including travel without limitation, slowly giving up strenuous sports (I’m talking to you, Lowell!), and taking up pickleball. Medical issues mount, but are generally manageable, and joint replacements promise to carry you into the next trimester. In the second trimester, the sustainability of your nest egg should become clearer. Retirement is a bit like the first sailors shoving off for the unknown new world with what they hope are sufficient provisions. The analogy is imperfect, because in retirees’ cases, we actually do fall off the edge of the world. If the nest egg, less the anticipated drawdowns over the years, is less than zero, you need a course correction. As physical strength, flexibility, and endurance flag in the second trimester, the mind tends to sit back and think, ‘Well, yes, I’m OK.’ But then, your mind grinds to a halt as you try to remember the name of the drummer for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and you realize your mind is following your body in the same southerly direction.

“Having no experience with the third trimester, I’ll have to wait to address it, if I can. I think it involves matters like increasing attendance at funerals and consuming lunch from a straw.”

Ken Gilbert ’73

Dave Waterhouse writes, “I retired from teaching history and government at Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City after 40 years, and I am loving retirement. I can’t play basketball or tennis anymore, but I’m getting in a lot of golf, recently with Steve Lopez P’01 and Gary Burger. I also help take care of my three grandsons, Zach (5), Wyatt (2), and Daniel (1 month). In my spare time, I have been writing history books. Mass Entertainment in America: The History of Sports, Movies, and TV and The History of Los Angeles are available on Amazon and Kindle, and The World on Drugs: The Effects of Alcohol, Tobacco, Sugar, Caffeine, Opium, Cocaine, and Cannabis on Human History will soon join them.”

Les Weisbrod P’05 checked in, “Since the reunion I have been blessed with a sixth grandchild born October 1. So now my daughter and my granddaughter have the same birthday and Violet Claire Scheer was a great birthday present for my daughter Alexis who lives in Atlanta and is also the mother of 6-year-old triplet boys. Great seeing everyone at the reunion.”

Bill Cramer P’04 sent this, “My only comment is that I am looking forward to the Class of ’76, 50th reunion, many friends there. Still wondering if anyone has had contact with Richard (Rick) Longpre? I was unable to get a response last year using the contact information the College had.”

Len Apcar says, “I am happy to say that I have lived an uneventful life since the reunion!” (No mention of the deep freeze Louisiana had in late January. VB)

Mario Mainero P’10 wrote from Chapman University, “I am still teaching—they stuck me with first year law, real property for the first time because they only had one person for the three sections, so now two of us are each teaching 75 students. My wife wants me to retire this May; the school wants me to stay. I am trying to figure out if a compromise is possible. I am so sorry to hear about Bill Andrews’ passing—a very nice guy.”

Ed Heidig writes, “Beth and I took Myrna Elliott (Professor Ward Elliott’s widow) to the Pasadena Craftsman House walking tour. We had a lovely time reminiscing and learning about SoCal forgotten treasures. Steve Lopez P’01 came by during baseball season and we had lunch on the patio and remembered old times, family news and fellowship. I had lunch in Deerfield, Ill. with Scott Thompson, swapping stories from college and career.”

Finally, from Vik Bath, “It was noted in the last issue of CMC that Bill Andrews passed away in the spring of last year. I remember Bill from my years in Green Hall, and yes, he was a very nice guy. Cary Davidson wrote ‘I saw that Bill Andrews passed away. He had been our class agent for a number of years. I recall that he and I received an award from the alumni association during our senior year. He was an incredibly nice guy.’ Ed Heidig wrote, ‘I called him to encourage him to attend the 50th anniversary and we had a nice chat about career and family. Bill Andrews was gifted with a very strong faith that was his lodestar.’

“I spoke to Dave Doss recently. His daughter Julia is on the rowing team (crew) at Stanford and they won Nationals in May 2025. They hope to defend their title this year and Julia is an integral part of that defense.

“Belinda and I spent Christmas in Chicago, with our two kids and their significant others, and two grandkids. Relatively good weather on the drive from Houston, going and coming.

