ALUMNI PROFILES
Gardner Gray '64
One Last Landing

James Simon '64

David Rea '71

David Melpignano '72
Taking Stock

Maura Shaughnessy '83

Jennifer Massengill '88
Cell mate

Mala Rafik '93
Cause and effect

Deb Clark Nelson lives in Darien, Conn. She works part time at General ReInsurance Corperation while squeezing in room parent duties and trips (six times a week) to the local hockey rink with her three boys. She reports that Andy Huber '79 is running one of their Darien Youth Hockey leagues and that she visited with Dawn and Peter Forman on Cape Cod last summer. . . . Jane Dibden Schwab is the senior pastor of Covenant Chapel in Waterville, Maine. Jane, her husband, David, and family recently purchased a home in North Vassalboro. She enjoyed the inaugural festivities for "Bro" Adams at Colby last fall. Jane can be reached at covch@mint.net. . . . Everett Briggs has been on an educational adventure called the New Millennium Ride. The goal of the project is to link citizens, educators and students of 50 cities in 22 countries along his bicycle ride route. Everett hopes that his journey has provided great opportunities for strengthening international and intercultural understanding between people of the U.S. and other countries. Stories, journal articles and pictures taken have been loaded onto the expedition's Web site at www.new-millenium-ride.org. He has completed his bicycle tour and is now settling into his Connecticut home. . . . David Perry reports enjoying the gender imbalance in his home. He and his wife, Julie, have two daughters, ages 3 and 1. . . . Amy Page Oberg e-mails from Barrington, R.I., that she and her husband, David, have been married for 20 years. They have six children, two in college and four teenagers. Amy works in Providence, R.I., at the law firm of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder doing corporate, business and tax mergers and acquisitions and tax avoidance counsel. She reports that her life is a great combination of family and work. . . . Linda Clark Hammons and her husband, Earl, established a military Christian center at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., in November 1997. The goal of their ministry is to share the Gospel with servicemen and women, providing Bible studies, friendship and home-cooked meals. Linda and Earl have learned the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country. . . . Larry '81 and Tina Chen Starke recently moved from Houston, Texas, to Wayne, N.J. Tina is a senior geoscientist with Foster Wheeler Environmental in Morris Plains, and Larry is a regulatory affairs scientist with Organon, Inc., in West Orange. . . . Mike Childers and wife Allison live in Chicago, Ill. Mike is the senior VP of sales for Antec Corp. They had an early Christmas present last year when Quaid Grayson Childers arrived in one of Chicago's snowstorms on Dec. 11, weighing in at 9 lbs. 1 oz. Congrats to the new parents! Mike adds that he really enjoyed time spent at reunion last June. . . . Here is an addendum to Herb Perry's news previously reported. While his job as editor at the York Weekly keeps him busy, he is involved in daughters Hannah and Jennifer's sports and activities. His wife, Kathy, is a professor of occupational therapy at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. . . . We have some educators in the Class of '80. Gerry '79 and Catie Fulton Teeven live in Coral Springs, Fla., with their children, Casey, a high school sophomore, and Ali, a seventh grader. Catie is a social studies teacher at a local high school. She enjoys making a difference in her students' lives and reports that she is a better student than she was at Colby as she takes courses toward a master's degree. She still runs every morning with their dog, Belle, a boxer. And Gerry, Casey and Ali have all been swimming competitively, Casey ranking nationally in his age group for the backstroke and butterfly. Gerry is in training to swim in a couple of marathons. . . . Tony Cunningham is a professor of philosophy at St. John's University in Minnesota. He spent the fall semester of 2000 teaching in Spiddal, Ireland, and plans to teach at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Australia, in the fall of 2001. He has a book coming out this fall on ethics and literature from the University of California Press. When not teaching, he is learning to play the fiddle. . . . Geoff Becker is teaching creative writing at Towson University in Baltimore, Md. One of his stories, "Black Elvis," was selected by E.L. Doctorow for Best American Short Stories 2000. If you are ever in Fells Point, stop by to hear Geoff play the blues on his electric guitar at the Full Moon Saloon. . . . I have enjoyed hearing from classmates. To everyone who has not contacted me, please write or e-mail me soon to share your news: 16 Oakridge Rd. Sudbury, MA 01776, or classnews1980@colby.edu. Best wishes to all for a fun-filled summer!

