ALUMNI PROFILES
Melvin Lyon '52
Curious Behavior

Marjeanne Banks Vacco '62
Challenge Match

Karen Craft '77
No Place Like Home

Alicia M. Rodriguez-Connolly '78

Mary Schwalm '99
Down to the Wire

Kyle Garry '00

I had a lovely letter from Patty Root Wheeler enclosing a front-page article from the Portland (Maine) Press Herald that featured one of her daughters, Ky Wolterbeek. Ten years ago, after Ky and her husband, Jake, had raised three children of their own, they decided to adopt a little Russian child. First came Tatyana, followed a few years later by Alexis. Each girl had a defective arm, but that didn't matter. They needed a mother and a family. A year ago Ky, who had spent six months as an exchange student in Guatemala, considered adopting one more child, a baby from Guatemala. Little did she know that when she went to pick up baby Hope, a family of three abandoned children, Candy, 10, Anna, 5, and Owen, 4, would capture her heart. Who would adopt a family of three? Ky and Jake would and did. Now they have six adopted children. And Patty is learning a little Spanish and teaching Owen how to say, "I love you" in English. How very fitting. . . . Jerry Baker's fascination with ancient history, archaeology and other cultures has led him and his wife, Peggy, all over the world visiting Greek temples and theaters, the Coliseum, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Asian relics and Mayan ruins. Jerry is currently studying art and computer science at Brookdale Community College in preparation for semi-retirement in 20 years! . . . Phil Dine writes that he has stepped down as CEO of an international receivables management company and cut back to three days a week. He and his wife, Barbara, are planning their fifth trip to Italy, this time to Sicily for three weeks this fall. . . . On a sad note, Ben Sears '52 passed away in May. Nancy (Ricker) and their four children gave a lovely memorial service for Ben in Lexington, Mass., on June 1. A number of Ben and Rickie's friends from Colby were there, including Pete and Puss Tracey Tanguay, Bob and Barbara Hill Millett, Dick and Nancy Ardiff Boulter, Jane Perry Lindquist '51 and me as well as a large number of Ben and Rickie's other close friends.

--Alice Jennings Castelli

previous  |  next

Our 50th reunion is now history, and we have many wonderful memories. The following note from our class prez, Bump Bean, gives you a flavor of just what went on that weekend. Bump wrote, "102 classmates turned out for the occasion, a new 50th-reunion record and one of many records that our class was to set. Included among the returning 'old friends' whom we had not seen in the past 50 years were: Ed Bittar, Geof and Roshana (Florence) McDonell Lyford, Anne Foshay Kershaw, Mickey Rosenberg Rolland, Vivian Bryant, Barbara Hillson Abramowitz, Stan Sorrentino, Cass Lightner, Dick Bowen, Frank Gavel, Harold Baldwin and many others. How wonderful it was to see so many of our old buddies returning for this special occasion! One highlight of our celebration was the dramatic announcement that the Class of 1951 had set a new standard of alumni giving to our College, which other 50th-reunion classes will be hard pressed to emulate or surpass: We provided $315,000 to the Annual Fund over the three-year period preceding reunion itself, and we raised a total of $5,463,000 in total gifts (yes, you read that right, five million!) to the College during the same three-year period, which set an all-time Colby reunion record. Another highlight of the reunion was the appearance in the Parade of Classes of our 'Sloop Hero' float, inspired by Ed Laverty, which included members of our Class of '51 Jazz Band, who were later to be featured at our Saturday night reunion dinner. (Johnny Linscott notes that he has recorded a CD of 12 original tunes, with him on the piano and his daughter, Anne, as vocalist.) All in all, it was an exciting event that we who attended will all cherish. We missed many of you who could not join us. We thought about you and we hope that you can join us for number 55 in five years (God willing!). Cheers to you all." . . . Our new class officers for the period June 2001-June 2006 are as follows: Bob Lee, president; Jane Perry Lindquist, vice president and Alumni Council representative; Cass Lightner, chief class agent; Nancy Nilson Archibald, class correspondent for the Colby magazine. . . . At reunion, Dave Miller received the Distinguished Alumni Award for his outstanding work as an environmental scientist in the field of groundwater studies, and Ernie Fortin accepted the Michael L. Franklin Award for our class's record-breaking 94 percent participation in the Alumni Fund. . . . Please let me hear from you, especially those who did not attend the reunion, so that we can all be brought up to date on your news.

