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

It has been 25 years since our class started at Colby. Do you remember your freshman year? Here are some of your 25-year-old memories in response to our recent class newsletter. . . . Tina Chen Starke remembers listening to Frampton Comes Alive and Boston's albums while living in "Fort Weird." Tina and Larry '81, whom she met freshman year, recently traveled to Cuba as part of a cultural exchange. . . . Ron Levine remembers adjusting to an environment where classmates came from very different backgrounds. Ron lives in Cambridge, Mass., and works as an engineer/scientist at Mirror Image in Bedford, Mass. He spends his free time playing tennis and bike racing and has traveled to China, Morocco and Iceland. . . . Dan Berger's favorite memories are of listening to a band in the Colby pub, then walking to Dunkin Donuts in Waterville on a freezing cold night. Another highlight was the Tau Delta Beach Party, "which had to be experienced to be believed." . . . Mimi Brodsky Kress keeps in touch with freshman friends Debbie Pugh Kelton and Gretchen Huebsch Daly by traveling north to Maine every summer. She also keeps in touch with Paul Faulkner. Mimi lives in Bethesda, Md., where she works as a custom homebuilder and spends time with her husband and children, ages 6 and 11. She does charitable work with homeless pre-schoolers and reads a lot ("Charlie Bassett would be proud!"). Her memories are of partying at KDR and hanging out in the quad. . . . Dan Salimone's funny memories of Colby are unprintable! Dan's news is that he was married in January '01 in Huntington Beach, Calif., to Leilani Alfaro. He works as a surgical tech, and Leilani is an operating room nurse in San Jose hospitals. They recently took a honeymoon/surf safari vacation in the Hawaiian Islands (Leilani's birthplace). . . . Wayne Lang remembers the (wild) fraternity parties. Wayne, a biologist, skis and windsurfs near his home in Pacifica, Calif. . . . Nancy Kennedy Escher met many of her Colby friends freshman year. She lives in Bristol, Conn., is a career center coordinator and enjoys spending time with husband David and their three boys. . . . Jay Moody, who writes from Falmouth, Maine, keeps in touch with frosh friends Warren Pratt, John Carpenter and Ted Reed. He remembers KDR parties, enjoyed attending last year's reunion and says, "Everyone should show up for our 25th in 2005--I hear that the '80 KDRs are throwing a party!" Jay works as a geologist and skis, fishes and cycles with his family. . . . Lisa McDonough O'Neill lived in Johnson Hall freshman year. Suze Connolly Levere was her roommate, and they have been the best of friends ever since. She began the year being freaked out by crossing the hall to the bathroom in her robe; by the end of the year she was skinny dipping in Johnson Pond with friends. . . . Bob Motley reports that he is still in touch with freshman friends. He recently purchased a 230-year-old farm in Woodstock, Conn., where he enjoys life in the country with his wife and two children, working in real estate, traveling and gardening. . . . Lisa Paskalides Grimmig and her husband, Mark, had their third son, Daniel Peter, in April '01. He joins brothers Chris, 14, and Ben, 10, in Summit, N.J., where Lisa spends many afternoons driving and spectating at various lacrosse and soccer games. She has been volunteer teaching math, art and reading in a fourth grade classroom in Newark and has helped to establish a center in her community that provides baby supplies to the needy. . . . Rebecca Brunner-Peters (aka Becky Peters) writes from Switzerland, where she lives with her husband and daughter, Nicole, 6. They recently bought a home, and she is a Swiss-U.S. dual citizen. Becky is U.S. legal counsel at Credit Suisse in Zurich. She finds traveling in Europe on vacation easy due to Switzerland's central location and recently spent a long weekend in Salzburg, Austria. She would like to hear from her former roommates Kelley Keefe Slavin and Mary Lynah Bishop. . . . Peter Forman is the chief of staff for acting Gov. Jane M. Swift in Massachusetts. Peter served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 14 years, eventually becoming minority leader. He also has held positions as Plymouth County sheriff and deputy secretary of administration and finance. Peter lives in Plymouth, Mass., with his wife and three children. . . . Please continue to send me your news!