“Drop a line, give me a call, stay in touch. All news, respectful gossip, and life events are welcome.”

Vikram “Vik” Bath ’75

Geoff Cline sent this European update, “After eight years in France, much of it restoring and living in a 15th century logis in the Charente, we have moved to the Algarve region of Portugal. Our move was ‘inspired’ (to put it politely) by an unanticipated change in French tax practices after 40 years. The current political climate ensured that no diplomatic solution was forthcoming, so we are now learning another new language and the ins and outs of another bureaucracy ... but there is an ocean view from our rental house. On the amazing news front, we became grandparents to the beautiful Teagan in December. Everyone is healthy and happy. I am now known as Pop Pop and Sallie is Nana. Finally, I am re-reading 1984 because ...”

Doug Malcolm reports: “I’m having a great time at this stage of life, blessed with health, family and a great job. I’m healthy, no meds, not even glasses; four adult kids, seven healthy grandchildren and a great partner; I’m teaching on the faculty of an Emergency Medicine Residency in Northern California and living part-time on a boat on the San Francisco Bay. Hope everyone is healthy and happy!!”

John Weed sent this summary: “2025 was a busy year for the Weed family. In early October our daughter got married, along the Mohawk River in Upstate New York. It was a good Weed family reunion. My wife and I travelled to South America—Ecuador (the Galapagos) and Peru (Machu Picchu). I subsequently did some alpine hiking in the Swiss Alps. Here at home in Colorado Springs, I keep busy with golf, and hiking with our dog, Buster. Also, I keep busy, socially, as a Past Potentate in our local Shrine, and related Masonic activities. I am also active in our local chapter in the World Affairs Council. My wife is also busy with her book club and church activities. All the best to the Class of 1977!”

Chris Heffelfinger brought us up to speed: “While still acting as Of Counsel to my law firm for occasional projects, I’ve been winding down my involvement (securities and antitrust practice) and focusing on non-profit work. Still board chair of Nepal Youth Foundation (check out nepalyouthfoundation.org), and president-elect of Rotary of Sausalito. Just became a grandfather to Emma born on January 9 to son James and his wife Anna.”

Michael Roberts advised that he has departed the USA to become a full-time missionary in Zambia. “I will spend the remainder of my days serving the rural pastors of Zambia, Central Africa.”

Steve Rodriguez penned this prose: “I am happy to report that 48 years after last pitching for the Stags baseball team, a poem I wrote was recognized at the 3rd Annual National Baseball Poetry Festival held last year in Worcester, Mass. Worcester is the hometown of Ernest Thayer, author of ‘Casey at the Bat.’ My poem titled ‘Escapism at John Galvin Park’ celebrated an old ballpark in my hometown of Ontario, Calif. The park, used as the setting for several Hollywood movies, burned down in 2024. With Arce Field being moved to make room for CMC’s new sciences building, a couple links to my youth have recently disappeared. Hopefully, that will be rectified somewhat when the ballpark being built as part of CMC’s new sports complex opens for play."

Al Harutunian ’77

Since Hiram Chodosh is stepping down after 13 years as the fifth President of CMC, it made me think to ask my CMC Class of 1979: What memories do you have of OUR President and his wife—Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 and Jil Stark ’58 GP’11? To hype the question, I provided some Jack and Jil trivia:

• Until writing this I did not know that Jil was spelled with only one “L”.
• Jack was only into his fifth year of his 29 years of presidency when he met us. Despite us, he has been CMC’s longest-serving president.
• Jack graduated from CMC in the year that some of us were born, 1957! Jil graduated from Scripps in 1958! I guess they hold the record for most kisses on campus! Maybe that’s why under their leadership CMC became coed.
• Did you know that the Athenaeum originally started in their campus home? (That’s because they already owned a house in Claremont.)

