Jeff Spear writes: Just celebrated elder son’s 40th birthday on Coronado Island, CA. Hard to believe we are old enough to have kids over 40! Prof Cliff Weber would no doubt comment on the choice of name for grandchild number one, Zeus! Celebrating my Greek heritage I can only say he is most certainly the king of the Greek gods! Hope to see you all for our 45th.
Mark Belden and Rob Thompson finally decided to set aside their longstanding disagreement over whose cheesecake recipe is superior. The post-Kenyon roommates celebrated with a dinner at LaScarola in Chicago followed by drinks at Richard’s tavern. No dessert was ordered, as it would have proven anticlimactic.
Nancy Herrold Strapp writes: My husband of 29 years died of cancer, and I realized that getting thru the horrid first year required me to always have something to look forward to. I started traveling. I had always wanted to see the Chelsea Garden Show in London, and the famous British gardens, so that was trip #1. Next up was New Zealand, and I found a tour of "The Gardens and Wineries of New Zealand." On the trip, I met a charming widower from Maine. 15 months later, we were married.
I retired from serving as the pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Louisville a year ago, and we decided to move closer to our kids and grandkids, who seem to have centered around the Mid-Atlantic. We bought a house (with a guest loft!) on the "Northern Neck" of Virginia, about half-way between DC and Norfolk. We are on the Chesapeake Bay, with a wall of windows looking out at the water, a runabout boat, 2 kayaks, a dock with a swimming ladder.
It was strange to retire just as everything was locking down - it made it harder to get to know our neighbors. But, we love where we are! And we see a lot more of our kids! I continue to preach occasionally when the local church needs an ordained fill-in. But mostly, we garden, visit wineries, eat with the kids, play with the grands, and watch the Bay.
Doug Holmes writes: As CEO of the largest on-line teledermatology business, Dermatologist On Call, the past year has brought substantial growth in our business. One of the enjoyments of managing a fast- growing business is having a great business partner, Richard Danforth '81, who is responsible for strategic planning and special projects. I encourage everyone to go on-line and use our service for your dermatology needs.
David Feldman writes: I'm finishing up a year of teaching remotely but synchronously (Zoom). My small seminars have gone very well, actually. The medium isn't as good as FTF, but it can work. Next academic year I'm on leave, polishing some articles and drafting another book manuscript. Probably my last sabbatical before hanging up my spurs. Hope to spend more time in New Mexico next year when travel becomes easier.
Mark Prince announced his upcoming retirement at the end of 2021 as CEO of Hazlett, Burt & Watson and its subsidiaries. Prince was the 5th CEO in the firm's 140-year history. He will remain on the holding company board.
George Pandaleon writes: After almost 40 years in the commercial real estate investment business, my wife Peggy (a Kellogg classmate) and I are starting to think about life after age 65 - backing off a bit and having more fun together. In 2019, I was elected Mayor of our hometown of Lake Forest, IL. So later in life I've had a chance to put my Kenyon Political Science studies to their intended use. It's a great honor, and the $10 per year salary is good for a sandwich once a year. We have a few Kenyon people in town, including classmate Peter Bianchi, as well as several current and recent past parents. I hear nothing but great things about the Hill!
Donna DeMarco writes: COVID isolation has been brutal. I temporarily closed my new dance studio, Serpentine Dance, in Bethesda MD until the restrictions are lifted. This pushed me to move classes online but Zoom is frustrating and not the best place to teach musical timing. To keep busy I released a new music album, Sayed Darwish REMIX, a compilation of greatest hits by Egypt's most beloved modern composer (he wrote Egypt's national anthem). It's on Spotify and YouTube if you want to hear it. Here's the album to listen for free: open.spotify.com/album/1Nd81GyuIObNC2rswETKZt
I also wrote a short book to accompany it, Sound Track for Revolt, with Darwish's biography and the album's translated lyrics. The mental stimulation helped prevent depression. It's been a long year. I hope others have managed to thrive and get vaccinated.
Bill Carlson writes: Soooo happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror! Barb and I are both retired now and can't wait to travel again! Our daughter Maya is wrapping up her senior year at home for Ithaca College and hopefully will graduate in person in May. Our son Matt is between Air Force assignments having spent a year in Osan South Korea and about to head off to Spangdahlem Germany for 2 years. I've especially enjoyed Kenyon sponsored evening seminars and events, particularly the recent Theater of War productions - Thank You and keep it up! We hope to reconnect with fellow classmates in 2021.
Coleman Moore writes: Retired and building our retirement home in the NC mountains outside of Burnsville, minutes from the historic Penland School of Craft. Designing and building mid-century modern furniture. Enjoying the golden years.
Noel Cook writes: After 29 years as a partner at a small copyright and trademark law firm in San Francisco, I . . . did NOT retire. Instead, two years ago I became a partner at a much larger firm, Hanson Bridgett, with offices throughout California (not that offices matter much in these work-from-home times). Still living outside San Francisco with my wife Maura and kids (high school son and middle school daughter) in the bucolic town of Moraga, where I occasionally see classmate Charles Yeomans '78, Wally Tice '76 and Mike Blume '72. Once travel starts again, give a shout if you're in the Bay Area. And yes, retirement looks to be a long way off.
Chris Barr: Recently Chris VandenBerg ’78 and I spent the weekend together skiing here in Vail. We were joined by Jim Parker ’81, and we skied Vail for two days. Friday was a bluebird crystal clear lovely Colorado day and then it snowed all day Saturday. Big fun was had by all and we had a great time skiing together. It was great catching up and sharing what our families are up to.