--Lynn Collins Francis

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More than 70 of us returned to Mayflower Hill for our 20th reunion last June! Twelve classmates attended who had never been to a reunion before. The weather couldn't have been better. Many thanks go to class president Faith Bramhall Rodenkirk, who spent a lot of time contacting classmates and coordinating business trips east to plan the reunion from her home in Wisconsin. Many of us gathered in the old Lambda Chi house (now called Treworgy!) on Friday night to renew old friendships. Saturday morning we marched in the parade of classes and then ate lobster in the re-built field house. . . . Eleanor Campbell gave a lecture on dog training and obedience in the afternoon with her dog, Sydney, who traveled with her from New Jersey. Saturday night we ate in Roberts, the non-disco side. . . . Charlie Bassett, our speaker, talked about his native South Dakota affectionately and reminded us that it is cooler there than in Waterville! . . . A group of Colby graduates called After 8 sang for us during dinner. They are graduates from between 1990 and 1999 who sing regularly in the Boston area. . . . Faith passed the role of class president on to Jim Bourne, who now has the task of organizing our 25th reunion! (Jim, it's never too late to start planning.) Jim passed on the role of vice president to yours truly, which means I will represent our class on the Alumni Council. I am looking to pass my correspondence pen (keyboard?) to someone, because Stephanie Vrattos will not be able to pick it up. Is anyone interested? . . . Many thanks also to Laura Littlefield Bourne for being our class agent for so many years and doing a great job. Our class had a record for the 20th reunion with a 51 percent participation rate. . . . Two of our classmates now work at Colby, Meg Bernier and Lisa Hallee. Meg is associate director of alumni relations and also was instrumental in planning our reunion. Lisa is also working in development as a major gifts officer. Lisa recently bought a house outside of Waterville on a lake and is enjoying it. . . . Also living in the Waterville area is Alison Jones Webb, whose husband teaches at Colby. . . . Linda Clifford Hadley and husband Bill were up from their home in Longmeadow, Mass. Bill's firm is one of my accounts in the Springfield area so we catch up about once a year. . . . Bob Ryan and Cindy Soder Bourely get the award for traveling the farthest--from San Francisco and Paris respectively. . . . David Ryley was back for his first reunion and very tan from just having returned from vacation in Florida. . . . Steve Pfaff and Darlene Howland came with their two adorable children, Stephen, 3, and Caitlin, 1. Fred and Nancy Welsh Isbell came with their three children: Brian, who turned 13 during the reunion, Scott, and Kate. Kate had lots of attention that weekend--Eleanor Campbell and I are her joint godmothers. . . . Jean Siddall-Bensson is busy with her medical residency, but her daughter Mara came with her godmother, Judy Greene Stewart. Judy is living in Needham, Mass., and also came with her daughter and husband. I saw David and Amy Haselton Bolger in the distance at the lunch but didn't get a chance to speak with them. . . . Bruce and Ellen Reinhalter Shain, Doug and Amy Parker Cook and Dan and Liz Pizzurro Ossoff all came with their children. . . . Lynn Bruen Winter and her husband, Adam, came from Northboro, Mass., with their two children, Ethan and Meghan. Lynn is busy as a member of the school committee. . . . I also got to catch up with my old roommate--Liz Stiller Fahey came from Washington, D.C., with her husband, Kevin '80. . . . Thanks to everyone for coming and making it such a fun weekend. I'm sorry I'm not able to mention everyone who was there. The weekend went by much too quickly, and I wish I could have spoken to more people!