Charles Gordy took the position of director of planned giving at Yale University last March. Charles reports that the new job is going very well and that he and his wife, Jane, were expecting their second child in May. Their first child, Claire, is 3 and told them the other day when she was speaking on the phone that she was very busy taking several messages. Charles wonders where that comes from! They live in Guilford, Conn., in an 1840 Cape that Charles says suits them well. . . . Ellen Owens Dion and her husband, Dave, recently built a beautiful new colonial home in Marion, Mass., designed by Dave's dad, an architect. Ellen and Dave have three children, Amy, Andrew and Benjamin. Ellen is working in the Marion school system, and Dave is a naval architect. They enjoy sailing in the summer on Buzzards Bay. . . . Nancy Welsh Isbell is vice president of professional services at Broadbase in Natick, Mass. Nancy and her husband, Fred, recently went on the Broadbase president's club trip to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. They stayed at the Waikoloa Village and snorkeled and saw lots of fish. Nancy and Fred's three children are Brian, Scott and Kate. Eleanor Campbell and I are joint godmothers to Kate. All three children are involved in hockey and skating, which keeps Nancy and Fred very busy. . . . I just had my 14th anniversary working for West Group, formerly known as West Publishing, a legal publishing company. I work with the company's online product called Westlaw, which is used by attorneys, judges, law students, librarians and just about anyone who needs to do law research. My accounts include large and medium-size law firms in Boston. . . . This is the last column I will be writing for our class. I have really enjoyed hearing from you over the past 10 years, first by mail and lately by e-mail!

–Beth Pniewski Wilson

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Ann Renner Stillwater (astill@mailandnews.com) continues part-time work as a school nurse in a new district at Claymont middle school in rural Ohio. She says she's trying to work proactively and will offer stop-smoking classesfor the eighth graders who want to quit! Her husband is a high school science teacher in the same district. Their two children, ages 14 and 10, have myriad interests and activities. Ann has been dabbling in Reiki, yoga and homeopathy in an effort to deal with mild asthma and to figure out what is truly important in life. It helps a lot with sane parenting, too! The family took a 10-week trip out west and discovered lots of great geological sites. They're already beginning plans for a trip to Alaska in 2002 and welcome input from others who have driven there. . . . I was pleased at the response to my last request from certain classmates but am embarrassed that I did not ask David Condon to write; I've been wondering where he is these days. . . . E.J. Meade writes that he and his wife, Bridget, have been spending a lot of time with their two daughters, Eliot, 5, and Nora Ferris Meade, born August 29, 1999, at their home in the mountains west of Boulder, Colo. The weather at 8,500 feet above sea level is ficklethough E.J. says the spruce, pine and snow remind him of Maine. After 10 years, E.J. is taking leave from teaching at the University of Colorado College of Architecture and Planning to pursue development of Arch Eleven, the architecture and design firm he founded eight years ago. The firm has grown to eight persons, and they are working on progressive designs for residential, commercial and institutional projects around the country. Much of the work is in the West, and they are striving to build in a sensitive, sensible way in this landscape. The company was recently selected to exhibit its work in a juried competition and presented work as part of the Denver Art Museum's design lecture series. When not on the job, E.J. spends time skiing with his older daughter at the local hill, snowshoes occasionally and mountain bikes. As he reflects on his teaching experience, he says he is grateful for the teaching and patience exhibited by Bob Reuman, Pat Onion, Richard Moss, Harriett Matthews and others during his time at Colby. He took their example quite often in front of his own classroom and hopes that his words and actions have similar resonance. . . . Paul Veilleux sends news from Heidelberg, Germany, where he has been stationed since 1998 in the V Corps G-4 (Logistics). In April of 2000 he was deployed to the Balkans for six months to work in the HQ of KFOR REAR in Skopje, Macedonia (a NATO headquarters with personnel from 19 countries). During this time Paul's wife, Andi, took care of their two boys, Chris and Ryan, their cat and a golden retriever puppy. While in Macedonia, Paul received the news that he was selected to be the professor of military science and ROTC battalion commander at the University of Connecticut. Paul also has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for the job he did in the Balkans. On November 1, 2000, Paul was promoted to lieutenant colonel. . . . Kam McCully writes of Paris in springtimemassive rain and local flooding with a promise of winter being left behind. Kam has been living in Paris since 1983. Her daughter, Lucie, just turned 9. Kam keeps in touch with Catie Hobson and Kathleen Shea and would love to hear from other people. . . . Paul and Sarah Perry became PADI Divemasters last summer. They spent a week diving and touring the island of Kauai last September and found it an amazing place to scuba dive. Some of the underwater highlights included seeing turtles, dolphins, frogfish, two lionfish, a monk seal and a Spanish Dancer nudibranch and swimming in a cave with sharks. This summer they'll spend seven days diving in the Red Sea, where Sarah is looking forward to diving to the wreck of the Thistlegorm. After working as a payroll manager, with processing payroll being her primary duty for the past eight years, Sarah was excited about starting a new job as a compensation analyst at Fidelity Investments in March. Andrea Brantner joined Sarah for a drive to Diane Zavotsky's island summer home to celebrate Diane's wedding anniversary. . . . David Strage reports that in August 1998, he, his wife, Laura, and their three daughtersSonya, 11, Katya, 9, and Misha, 7moved from Geneva, Switzerland, to Sevenoaks in Kent, England. David left Digital when it was taken over by Compaq and joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as an associate partner in their electronics and high-tech group. Laura is currently senior vice president of HR for the American Internet Company Digitas. Unfortunately David has had a recurrence of the brain stem tumor, that first appeared in 1996, and he's currently treating it with several cycles of chemotherapy. He says he's determined to defy the medical community and make a mockery of their tumor statistic recovery. He is also looking forward to seeing everyone at the class reunion next year. . . . It's great to hear from those we haven't heard from in a long time, and I hope that more of you will write in! And I hope that everyone has made a note of the dates of our reunionJune 7-9, 2002. It's a big oneour 20th! You'll be receiving information in the mail throughout the year about plans for the reunion, so mark it on your calendars now!