--Nancy Nilson Archibald

top  |  next

High on the list of several memorable events that occupied the Aldrich family this spring and summer was our week-long cruise and tour of Costa Rica and Panama aboard the 130-passenger Yorktown Clipper. Among the participants were family members and graduates of Colby, Bates and Bowdoin. Far from being a sightseeing cruise, the emphasis was on the ecological and sociological features of the two countries. In addition to the four guide/interpreters from the Clipper staff, the colleges were represented by faculty members who made presentations in their areas of study. Dr. Catherine Bevier from Colby's Biology Department was aboard. Cathy, who did her graduate study fieldwork in the Panama jungles, is a frog expert—and a great mimic. Studying with Cathy back on Mayflower Hill would be fun. Our travel included hikes and an aerial tramway ride through rain forests, both wet and dry, visits to a coffee plantation, a wildlife refuge and volcanoes, a two-hour river ride in a 14-passenger dugout canoe (Yamaha powered!) to a Choco Indian village and finally passage through the Panama Canal. Although more than 80 years old, the canal remains a marvel of engineering and persistence. Among the schools, Colby had the largest representation on board with 20 folks, two of whom were at Colby during our years there: Jean Hillsen Grout '49, Bradenton, Fla., and Alice Beale Gleason, '55, Simsbury, Conn. . . . . In March, Sandy Pearson Anderson and Chuck '53 left for a tour of China. They visited Shanghai, Chongqing, the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges Dam site, the latter being of special interest as it will flood the Yangtze upon completion in 2003. Although the tour was scheduled to end in 11 days in Beijing, their visit there was prolonged. Chuck developed pneumonia and spent eight and one-half days in a Beijing hospital. Although Sandy and Chuck don't recommend taking ill while in the Orient, they are high in praise of the kindness and wonderful care Chuck received. Sandy also journeyed to Colby on Reunion Weekend to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Colbyettes. Seventy former members of the group performed in concert in the chapel. . . . And speaking of reunions, is your calendar marked for June 4-9, 2002? If not, do it!

--Paul M. Aldrich

top  |  next

I am happy that I had some answers to my invitation to send in the latest news of our class, thanks to both e-mail and "snail mail." Nelson Beveridge forwarded some of the following in his best longhand. Paul Mendelsohn left Colby after completing his sophomore year, went on to Yale and graduated in 1953. At Colby he was the freshman-year roommate of Nelson and the late Phil Hussey. His career was in education as college counselor at Fieldston, a private school in Bronx, N.Y. Now retired, he spends time helping at a school in Rhinebeck, N.Y., for children "at risk," covering everything from AIDS to autism. He resides in New York City but also owns a farm upstate for weekend retreats. . . . Paul Joseph of Norwood, Mass., has been retired for seven years. He spent his entire career with the U.S. Government Office of Personnel Management. He started out as an investigator and became a division chief later. He has three children. . . . Norm Hodgkins is a retired meteorologist for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Government. He lives in Lovell, Maine, and loves fishing, hunting and skiing. He has two children. His son, a graduate of Purdue with a master's degree, does geological surveys, and his daughter has a doctorate from Antioch University. . . . Kent Dickerson, who left Colby after two years, graduated from Western Michigan University; he's married and enjoys ham radio. . . . Marcia Curtis sent me news for the previous column but did not include information about her career. Actually she had a fantastic career in medicine after she attended Boston University, Yale and the University of Florida. She was a naval officer for three years, then dean of nursing at the Medical University of Charleston, S.C. In addition, she taught marine biology at Boston University and in 1959 got her doctoral degree. . . . Peter Salmon, who plans to attend our 50th in two years, retired in 1992 from his career in banking, first with Marine Midland for 11 years, then Key Bank in Watertown, N.Y. He has four children. His wife died in December 2000... Nelson also was in touch recently with Joe Bryant, who is still enjoying his golf game. He told Nelson that he heard that Stan Doughty '54 taught history at Lisbon Falls in Maine for 40 years. Joe has four granddaughters. . . . Harry O'Brasky retired from T.J. Maxx five years ago. Harry e-mailed me that he has been doing some traveling to his wife's homeland in England as well as to Scotland, Europe, western Canada and Alaska. Between them Harry and his wife have eight children and 12 grandchildren. Lately he has been taking some courses at Framingham State College. He resides in Midway, Mass. . . . I had three e-mails at the end of May from Loretta Thompson Staples, Electra Paskalides Coumou and Charles "Chuck" Spencer. "Tommie" reports that she had plans to be riding in a hot air balloon on June 9 to celebrate the 70th birthday of Carolyn English Caci. Electra is enjoying retirement; she and Karl took a tour last summer down the Danube and Rhine, starting in Amsterdam and ending in Vienna. This spring they took a fabulous trip in Turkey, renting a car to drive the Aegean coast to the Mediterranean and finishing at Istanbul. Joyce (Whitham '54) and Chuck Spencer are still taking trips from their Colorado home. He mentioned that they went to Florida in March and April; they found Gil Tallmadge in Port Charlotte and Ned '51 and Barbara Hills Stuart '54 on Casey Key. At the end of their trip they cruised on a commercial ship through the Panama Canal and some Caribbean Islands on the way back to Florida. They already have plans to charter a 36-foot bareboat out of St. Maarten with Joyce's brother and his wife in January 2002. . . . Bon voyage to all.