Eric Weber P’13 wrote, “I had a very warm and interesting time with Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 and Jil Stark ’58 GP’11 at Jerry Eyrich P’83’s memorial at the Athenaeum. Jil sat next to me and Jack across and they were as they always are: warm, caring people with a sparkle in their eyes. I chatted with Jil and we exchanged that I had met them years earlier at the L.A. County Fairgrounds. What I didn’t know is that they were on the board of the fair for years. But that’s not my story. My story is about Jil’s warmth. I was nominated to talk at Jerry’s memorial. I had a speech all written. I had practiced it and thought I was all prepared to memorialize a man who had provided guidance to me at a critical time in my life and then again over my lifetime many times. Jerry and I had become quite close with my ‘Thursdays with Jerry’ zoom calls. But I didn’t count on my grief rising up almost as soon as I got up to speak. I stumbled through this speech with tears and when I was done, I sat down again next to Jil, who consoled me like my own mother would have. When I was achingly trying to read my speech with no effect, she turned to my wife, Catherine, and said ‘He’ll be fine. Don’t worry about him.’ Jil is that kind of woman who has empathy for everyone she touches. Just a caring and thoughtful wife, mother and parent figure for many boys and girls who walked the halls of CMC. I was really touched by her warmth.

“So, other than messing up at Jerry’s memorial, I have been busy traveling to Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Kenya) for a bucket list trip. In one day, we saw 34 lions and numerous elephants as well along the trip. When I’m not planning a trip, I’m busy with helping a Korean company get into the Japanese market and with helping a Japanese company sell its pet products in the USA. These business activities keep my mind active and allow me the opportunity to get up each day with something to focus my restless energy on. With 16 grandchildren (14 of whom live within three miles of the house), we are blessed and have a busy house with a constant supply of treats for kids. We are planning an Alaskan trip with some of them for this coming summer.

“I see Ron Cole, J Parsons, David Kronick, Rich Barnett, George Browning, and Evan Slawson regularly on a CMC Zoom call that was started during the pandemic. I’m in touch with Cliff Hockley and I’ve heard from Bret Vonder Reith ’80 and Charles McWells from time to time.”

Ross Baker’s favorite Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 memory is related to living in Claremont Tower (on the same floor as Whit Latimer and Scott Anderholt, and Rob “Stud” Jaffe ’80 and Jeff Kurn ’80). “I was a sophomore transfer student, in my first month at CMC. There had been a tremendous Thursday Study Break that had left most of the 12 guys on our floor pretty ‘exhausted’ on Friday morning. Most of the 12 guys on the floor had no Friday morning class or were skipping. Most of us were shooting the breeze in the common lounge when there was a call on the floor phone. Turns out one of the floor’s seniors had gotten pretty drunk and somehow made his way to the registrar’s HOME in Claremont and shouted unfortunate things in the middle of the night! The registrar went to Jack that Friday morning. Jack called the senior’s father and by 10 a.m. the father was on the phone and irate. We woke the slumbering senior to take the call and listened to his side of the conversation with his very hungover and contrite comments to his dad. The senior hung up the phone, immediately showered and cleaned up and put on the suit that none of us knew he had on campus. He then boarded the elevator to start his walk of shame to Jack’s office and then, as we learned later, to the registrar’s office. Our greatly chagrined senior reported back to us that his father had informed him and President Stark had reiterated, that if he did not apologize profusely and all but prostrate himself to the registrar, his time at CMC would be done by noon. When the senior returned, he looked like a hungover, battered, demoralized and chastened being! We were all on notice that if you knew the home address of faculty and staff, do not heckle them there (inebriated or not) or else!

“In other news, Ross reports that he and his wife Karen “toured the CMC campus in late November, thanks to classmate John Faranda ’79. We three spent a warm and beautiful afternoon lunching at Collins Hall (the food is so much better, 50 years later!); touring the new and remodeled buildings; reminiscing about Ross and John’s times in the Political Science honors course meetings at the Athenaeum; remembering Ward Elliott; and even touring the Scripps and Pitzer campuses. So, I appreciated John’s time and love our growing and deepening relationship with him and CMC! “

Guess who’s next up? Without question, the person from our class who is the closest to Jack and Jil is John Faranda ’79 who remembers the Starks as enthusiastic participants in campus life when we were students. There was a celebration on Parents Field for the 30th anniversary of the College … seeing Jil being zoomed across the grass during the wheelbarrow race was priceless! “I consider the Starks to be the prime mentors of my 41-year career at CMC. They are great friends who stay intimately in touch with hundreds of CMC alumni. I am grateful that the Starks have continued their enthusiastic engagement on the campus, with frequent attendance at Athenaeum dinners and athletic events to this day. They are a blessing for CMC and key architects of its tremendous success. Last year, I organized a big 90th birthday celebration for Jack ’57 GP’11. It was a tremendous validation of his lifetime devotion to our College.”