-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

Thanks to those who took the time to write or call with news! Noble Carpenter wrote in March 2001 that he was to ski with Tyger Nicholas out in Vail, Colo. While there, they hoped to see Gates Lloyd, Billy Lloyd's brother. Tyger was bringing his son, Harry, and Noble's children Nicole and Ned were also going. Noble is managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. . . . Check out the Web site www.electricmotors.com to get a glimpse of Mike Collins's California company, Advantage Manufacturing. Mike's wife, Lyann, sent a message that Mike is well and busy at the company and that they are raising four sons in Irvine, Calif. Lyann notes that Mike's sense of humor is still quite intact and that he'd love to hear from us. . . . It was great hearing from Duncan Gibson, who is currently in New Hampshire taking some well-deserved time off. He'd been with Business Express airlines, which was bought by American Eagle. Duncan's New Hampshire headquarters were closed almost a year ago, a step Duncan anticipated well in advance, so he's been taking some time to catch up and contemplate his next moves. He remembers that President William Cotter encouraged us always to have a book at hand and has enjoyed making a dent in his extreme backlog of reading. . . . Given the freedom to write this column four times a year for the last 16 years, I have come to realize that you guys are at the mercy of my every secretarial whim. Usually I report what I hear from you, and I haven't had enough time or loss of faculties to begin to make up stories about our classmates. (Let's hope you will be able to tell when this begins to happen and intervene by getting me some professional help!) So keep the genuine news coming and we'll all be happy. In the meantime, here's one case where I feel at liberty to project into the future. As I write this column in March, the calendar says that it has become spring, but the snow still falls here in Maine, the wind is howling, the fireplace blazing. I'm seated at my computer, and one son is frantically studying while the other is off with my husband at an all-star basketball practice. I'm singing with Andrea Bocelli's compact disc, which the pets are handling well. (I never took Italian so I'm new at singing in that language.) Anyway, singing reminds me that in April, the Colbyettes will have a reunion at Colby. Colbyettes from the classes of the '50s to the present were to gather on campus to enjoy each other's company, sing, perform and reunite. From our class, Barb Leonard, Nora Putnam Dunn and I were to don purple shirts and black skirts (each group of classes in a separate color scheme) to line up and enjoy performing together again on stage. The liberty I'm taking here is to tell you that I'm certain we had a fantastic time! I'm prepared to write that those of us in attendance sang, laughed and cried together for two days. I've planned to stay in Waterville for the Colbyette reunion with Maureen "Moe" Hagerty Polimeno '84, who was my beloved roommate my senior year at Colby. (You remember that for freshman and sophomore years, Liz Murphy Kloak was my first beloved roommate in our palace in Mary Low.) I'd like to name a few of the 16 Colbyettes close to our class who sang with me during 1980-83 and attended the April 2001 reunion: Pam Ellis '81, Liz Yanagihara Horwitz '80, Sally Ludwig-White '84, Marty MacMillan '81, Ann Brachman Meltzer '84 and Dorcas Benner Riley '80. Watch for photos! . . . The winter in Maine was truly winter-ish this year, unlike many previous winters in recent history. I heard from Dan Marra and Barb Leonard, who live in Waterville and own land in Winslow, that skiing and snowshoeing were still enjoyable due to the bounty of snow. Barb also said that Dan is "neck deep" in law school. I am sure I can tell you that it was excellent to see Dan and Barb at the Colbyette reunion in April! . . . Kevin and Anne Geagan McGrath sound wonderful. Their son, Patrick, who was in a stroller last time we saw him at our Colby 15th reunion, has now turned 3. . . . Chip Rooney now lives in La Jolla, Calif., with his wife, Jan, and their son, Chase, 2; a new baby daughter arrives in July. Chip, who moved last year from Boston and loves California, remembers thinking during a rugby tour to La Jolla in 1981 over spring break, "What a great place to live!" Now he's living proof. . . . This March I talked briefly with John Lemoine, whose family had been outsideyes, you guessed itmaking snowmen. They were all well, and John and Dianne (Grundstrom '84) are busy and productive living in Saco, Maine. . . . In my never-ending search for helpers as associate class agents, some of the classmates I heard from were Diane Peterec Reynolds, Anne Edwards Westerman, Aviva Sapers, Peter Scheetz, Theresa Lynch, Paula Donahue Kerwin and Andy Hanson. . . . I hope this column finds all classmates well. Greetings to everyone! Stop what you're doing, write to me using the tear-out portion of this magazine or e-mail me (salmerchant@acadia.net), call me, fax me, come see us on Mount Desert Island, send me a post card and stay in touch. Best wishes to you all.