--Beth Pniewski Wilson

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Ellen Smith Sicard and husband Chris returned from China December 4, 2000, with their new daughter, Meili Ellen Sicard. Meili was born February 27 and adopted November 27, 2000. To their surprise, Meili was a little powerhouse who started walking 10 days after their return home! Like any proud parents, Ellen and Chris expect her to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound any day now! By far, Ellen says, this is the best thing that she has ever done in her entire life. She has never worked harder or been happier. This past spring Tracy Harris and Laurie Avery Caley came to meet Meili and to visit. Both are doing well. . . . Wesley Martin lives in East Sandwich on Cape Cod with wife Martha (Merrifield '85), and their two children, Luke, 9, and Matthew, 5. Luke is into sports and loves to read, while Matthew, who loves all things with math, starts kindergarten this fall. Wesley is 90 percent retired from practicing law and very happy to be away from it after 12-plus years. He is currently teaching some law courses and more recently some math at local colleges (he's certified to teach math grades 5-12 as well). Martha teaches English at the Sandwich High School, and Wesley coaches the girls tennis team and will be teaching tennis at the Hyannisport Club. . . . Bruce Fields lives in Westport, Conn., and works in New York at a merchant bank. He runs a desk that trades export receivable notes and syndicated loans. Bruce travels a lot- mostly to Latin America and Europe- but always looks forward to spending more time at home. His daughters are 5 and 8 and planned to spend their summer at camp, with a break on the Cape in August. Bruce ran into former professor Frank Miller in New York, where he is now the chair of Columbia University's Russian studies. Bruce reports that he looks the same as 20 years ago and still tells a good ribald joke. Bruce would like to hear news of Mike Marlitt and Jennifer Batson. . . . Steve Trimble recently switched positions within Fidelity and now manages software development for the Intranet. He spends his free time helping his wife, Andrea, taxi their daughters (Melissa, 7, and Lauren, 5) to ballet and soccer, with 18-month-old brother Eric tagging along. This past June Steve planned to bike 150 miles for the eighth year for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Steve keeps in touch with Ron Miolla, who has relocated with his family from Plantation, Fla., to the Portland, Ore., area. . . . We had a planning meeting in May for our 20th reunion scheduled for June 7-9, 2002. One person who was unable to attend was Claire Brovender Liliedahl. Claire gave birth to twins, Matthew and Jessica, on May 18. These long-awaited siblings join their big brother, Jake, and father, Dan. Claire is looking forward to seeing many people next June at the 20th reunion and hopes that everyone is putting the date on their calendars and planning on being there, kids and all. Last November Claire, Sarah Fox Whalen and Cathy Smith Badmington gathered at Ellen Huebsch Anderson's. They had a blast reminiscing about all the old times and talking about times to come. Claire is thrilled that her twins will have a peer in Ben Huebsch Anderson. Claire and Susan Wechsler Atkins had a relaxing girls weekend last January in Susan's "not so" new digs in Chicago. . . . Dan Ferguson is living in Cumberland, Maine, working at Bath Iron Works. He and his wife, Janet, have three children, Sam, 11, Catherine, 8, and Jonathan, 3. Dan is busy at work, spending most of his time at Bath with occasional trips to the General Dynamics electric boat shipyard in Groton, Conn. Janet is busy at home and also volunteers as an aerobics instructor at the Freeport YMCA. Sam participates in hockey, band and baseball; Catherine enjoys dance and has taken up lacrosse. Dan frequently runs into Mike Fraser '83 in the Portland area, and they hook up for some skiing as well. Mike and Dan heard from Ed Ludwig last summer, and the three of them got together for a day on Sebago Lake with Steve Brown. . . . Patty Roscoe Slattery is busy! Last year she started an M.Ed. with certification for teaching elementary education while still working full time. This spring she took a leave of absence from work to do an intensive practicum and seminar, then went back to full-time work and course work. Patty is a little out of touch with old friends, as all her free time is devoted to her kids. She ran into Janice McKeown at a wedding and enjoyed catching up with her. She looks forward to catching up with more Colby friends. . . . Terry Smith Brobst was promoted to assistant vice principal in the commercial department of Banknorth, Inc., in Portland last February. Terry lives in Freeport and serves on the town residential growth management committee. . . . Daniel Shagoury and wife Juliet (Blake '86) live in Hallowell, Maine, with their two children, Joseph, 8, and Spencer, 6. Dan is a lobbyist for the Area Agencies on Aging, The Child Care Directors Association and the Maine Association of Mental Health Services. Juliet is a full-time mom, part-time conference planner and marathon runner. . . . I hope that people are getting in touch with old friends and planning a trek up to Waterville June 7, 2002, for our 20th reunion! See you there!