Stop the presses! Page 6, National Enquirer, TMZ move over, now you have to compete with the CMC Magazine! The following is a very juicy story from Jil Stark about a Class of  ’79 mate! 

Jil starts with some history: “The Ath started because a Scripps trustee asked me, since I worked in the Dean’s Office at Scripps, what the deans might like to start at the College. I said, a speaker’s program called ‘Outside the Walls.’ That idea met with a quick NO. I told Jack how sad I was. The next day Jack became acting president of CMC … he told me that I could begin my idea at CMC. The Scripps trustee was John Brown Cook, and he and his wife endowed the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at CMC. We stayed in our home, and the President’s House became the first Ath.

Another fact: Jack was so honored that he was ever made President of a college like CMC. It was a huge surprise to both of us. I was 33, Jack was 35, we had three and a half children. I was expecting number four. As our kids grew up at the College, they would often say, ‘There are four kids in our family, and another 800 at CMC!’ And they were right. So many alums are still our very best friends.”

Now Jil’s dirt: “I have a juicy story too. I will give a bottle of award-winning wine if the dear member of the class of ’79, will admit that he asked to use the Ath guest apartment for his visiting parents, but really spent three nights in luxury with his Scripps best pal, and I caught them early one Sunday morning ... whoopsie! The Scrippsie still blushes when she sees me at Scripps events.”

I dare any Class Note, ever, to beat that! No CMC President & First Lady (person) will ever top this couple!

Clint Greenbaum ’79

David Schneider writes, “I was fortunate to have two employers in my working life: I spent 30 years at CBS News, much of it at 60 Minutes, and in the middle of that I had a stint as head of Documentaries at Lucasfilm where my unit produced 100 nonfiction historical films (now freely available on YouTube). I left all that to start Sonoma Films and focus on my own projects and have discovered there’s an inverse relationship between freedom and funding. I’m also on the board of Investigative Studios, a nonprofit production company dedicated to investigative reporting, which is particularly challenging during these strange times. The good thing is that there’s plenty of things to report on. And the bad thing is that there’s plenty of things to report on. Linda Schneider ’81 is happily working at Marin Humane in surgery and our son, Ben, recently graduated from UC Davis and started working for Cal Fire this past year and is doing well and enjoying it. Life is good in our bubble and I hope all of your bubbles are good, too.”

Brian Crommie reports a favorite memory: cycling up to Crystal Lake from campus and riding the closed section of Highway 39 to Islip Saddle. “Luckily, I am still able to cycle to that area and did so last weekend. Transitioning from career in construction to retirement, currently in the ‘simplification’ process, which seems like another career all together. Still in touch with my old roommate and friend Dan Constant.” Update: Survived the Palisades fire and relocated to Brentwood from the Palisades and requests people look him up in Brentwood!

Jeff Hotchkiss reports, “Melody Hotchkiss POM ’77 and I are adjusting to retirement and our new life in Minneapolis. Great to be near kids and grandkids, but today’s windchills of -30 are a bit of adjustment from our years in Tucson. Father Dirk Dunfee ’78 spent a wonderful week with us just before Christmas. He’s currently serving at a Jesuit ecological retreat center in Toronto. We all wondered how we reached this august age! Enjoying the family gatherings, our good neighbors, our new church’s choir, and beginning to find ways to help protect the good life here in the Twin Cities.”

Steve Casselman P’07 reports he made a move counter to Jeff: moving to a Sun City, Ariz. old folks’ retirement community, NOT! “Seven golf courses, gyms, bowling, pickleball, and all of it accessible by golf cart. I consider it going back to CMC without the classes and, unfortunately, no late-night broomball or Tuesday night study breaks, although I can’t stay up that late! Live life and love it.”

