By Bill Sargent
Merrill Kirk Lindsay died on November 13, 2014, in Augusta, Maine, after a long illness. Following graduation he joined the army, attended the Defense Language Institute, and studied Farsi. He then taught at Union College and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Ed Cantor writes, “In 2003, my wife, Micki, was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer. Following Micki’s death, in 2011, I began to chronicle our eight-year struggle, affecting my wife as the patient, and me as the primary caregiver. The end result was a memoir published in the fall, Remember Me: Living with Cancer, A Story of Life, Love, and Courage. Even though it is about Micki and me, I felt that I had a universal story to tell because so many of us, as patient or caregiver, will face the ravages of a terminal illness.”
Roger Bessey writes, “I read with great sorrow of the passing of classmate and fellow physics major, Byron Ahlburn. In an era of the initiation of space exploration and the revolution of solid-state electronics, Byron pursued this highly technical study with exceptional dedication. . . . I was proud to be a friend and to appreciate his outstanding technical abilities.”
Nelson Kasfir says, “After six years, my wife, Liz, says I still don’t understand the meaning of retirement, but I really do. It means I no longer get a monthly paycheck from Dartmouth. I have a coedited book on rebel governance that Cambridge University Press published last October and have started a new book comparing the different ways in which two Ugandan rebel groups governed civilians in their territories during civil war. . . . I’m traveling to Kampala soon as a consultant on the Ugandan parliament. I’ve been able to see Stan Burkey, our permanent Ugandan anchor, whenever I go.” Nelson adds that he and Liz plan to continue spending time in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
Ron St. John, perhaps our most unretired retiree, reports, “Short note for what has turned out to be a totally unexpected summer. After I spent November to mid-February at the Pan American Health Organization (World Health Organization Office for the Americas) as the Ebola preparedness incident manager, I was called again in mid-June, this time by the World Health Organization, to come to Geneva to provide support for the response to the MERS virus hospital outbreak in South Korea. After a month in Geneva, I ducked out to Washington, DC, for three days at the invitation of the US National Academy of Medicine to make a presentation on global epidemics and the incident management system. Then back to Geneva for a bit, only to head off to London for a workshop on global governance for epidemics, again sponsored by the National Academy, in early September. Back to Geneva, but asked to travel to Manila to the WHO Western Pacific regional office to review the effectiveness of their response to the MERS virus in South Korea. Then, guess what? Back to Geneva for one more week as of this writing.”
Bill Bayfield was sorry to miss the recent mini-reunion in DC. “Actually I was in New Haven officiating at the Yale fall invitational golf tournament. We had the University of Minnesota, a University from Scotland, seven of the Ivies (Harvard won), and a bunch of others. I had forgotten how great the course at Yale is. Unfortunately the weather was terrible (rainy, windy, and in the low 50s), but we had a wonderful event, and Yale was a great host. Showed my wife of one year all around Yale. Penny and I had been high school sweethearts in DC as teenagers and had each lost our spouses within the last couple of years. Went from Yale to Kennebunkport to visit with George and Betsy Longstreth and Nick Trane and Mary Motis who came in from Wisconsin. You could say we had our own mini-reunion. . . . The lobsters were beyond wonderful.” George adds, “Unlike the mini-reunions, this micro-reunion had no lectures or instructional tours, just a lot of fun and laughs.”
Bruce Chabner says he has recently been in touch with Dick Linburg, Dave and Sally Hall, and John de Neufville. He adds, “I had the pleasure of playing for the 15th consecutive year in the annual Beinecke Golf Tournament at the beautiful golf course with my golfing buddy, ex-professor Joe Bertino. Unfortunately, our scores are setting course records. Otherwise, I continue to work at Mass. General, travel, and carry my wife’s camera bag.”
Warren Hausman writes that he was recently quoted in Forbes for work related to speeding up the design and production of clothing items. “Fast fashion,” he says, “entails creating and chasing faster cycles of fashion in stores at very affordable prices.” He adds, “For further expertise, consult your nearest teenage grandchild!”
Josh Taylor says that he was recently asked to serve on the Atlanta Fulton County Library board of trustees, which has responsibility for the library system serving a million-plus people with 34 branches. “This is proving to be an interesting opportunity to work with an organization in a major transition—recruiting a new executive director, finishing a major building and renovation program for 34 branches, and navigating the politics where 90 percent of the money comes from county property taxes.”
Bill Sharp writes, “Still working full time on energy management software business, owned golf courses, real estate enterprises, and law practice.”
Even though Mike Gregg, professor emeritus of oceanography at the University of Washington, retired three years ago, he was invited by several of his former students to join a five-week trip to the Arctic to understand why the ice is melting faster than expected. They discovered that the heat in the warm water entering through the Bering Strait was more than twice that of the heat loss from the sea surface to the atmosphere. Mike adds, “It was exhilarating to have the excitement of the chase again and in such a unique environment.”
Each fall Jamie McLane and Meg travel south from the Chesapeake on their trawler Wanderers Rest. They stopped in Savannah at the Isle of Hope to see Al and Barby Townsend, who put on a “mini-mini” for them. Joining them from nearby Skidaway Island were George and Betsy Longstreth, Walter and Martha Hough, and Bill and Penny Bayfield.