-Mimi H. Rasmussen

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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Sally Lovegren Merchant
24 Easy Street
Mt. Desert , ME 04660
207-244-0441
fax: 207-244-9445
classnews1983@alum.colby.edu

Roberta Bloom lives in Huntington, Conn., with husband John Boath and son Ian. Roberta commutes to White Plains, N.Y., where she is manager of product safety and scientific support at Combe Incorporated (the world leader in men's hair color). . . . I hope to reunite classmates through these pages and beyond. Some of my e-mail messages reach many of you; some are rejected because I have an outdated address (or you haven't shared your e-mail with me). But in June I reached many of you who were willing to write back. For instance, the 40th birthday celebrations of Jenny Knoll Bouchard, Jan McDonnell Trafecanty, Diane Therrien Lamper and Chris Marshall Gaudette were cause for the gals to get together at Lake Winnipesaukee in June sans husbands or children. . . . Noble Carpenter and Tyger Nicholas took Tyger's son, Harry, and two of Noble and Mariellen's four children to Vail to ski. Noble and Mariellen live in Bronxville, and he works in New York City running the real estate services firm office of Jones Lang LaSalle's Capital Markets Group. Noble was also the guest of Mark Federle '81 at a golf tournament at which they won their flight. . . . John Northrop was planning a July birthday party in Vermont for turning-40 types, of which John was one. He had just seen Phin Gay for a boating trip near Phin's in Newburyport. John works from his home in St. Albans, Vt., as business development manager for Logical Corporation of Cincinnati. . . . Chris Easton finished his Ph.D. in January at the Graduate School of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Department of Biological Sciences. Chris's dissertation was titled "Development of an in vitro fat body cell system for asserting hormonal regulation of antifreeze protein production in the beetle, Tenebrio molitor." An article he co-wrote this summer with his son's pre-kindergarten teacher appeared in Fire Chief Magazine titled "Preventing Fear During Fire Safety Education for Pre-School and Early School Age Children." . . . Rick Hemond lives in Acton, Mass., with wife Beth (daughter of Colby's Dorothy and the late Bob Reuman) and their daughters. Rick is the director of business development for an electronics materials company called Shipley. He stays in shape by running a lot and has completed three marathons. . . . I have an e-mail address for Karla Hostetler, who would love to hear from some of you, so contact me about her e-mail address (and remember, it's easy to look up classmates on Colby's Online Community; sign in and update your info there). Karla is a senior program director for Aid to Artisans, Inc., and for several years has been directing a USAID-funded export development program in Haiti. Over the past 11 years, Karla has worked in about nine different countries, returning home when she can to Waitsfield, Vt. Some of you will remember Karla's faithful friend, Ollie; Ollie is still with her. . . . Close to finishing his M.B.A. with the University of Phoenix Online is Andy Luce in Cambridge, Mass. Andrew commented that online education is quite good for certain disciplines, but it won't replace the B.A. anytime soon. Andy works in Framingham as the director of prepress for Bay State Press. He and his wife, Kendall, have three children. . . . Colby often sends me packages of newspaper clippings and articles. Most these last two years involve Linda Greenlaw and scores of clippings about her success and career as a fishing boat captain and author. . . . I received an article from the April 9, 2001, Investment News with the headline: "One on One: If the Fed has trouble forecasting interest rates, why should I think I can?" The interview was with Maura Shaughnessy, manager of MFS Investment Management's $6.19-billion Capital Opportunities Fund and $2.67-billion Utilities Fund in Boston, Mass. All kinds of numbers and percentages describe her accomplishments, but her delivery in that article and her straightforward responses speak best to Maura's amazing tenacity and success. She has had a fantastic career with MFS and prior to that worked for Harvard Management Co. and the Federal Reserve. Perhaps she would lead us at reunion in 2003 in a discussion about investing. A panel with other classes of this type is the sort that many enjoy attending. Maura, please stay in touch with us. . . . When I heard from Deb Bombaci Pappas in mid-April, they were ready to go on vacation to Marco Island in Florida. The little guy, Matthew, had been sick so many times this past winter and Deb had been so busy with her new job that they were all ready to hop on a plane. She is chief marketing officer for Inceptor, Inc. in Maynard, Mass. . . . If you have any suggestions for the moments when we can actually take a few minutes to read, by all means send me your ideas. Jenny Stringham Ward suggests The Tent, calling it "wonderful." Among other activities, Jenny coached her son's baseball team this spring and loved it. . . . Duncan Gibson has taken a job with Provincetown Deluxe Tours, which he says is geared towards the 45-year-old-plus gay and lesbian traveler. They offer special cruises and tours worldwide and plan about 75 for 2002. Duncan is excited to start with the new company and happy to land full time in town. He also may start a part-time position in the Julie Heller Gallery. Duncan says this is the gallery from which to learn about the Provincetown art colony back to the beginning. . . . Please keep the mail headed my way. My best to everyone, and good luck to all!