Herb Bowman updates on his move, “In January of this year, I was living in Yerevan, Armenia, heading a U.S. government-funded human rights program when DOGE struck, eliminating U.S. soft power in the world and my program with it. Came back to my hometown of Durango, Colo. Not ready to retire, so went back to work as a prosecutor in our District Attorney’s Office. In my free time, I work with the American Alliance for Rule of Law (AAROL) https://aarol.org/, which encourages lawyers and others to speak up, engage, and fight to protect the rule of law in the U.S.”

Ben Waldman and I (Scott Tate) had a great extended discussion after I received this update on one of his memories from times on campus: “As current events in Venezuela and Greenland have dominated the headlines recently, I was reminded of a particular lecture given by Harold Rood in International Relations where he was discussing the power of uncertainty. Professor Rood said that the Eisenhower Administration misplayed the 1958 Caracas incident where rioters attacked then-Vice President Nixon and caused him to flee the country. He said the appropriate response should have been to have the 2nd Fleet position off the coast of Venezuela, give orders to evacuate the city, and bombard the capital. After leveling the city, he said President Eisenhower should have said ‘I’m really sorry to have done that, we’ll rebuild your city for you. But I just lost my head when you attacked our Vice President.’ Rood said ‘The rest of the world might have hated us, but they would respect us.’ He taught that there is great strategic value in foreign leaders thinking the American President is just a little crazy and unpredictable. (Scott observation: ‘Hmmm… interesting’). I was fortunate enough to take five classes with Dr. Rood over four years. His lectures were always the highlight of the week.”

Thanks Class of ’80 for all responses!

Finally, my update (Scott Tate), “Lucky to be involved with the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights (still learning from Professor John Roth), and politics in NorCal and Idaho. ‘Interesting times.’ Lori and I are still meditating and flying back and forth with new kitten ‘Fig’ but I am grounded right now after the first of two knee replacements. Exhausted from the holiday reports of Greg Lee ’81, Kevin Goodwin ’79 P’16 and Eileen Goodwin ’81 P’16, Jay Rosenlieb and Melanie Rosenlieb, Stu Ryland ’81 and Terri Ryland ’81 and Dave Mgrublian ’82 P’11 and Margaret Mgrublian P’11. Would love to hear from other old friends—Class of 80 and others. As I write, the days are lengthening and I look forward to getting back to the mountains. To all: be safe, be well.”

Scott Tate ’80

On the first weekend of November, Ken and Janie Valach and Christopher Townsend and Michele Townsend hosted their annual CMC ’82 LV Raider Reunion for a small group of our classmates who enjoyed the company of classmates they’ve known since college and others they have had the opportunity to meet and get to know.

Our dear friend Jerry Schwartz, who we lost this year, always joined the event. The group took some time to remember Jerry, shared stories and some laughs, and toasted him. His wife Karen Jacobson ’83 (an annual attendee) and one of their sons, Benjamin Schwartz were with us.

Additional Class of ’82 guests included: Meggan Knott, Cindy (Schwartz) Goldberg, Gigi Birchfield P’12, Amie (Freidlander) Yehros, Michelle (Davis) Straton, Jane Semel, Suzanne (Horenstein) Segal P’18, Pam Hinds, Frank Ferguson P’17 and Nohemi Gutierrez P’17, Dan Debevec and Sandy Debevec, Jim Gervang, Joel Jones, Jon Stott, Dennis Janssen, Lee Geiger, Charlie Klinge, Stuart Williams P’19, Doug Beighle, Mark Sotta, Ward Lennon, Kevin Ennis, Tom Pendry, Court Houseworth P’13, and Alan Spivey.

Other Classes included: Blake Isaacson ’81 and Kyle Richards ’80 with his wife Cindy Richards.