--Barbara Easterbrooks Mailey

top  |  next

Last December Georgia "Gig" Roy Eustis completed certification as a legal nurse consultant and also was working for the Broward County (Fla.) Elder Program. She was looking forward to seeing the Powleys, Wallingfords and Huprichs, all from our class at Colby, on the Maine coast this summer. . . . Lois McCarty Carlson writes that she retired from college development in 1997 and now consults with colleges and universities for their capital campaigns. Her husband died a couple of years ago and she now lives in the Cape Elizabeth (Maine) house that had belonged to her mother and father. She has a son and daughter and four grandchildren, all living in New England. Lois described skiing last winter in Sun Valley with Jan Holland Smith, frequently seeing Nancy Fortuine Westervelt and meeting with other Colby classmates at Sue Smith Huebsch's home in Nonquitt, Mass., each summer. . . . Ted Turchon reports that he got tired of being retired and is now a placement consultant with a company in Orlando (Fla.) that finds jobs for ex-convicts, work he finds very rewarding. He and his wife, Luly, have a son living in Florida and a daughter living in N.H. . . . Bill and Penny Thresher Edson toured 2,100 miles through Scotland and Ireland last year with Frank '53 and Judy Jenkins Totman. The Edsons keep busy at home, too. Bill, who is now retired, golfs, coaches a 12-14-year-old boys basketball team, gardens, works out, works on his computer and plays with his grandchildren. Penny is a resident advocate for the elderly in five facilities for the Ventura County (Calif.) Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, acts as a docent at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and participates in two tennis leagues. She says she is still plugging away at golf, but "time spent with the grandchildren is the best." Judy also has written about the trip to Scotland and Ireland with the Edsons, describing it as "a memorable three weeks." She and Frank returned just in time for the birth of their ninth (!) grandchild. They both continue their involvement with the Kittery Art Association, which is working to rebuild a fire-damaged building. Judy pursues art and volunteers at the Women's Lunch Place, a daytime shelter for women in Boston, while Frank helps people with their taxes. . . . Colby (Judy) Thompson Lowe still does substitute teaching several days a week. Her husband, Tony, who has a part-time retirement job, is on a condo board, and Judy participates in a couple of book groups. They were planning a trip to Alaska this year. . . . The Educational Foundation Name Grant Award was presented to Merrillyn Healey Decker at the annual dinner meeting of the Greater Bridgeport, Conn., branch of the American Association of University Women last May. Merrillyn was president of the Bridgeport branch for two years. . . .  I hope you will all read this before Christmas and remember me with your Christmas letters so I can put your news in future columns.

--Helen Cross Stabler

top  |  next