Our class has been busy. I enjoyed hearing about the incredibly varied and interesting things people are up to, and I hope you also will enjoy these class notes:
Jonathan Bernstein hopes everyone is well and safe and has been or will be vaccinated soon. The vaccine is safe and effective, and the benefits far outweigh any risks or harm to you. This past year he welcomed two new grandchildren (Ezra Lev and Ruby Sophia), who were born and live in Chicago and Brooklyn, NY respectively. He and his wife now have 4 grandchildren. Recently Jonathan was elected as Secretary/Treasurer of the AAAAI (the largest Allergy Immunology Organization in North America with 7,000 members), which means he will be President in 2023. His fifth book was recently published entitled Primary and Secondary Immunodeficiency: A Casebook for Clinicians. Jonathan’s son Joshua ’10 is finishing his internal medical residency at Rush in Chicago and starts a fellowship in Allergy Immunology at National Jewish Hospital in Colorado in June. His youngest daughter Caren got married last year during COVID – with only 12 people in attendance. They hope to have a big party this year if all goes well with COVID. Jonathan regularly keeps in touch with Dave Erteschik ’79, Greg Sesler and Dave Rose, and is looking forward to our next face to face reunion.
After 40 years in the classroom, Kerry Hall’s teaching career is winding down. He’ll be semi-retired starting in June, with more time to see family, travel, read, bike, and play tennis. The last 15 months of remote and hybrid teaching has been a challenge, but he is feeling fortunate that their daughter has come back to live with them while working remotely.
The Covid crisis and WFH allowed Annmarie and Clark Kinlin to spend lots of time together, which was an excellent warm up for his upcoming retirement from Corning after 40 amazing years. Clark is looking forward to seeing more Kenyon friends and serving on the board of the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Covid also brought the unexpected gift of their three sons choosing to hibernate at their upstate NY summer home.
Jay Anania reports that he retired from the US Foreign Service in 2015. He recently rejoined the Organization of American States as the head of administration, a position he previously held until 2017. The OAS is the oldest regional international organization and its member states work to address many pressing issues, including human rights, transnational crime, promotion of democracy, and development. He is pleased to be working virtually and looks forward to a few more years of work while not commuting daily into downtown Washington, DC. Like everyone, Jay is looking forward to a post-pandemic life reconnecting in person with Kenyon friends.
Frank Spaeth is still living the "CA dream" of a boy who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. All 3 kids have flown the nest to college and Kim and Frank have relocated to the beach in Oxnard Shores (1/2 way-ish between Santa Barbara and LA). Frank is working for the company he founded 20 years ago and eventually sold to his employees through the ESOP process. Surfing, paddle boarding, biking and snowboarding make up the rest of his activities. Until Covid, Frank was getting together with Mac Durrett, Chris Bartlett, Sam Adams, Walker Bagby, Mark Robinson, Wells Smith, Tod Colbert and Gates Lloyd every year in various locations around the country, and he hopes to resume those trips this fall.
After 35 years as a Special Ed teacher, 26 years in Cornwall, CT, 2 very grown-up sons (1 a Navy vet, the other still in), 2 wonderful daughters-in-law and 3 beautiful grandbabies, Sukie (Shaw) Hatcher is looking forward to just 3 years until retirement. That all adds up to a pretty darned good life!
Greg Sesler is enjoying the month of March down in Sanibel, Florida with his wife, Beth, and watching their four kids - who are scattered across the US now - as adults as they get themselves established. Greg and Beth enjoyed the company of their second daughter Jennifer with her boyfriend for two weeks in Florida. Greg is starting to think about retirement and what that will look like. He is inspired by a recent biography he read on Benjamin Franklin, who retired at 48 and went on after that to do most of the great things he is now remembered for. Greg notes that it’s been a strange year with Covid - especially for people with gregarious personalities. He hopes that all in the class are staying healthy.
For the last year, Susan (Jones) Oakes has been happily working from home and NOT missing the commute to downtown Denver. She manages her firm’s Denver office, which means that she gets to “talk” to people about wearing masks if they “forget” to while in the office. Such fun. After getting a new knee in November 2019, she was excited to get back to the slopes in February, only to have the mountains shut down after only two days of skiing (and the day before her family’s week-long ski vacation in Vail). She is trying to make up for it this year. Sue did get a lot of biking in last summer (another good thing about no commute). Putting off travel for what looks like will become almost two years has been sad – but it allowed her to start a long overdue kitchen remodel. She is looking forward to seeing the Colorado members of the Class of ’81 at a get-together in May!
Still in the online news publishing biz, Nancy Collings has been working for Advance Local for the last 25 years, and more recently has been working on developing her fine art. Nancy’s husband and daughter are both in the film/TV business in NYC. Like everyone else, she is tired of working from home but does not miss the commute! She notes they are in the midst of a huge renovation project on a barn in NJ that will hopefully be done someday…. Nancy remains far too busy but is hoping to start traveling more someday. She and Mary Stockton ’82 are starting to plan a meet up with our old roomies Heather Peck and Patty Lynn before another decade goes by.
After 20 years of independent school work, Lee Johnson Sprague is getting ready for her next adventure: retirement! She would love to hear some tips from fellow alums who have already taken the plunge or who are also thinking about it.
Wendy MacLeod spent the pandemic in Gambier and New Hampshire, where her social life was largely walking the dog with friends. She’s been doing online yoga with two wonderful LA instructors and online Zumba with her local friends. Wendy has continued teaching in person - with windows ajar and masks on. She has been commissioned by the National Theatre of Genoa (Italy) and her monologue White Pants is being done in Period Piece, an online piece of Zoom theater (for now), with an all-female roster of playwrights. Wendy has also written two TV shows--one an hour long drama and the other a half-hour comedy. Her former student Will Arbery ’11 was a Pulitzer finalist this year!
Matthew Richey is finishing his 34th year of teaching at St. Olaf College (a liberal arts college located on top of a hill in a small Midwestern town) and first (and hopefully last) year of full-time on-line teaching. He is looking forward to a full-year sabbatical next year. It's been a tough year.
40 years ago, Chris Bartlett left Gambier for NYC to try to make it as a photographer in the big city. He is still there scrapping away juggling the commercial work with personal and social justice projects. In 2020, pre-pandemic, Chris moved from Connecticut, his home of 25+ years, to Rhinecliff, NY in the Hudson Valley. Both of his grown kids have managed to remain employed in NYC and are working remotely. Time sure flies…
Karin (Bengtsson) Franck-Larsson is inspired by 2021: a new year with new possibilities! She left employment life on New Year's Eve 2020 after many years as a rheumatologist and in the pharma business and is now a part-time medical consultant. However, she admits to feeling less and less inclined to do any paid work at all. Music, literature, nature and exercise have replaced all her career ambitions. Karin will become a paternal grandmother in August and a maternal grandmother in September. She hopes that her chronic disease will keep calm, or at least treatable, so she can play with the grandchildren. For the latter purpose, Karin and her husband are staying in their big house in Uppsala, Sweden, with a yard to play in.
Maggie Calkins is still deep into the work of improving long-term care environments – which, given how hard they were hit by COVID this past year, is clearly of utmost importance. Though she confesses that ideas of retirement are beginning to creep into her psyche. She now lives in Cleveland Heights in the house her Mom designed right across from Horseshoe Lake (and next to Beaumont), with her two golden retrievers. Getting them outside every day for walks with her dog-walking friends has been the saving grace for the past 12 months. Hope everyone has stayed healthy and have been vaccinated!