Nohemi (Gutierrez) Ferguson ’82 P’17

Hi Kids—

Shockingly, most of us are turning 65 this year—and navigating medicare. How do others manage it? The medicare web page is actually useful, and doesn’t get a secret commission for steering you. We did original medicare with Medigap/supplemental plan G for my beloved late husband, and it covered all his medical expenses beautifully, with no authorizations or networks to navigate. (It’s all about me…) Two days ago, I foolishly put a fabulous water bottle (Klean Kanteen—the twisty one with the straw) in my carry-on with my computer on a flight, and the change in pressure caused my normally leak-proof bottle to bathe my computer in enough water that I’m typing this from the Apple store, awaiting rescue. Grateful that I’m well backed up with external hard drives, but regretting that I hadn’t yet embraced the cloud… I’ll tackle that on the upcoming trip to visit Elaine Rossi, at her home in Hawaii, in the company of the lovely Karen Jacobson and Gail (Silberman) McCarthy. All four of us are doing well. Gail, husband Neal, and I just had a blast at the last Sundance Film Festival to be held in Park City, Utah. Yes, we were spotted by celebrity seekers, but they were all too polite to request our autographs. Separately, I will get to ski with Peter Hutt in Park City later this season.

Here’s the news—I’m running your paragraphs together to avoid forgivable but confusing editing misinterpretation that happened last edition…

Danilo Gurovich: “Checking in from frosty Marine City, Mich.! Winter has set in and I’m spending time in my barn restoring my two Citroen D models and a corral of old British motorcycles with my pugs and bulldog. My wife and I get out of the country twice a year, mostly to the UK. I just received my 17th(?) patent, most of them as an inventor at General Motors, where I’ve been writing code, holding Hackathons, and thinking stuff up for the last 15 years. I stay in touch with all the Berger crew, and miss those times very much as we work our way towards the back of the class notes section—seems like we were in the ‘just graduated’ side of the notes only a short time ago.... If you’re in the Detroit area, look me up!” 

Nathan Mobley, III: “Life is good in the DFW Metroplex, and the big news for 2026 is that our three-year-old grandson, Weston, and his mom (our oldest daughter Caitlin) are now living with us full time whilst his dad (SSG Malachi Campbell of the 1/7 CAV) is deployed. So, we have a ‘threenager’ in the house and life is NEVER dull! I continue to work at my firm (Andover Partners) and am starting a couple of new ventures (one in Singapore the other in Oslo), so I am still operating at my usual calm and light-touch pace. If you’re within 100 miles of DFW, let me know and we can visit (have a car, will travel)!!”

Henry Olsen: “Lots has happened to me in the last year. First, I married the brilliant Audrey Mullen last August. We honeymooned in Nova Scotia and then took a second, more extended trip to Andalusia over Thanksgiving week. I am blessed! My son, Henry IV, graduated from McGill University last June. He is going to New Zealand this year to work in a think tank in the capital, Wellington. I know where the Olsens are going this Christmas! My career keeps going forward. I am a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and write for a host of publications. I also host two podcasts, one on politics, ‘Beyond the Polls’ and the other on the divisions within the right, ‘Conservative Crossroads’. Email me at [email protected] if you want to be added to my weekly email list which distributes all my writings and podcasts. I’m planning a lot of travel beyond the NZ adventure. Phoenix this February and Hungary in April for the elections, and much more to come. Being an empty nest writer who can work from anywhere frees up cash and time!”

Tahir Khurshid: “2025 was an up-and-down year. On the bad side, on my visit home to Canada, I discovered serious arterial blockage and a large blood clot. On the positive side, I ended up staying home for just over six months with my family rather than being alone in Riyadh. Triple bypass surgery was done in September and I am now recovered by grace of the Almighty and back to work. Tossing around the possibility of retirement but keep getting talked out of it. Best wishes.”

Elaine (Crawford) Woods: “Still working for the Prescott School District and wrestling with the idea of retirement. My grandson is turning 12 in February!”

Raj Gupta: sent me a kind hello :-) as did Ken Cheuvront.

