Sandy Arens: “DeeAnn and I enjoyed the trip of our lives to Hawaii. … Our class correspondent made the Big Island very special, and we thank you for wonderful hospitality. Your ranch and island are a piece of paradise.” * Bill Byers: “Susi and I hop-skipped down the Atlantic coast to Jacksonville, Fla., for Easter, setting us up for a turn to the West. Birding spots and arboreta led us through Alabama and Texas to the Mescalero Apache Reservation in Taos, N.M. Celebration time, with son and grandchildren receiving degrees and diplomas. Our ‘Eastward Ho’ trip takes us to Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, and back to Connecticut. Would like to know if Colby grads are along our route. I’d wave a hand and ‘have a jar’ with those inclined.” * Wilhelmina (Willie) De Kadt Juhlin: “Recently I took a ‘search my roots’ trip to the Netherlands. There were 10 of us, five adults and five kids ages 7 to 14. We traveled to France and Iceland, but our focus was on Holland, where we had a fantastic reunion with my two ‘hiding sisters,’ the biological children of the couple that took me in as their own to hide my identity as a Jew from 1942 until mid-1946 during the Nazi occupation of Holland. As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy for them. In fact, it was a selfless act and at times quite dangerous. While I was at Colby I never realized I was a hidden child. The term wasn’t coined yet. My ‘sisters’ are now in their 80s. I was 2 when I went to live with them and 6 when I immigrated to New York City but have remained in contact over the years. My family started planning this trip two years ago so they could meet them and make this ‘hidden child’ story real for my grandchildren. The long-anticipated day finally arrived, and we took a train from Amsterdam to Dordrecht, where 25 of us met for a long lunch, the 10 of us and 15 of my extended ‘hidden child’ family. It was truly a wonderful reunion for children and grandchildren from both families.” * Bob DiNapoli: “1) 74 and still above ground; 2) Can’t complain; 3) Two years cancer free. Thank God for modern medicine!” * Dan Hodges: “Since 1965 I’ve been living in Eugene, Ore. After teaching sociology at our local community college through 1978, I ran the counseling department’s testing office and stayed at that job until retiring in May 2003. Since then, I’ve compiled family history material and volunteered at GED testing, and I’m currently tutoring math for students working toward their GED and scanning color slides at the local historical museum. My wife and I walk, use a gym, enjoy nature and gardens, read a lot, and watch Downton Abbey DVDs.” * George Nix: “Our daughter, Andrea (Nix Fine) ’91, will receive a Colby honorary degree during graduation weekend. She and husband Sean Fine won the Oscar for Best Short Documentary in 2013 for their film Inocente. Her mother, Cile Tougas Nix ’63, and I will be there cheering!” * Gene Rainville: “Margaret and I enjoyed two months in Aspen—the best season in 30-plus years of skiing in Colorado. Leave South Carolina for New Hampshire in June to see Frank D’Ercole on Lake Winnipesaukee, then to Europe in July, visiting friends in Austria and Italy. We count our blessings daily, as our health remains sound and robust.” * Ed Ruscitti: “Last July I remarried. I met Paula, graduate of both Wheelock College and Stanford University, online, and we are happily compatible. My son commented that she is perfect for me and it only took 60 years to find her! We love to travel; last fall I took her to see our alma mater. Of course, she was duly and understandably impressed. We had a picnic beside Johnson Pond, and it was exquisite.”
Summer 2014