--Sally Lovegren Merchant

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Hello to everyone. Sonia Kaloosdian Hale wrote from Wellesley, Mass., where she is living with her husband, Brian, and their three daughters, Alexandra, 6, Julia, 4, and Emily, 1. Sonia wrote that Emily arrived last year and is enamored with her two sisters. Prior to having children, Sonia and Brian traveled liberally but are now enjoying family life. Sonia has returned to her first true love--fine art--and has been doing pastel and oil portraits of children and families. Her family has been enjoying Maine and planned to return to Kennebunkport this summer. . . . Maura Cassidy has been traveling the globe, more specifically the South Pacific. She took the long way home, stopping off in Austin, Texas, for the South-by-Southwest concerts and then in Florida for some sailing around the Keys. She's back at Fidelity in the Internet group, doing customer research and analysis. She reported running into Bill O'Neil on the street; he and his wife, Harriet, are back from South America and are living in downtown Boston. . . . Pam Hiscock wrote from Minneapolis, where she is a pastor at Cedarcrest Church in Bloomington, Minn. The church is one mile from the "world famous" Mall of America, and the neighborhood is quite multicultural. Last summer she was ordained as an elder in the Free Methodist Church of North America. Pam had the opportunity to attend and teach at Amsterdam 2000, a conference hosted by Billy Graham for 12,000 Christian workers around the world. Her workshop (A Woman's Call) was attended by approximately 80 people from around the world. Ever the English major, Pam still enjoys reading but has added gardening and pottery to her past-time list. . . . Sally (Sarah) Ludwig White was compelled to write after attending the 50th anniversary of the Colbyettes. She was able to get a rare two nights away from her husband and five children. She reports that Maureen Hagerty Polimeno, Sally Lovegren Merchant '83, Barbara Leonard '83 and Nora Putnam Dunn '83 represented our "time period" at the Colbyette reunion along with 50-plus others from the classes of '52 and up. After lots of rehearsal, they performed with the present Colbyette group and some of the guys' groups in Lorimer Chapel to a nearly full house. It sounds like she had a great time, but she wished Sue Palmer Stone and Ann Brachman Meltzer had been there, too. . . . Derek Tarson wrote to announce his acceptance at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey. He was to leave his current job at Debevoise and Plimpton in July and move to New Jersey to attend school full time. At the present time he's planning to focus on bankruptcy law but says "this is subject to change at almost any moment." . . . Sally Lee has announced the grand opening of the Class of '84's Web site! Please log on to the Colby Web site and click your way over to our very own little corner of the Web. We've got it all: a chat room, a directory, etc. Thanks to Sally for all of her hard work and energy in making this possible. . . . I'd love to hear from more of you, so write in soon!

--Cynthia M. Mulliken-Lazzara

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