David Deeds: “Another year has come and gone. I’m still teaching and researching at St. Thomas in St. Paul and IE University in Madrid. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship and family business check out one of my projects EIX.org and Familybusiness.org. A nonprofit collection of over 1,000 pieces of content, for entrepreneurs and family business from some of the best researchers on these topics in the world. Aside from that my primary occupation is being Papa to my charming three-year-old granddaughter, Naomi Quinn Deeds. The Papa gig is a damn good gig and it keeps me humble.”

Jack Newman: “About every decade we get a student at the Austin Tennis Academy who requires extensive travel to meet the level of competition necessary to keep improving. I’ve been traveling with one such student. He’s currently ranked 316 by the International Tennis Federation. We are currently in Costa Rica and will be in the Dominican Republic in February and Palm Springs in March for the US Easter Bowl. His goal is the junior US Open in September. I’ve run into old coaching colleagues and parents of former students and made new tennis friends on this journey. Elite-level tennis is a very small world. Any CMCers visiting Austin looking for tennis, let me know.”   

I loved Chris Hulla’s comment regarding my quote “You can make new friends. You can’t make old friends.” He wrote: “You are a lady, a gentleman, a scholar and . . . a philosopher.”

Bill Service P’17: “I really like the reminder that you can’t make old friends. Our foundation is early in a review of a possible new program area we are calling: Supporting scalable advancements, acceleration, and improvement in K-5 education. We’re particularly interested in exploring how AI tutoring can work in public education, ideally among our youngest learners aged 6-9. Imagine that—getting fourth-grade outcomes by the third grade. Transformative. We’re really early but it excites my entrepreneurial instincts.   

David A. Ossentjuk: “The good news: My wife Leslie Ossentjuk SCR’85 and I will celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary this month. Our son Matt and his partner Lexie have a two-year-old daughter named Cleo. It’s true what they say about grandkids: They’re amazing when they’re in a good mood, and when they fill their pants you just hand them back to their parents. Our daughter Robin Ossentjuk SCR’13 (she was a fourth-generation legacy) is a professional designer and engaged to be married. My law practice continues to thrive. All good stuff, and a lot for which to be very thankful.

“The bad news: My long-standing end-stage kidney disease, which was first diagnosed in 1989, returned with a vengeance in late 2023. It’s a pernicious and poorly understood condition called focal segmental glomerular sclerosis. I am now back on hemodialysis for the third time since 1989 while I wait for what I hope will be my third kidney transplant. Again, though, I have a lot for which to be thankful. The physicians and medical science (particularly at UCLA) are amazing. And my family is wonderfully supportive. Best to all of you. I would write more, but I’ve hit 200 words.”

Kids, that’s the scoop for this edition :-). All good things to you all. If you didn’t get an email from me requesting updates, please email me to get on the list: [email protected] I never fundraise. I email two-to-four times a year, whenever CMC tells me it’s time.

As always, your devoted class liaison, Tammie Calef Krisciunas

Tammie Krisciunas ’83

From Joe Massoud, “Hello, CMC Class of ’89. Beth and I are now five years into our empty nesting phase here in Connecticut. If anyone is ever out of our way or in NY, please let us know. I can be reached at [email protected]. My father, Marc Massoud P’89 (85), who taught at CMC for 40+ years is also now in Westport, and it’s great to binge football on Sundays with him. Our oldest son, Nicholas (29), is engaged to a wonderful young woman, Rebecca, and they are to be married in June in Stockholm. Our middle son, Brendan (26) is in business school, and our youngest guy, Alex (23), is applying to law school—so they’ve figured out that being in a classroom beats the heck out of being in an office. Beth and I are playing lots of tennis, platform tennis and pickleball, though I currently have a rotator cuff injury that has sidelined me. In any case, all good out here, wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2026!”

From Sheri (Ward) Muntean, “Hi everyone! I’m still settled on the beach in Anacortes, Wash. I retired about five years ago and have been enjoying working at my daughter’s skateboard shop, travelling, and spending time with my kids, grandkids, family and friends. This winter one of my daughters and I went to the Philippines, and I’ve been travelling around the U.S. to visit friends and grandkids.”

Todd Thomas ’89