-Sally Lovegren Merchant

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Hi all. Kathy Musser Marshall wrote to say that she and husband Gordon '83 had their first child, a boy, on November 27, 2000. Welcome to Aidan MacGregor Marshall. The Marshalls relocated to Pomfret, Vt., from Boston in 1999, and both are exploring new career possibilities in an effort to improve their quality of life. . . . Gregory Lee Kenyon is living and working in Hollywood, Calif. He's in "the business." Gregory invites everyone to take a look at his Web site (www.gregoryleekenyon.com). I looked in, and it's very well done; it looks as if Gregory has been doing some independent films and theater in southern California and previously in New England. Anyone looking for the classic leading man should give him a buzz. . . . David Rosenberg wrote an update that he has three beautiful daughters: Shelby, 9, Amanda, 7, and Whitney, 3. David and his wife, Karen, visited Cindy and Warren Burroughs in Japan last summer. David reports that Nathan Emerson is trying to get on the buy.com golf tour, Nils Gjesteby is into one of the "purer" martial arts and is a serious body-builder, John Karoff '85 has a career in real estate and is a local public speaker on stress management, and Brian Hesse is doing well and at last report was teaching his kids gymnastics. . . . Deborah Sleeman Daniloff has moved to the Bay area. She and her husband and their three children moved to Mountain View, Calif., after her husband was recruited for a new job with a biotech company in Palo Alto. Welcome to the San Francisco area, Deborah. . . . Tom Delea wrote from Swampscott, Mass., where he's living with his wife, Pearl Singhakowinta, his son, Jackson (born at the end of 2000) and his Bernese mountain dog, Fanny. Tom is a senior consultant at PAI, an economic research and consulting organization located in Brookline. Pearl sells real estate in Boston's Back Bay and South End. They have finished the first phase of a rehab to their home and plan to start the next phase about the time this column gets to you. Tom enjoys the location of their househe's able to go to the beach all year long. He's been doing a lot of surfing and has made surf trips to Costa Rica, Mexico and Hawaii. He and Pearl planned a trip to Portugal this April. . . . Ann "Feta" Poolos Bailey is living in the D.C. area with her husband, Stephen, and her two daughters, Alexandra, 7, and Stephanie, 3. She works "virtually" for VHA, Inc. as director, health improvement. It's an alliance of not-for-profit hospitals headquartered in Dallas, but she does quite a bit of traveling. She's been keeping in touch with quite a few people from Colby but is wondering what has happened to Lore Sturgeon Davis. . . . Sally Lee has started a Web site for our class; let her know (lee@mit.edu) if you want to help or have any ideas. . . . Ian Snyder is currently acting director of defense and intelligence analysis, BTG Inc., in Fairfax, Va. In 1999, a big year for Ian, he bought a house in May, got his doctorate in international relations from the University of Maryland, also in May, and married Susan Goldstein in November. He and Susan live in Vienna, Va., and have a son, Ethan Isaac Snyder, born October 26, 2000. . . . Thomas K. Birol wrote to say that he, his wife, Cheryl, a missionary, and their 10-year-old son, Allen Herbert, are living in Vineyard Haven, Mass. Tom was promoted to station manager of a U.S. Airways facility. . . . Many thanks to those of you who wrote in, and to those of you who haven't had a chance, put your e-mail address on the Blue Light page at the Colby Web site and we'll get in touch with you about sharing what's going on in your life. Take care.

-Cynthia M. Mulliken-Lazzara

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