| Class of 1981 Spring Class Letter
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| Dear Classmates,
While penning this edition of our class letter, I am drinking coffee in my “Class of ’81 Tenth-Reunion” mug. The cup holds more than coffee – it holds great memories of that reunion weekend way back in 1991, as well as all the subsequent alumni gatherings on the Hill.
Looking into my dishwasher-worn mug, I am wondering if it is half empty or half full? Given that our official 40th reunion was cancelled due to Covid, it could be half empty. I am opting for half full, as I am delighted to share the news that our class is welcome back for a belated Reunion Weekend May 27-29. The sense of isolation that has accompanied the past two years is lifting and I think it is time for us to gather once again and party like we did 1991. I hope you can make it back to campus for what promises to be the biggest alumni gathering in the College’s history!
Last fall, I shared news about the Kenyon Access Initiative. We are eight months into our five-year partnership with the Schuler Education Foundation to increase access to Kenyon for exceptional students with limited resources. Our extended Kenyon community has enthusiastically responded by making more than 1,113 gifts to support this unique initiative, helping to create new scholarships.
In other news, President Sean Decatur announced last winter that, in response to calls from students as we approach our Bicentennial, the time had come to look beyond the monikers “Lords and Ladies.” Thanks to all of you who have submitted suggestions or other feedback for the process to consider a new athletics’ name (I am lobbying for the Kenyon Koalas). This letter was finalized before the results were announced, but you can visit kenyon.edu/moniker to learn the latest.
In line with the tree-hugging Koala theme, the college continues its commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into its curriculum, campus operations and campus culture. More on this initiative is shared in Kenyon’s new quarterly Green Newsletter. If you don’t already receive it, I encourage you to sign up for it at bit.ly/Green-Kenyon.
All of the excitement and achievement at Kenyon today can be traced, in part, back to our support. Kenyon relies on our gifts to the Kenyon Fund to support every aspect of students’ experience today, from seminars to scholarships. I hope you’ll join me in making a gift today. We know first-hand how a Kenyon education can impact one’s future — not just professionally, but personally. When we support Kenyon’s current and future students, we help make a Kenyon family like ours a possibility for many more.
And on that final note, my cup is empty. I hope to see you in Gambier this May.
Cheers, Grebes
P.S. Scroll down to view the 1981 class notes.
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There's still time to join the celebration!
Why limit the fun to April 30, 2022? Here are a few ways you can get in a Gambier state of mind any day of the year:
Give 43022
Because Kenyon is at the heart of 43022, we held our annual giving challenge April 29-30. There's still time to support sustainability, scholarships, athletics and all the elements that make Kenyon, Kenyon. MAKE A GIFT
Buy exclusive 43022 merch
While supplies last, the Bookstore is still selling 43022 shirts, totes and water vessels that include a built-in gift to the Kenyon Fund to support today’s Kenyon students. START SHOPPING
Send Reunion greetings to 43022
Can't make it back to the Hill this year? Record a video greeting to be played on campus for your fellow alumni during Reunion Weekend 2022. RECORD A MESSAGE
Build a 43022 community near you
Attend a regional event or plan one yourself. The Alumni Office can help you organize an event for alumni, families and friends of the College in your region — complete with 43022 swag! PLAN AN EVENT
Connect with 43022 from afar
It's easy — and fun — to stay connected to Kenyon from wherever you are. The Alumni Office organizes virtual events for alumni that range from class-specific gatherings, professional development panels, topical conversations and more. BROWSE UPCOMING EVENTS
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| Upcoming Events for Alumni
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Save the date for these upcoming events for alumni taking place online and on the Hill.
- Virtual Alumni Town Hall
Our Reunion Town Hall with President Decatur will take place Thursday, May 12 via Zoom.
- Reunion Weekend
All alumni are invited to join us on the Hill May 27–29.
- Homecoming Weekend
Join us for athletic competitions, festivities and alumni volunteer meetings on the Hill Sept. 23-25.
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Class AgentsClass agents are your connection to campus. To learn about becoming one, contact Director of Leadership Annual Giving Tracey Wilson via email.
• Lori Nash Dhiraprasiddhi
• Liz Dickinson
• Luke Feely
• Doug Gertner
• Bud Grebey
• Sue Lawko Cuiffo
• Patty Lynn
• Susan Jones Oakes
• Jim Parker
• David Rose
• Lisa Sanders
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Class of 1981 Spring Notes
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Maggie Calkins writes that she is managing to stay healthy through all this craziness: most everyone she sees in person is a dog-walking friend and they are outside, so low transmission risk. She is still doing research on environments for older adults living with dementia, though trying to only work 4 days a week now. Maggie had a brief but fabulously fun trip to Dublin in December and is planning on going to Edinburgh and Dublin in April. Her family is expanding, and now includes 2 kids, 3 grandkids, and about-to-be 4 great-grand kids - none are blood related to her, but they claim family kinship nonetheless.
Wendy MacLeod will be spending the fall semester in Rome when her husband will be running the Kenyon-in-Rome program.
Sue Hudson and her wife spent a wonderful month with their daughter, Cassie Hudson-Heck ’19 over the holidays, even while fighting Covid (with a characteristically positive attitude, Sue decided it just gave them MORE time together!). Sue is now directing two important programs in Women's Health at the Cleveland Clinic: Midwifery and Centering Pregnancy. Both programs aim to reduce racial disparity in Infant and Maternal Mortality in Cleveland, as well as to improve the culture of birth.
Based in Maine with two beautiful young adult kids and his wife, Kerry, of 25 years, Brett Pierce reports that he has been working in the global media for social change world, as well as digital storytelling in education. He is excited to have a book for teachers coming out this May from Heinemann Publishing, called Expanding Literacy: Bringing Digital Storytelling into Your Classroom. His Kenyon buddies are still his best buddies. And his commitment to Fun remains steadfast.
Still living in DC, Richard Wathen notes that the city is slowly getting back to something like normal - Covid variants plus civil unrest has made for a herky-jerky return. This year, Richard and his spouse became extreme empty nesters as their son started his junior officer duties onboard a US Navy nuclear submarine. He reports that Kenyon grads should be happy to know that the Navy can turn even non-engineering majors into competent junior engineering officers - you just have to have the fundamental math and physics going in. The extreme out-of-touchness takes some getting used to. On the plus side, they spent a fair amount of time helping their son buy and renovate his first house in Norfolk, which is an exciting event for him and them.
In early 2021, Jay Anania rejoined the Organization of American States as the senior official for Administration and Finance. He notes that as the world rightly turns its attention to Russia's attempted military conquest in Ukraine, it seems inevitable that the US will devote even less attention to the many urgent social, political, and security challenges in our own hemisphere, and that without strong US leadership, the OAS's goals to advance human rights, democracy, development, and security are sure to lag. On a brighter note, he is excited to report that as a fully vaccinated and boosted family, they are looking forward to resuming travel and plan to be in New England in August. They will particularly enjoy visiting Fred Grubb at his beautiful Vermont home and hiking up a mountain or two.
After 40 years in the classroom, Kerry Hall has retired from teaching high school social studies, although he still coaches tennis. With more time for travel, family, biking, and reading, he is loving retirement!
Vicky Post Risko sends greetings to our classmates from Los Angeles and is looking forward to being at reunion to see old friends. She still loves physics but has now been a Real Estate agent for 30 years…what a career change!
There have been many changes for Suzanne (Wilson) Crable in the past few years! She is the lactation consultant for the Good Samaritan OB Center in Cincinnati, working with families to promote and support breastfeeding. She reports that she downsized and moved to Madisonville, an eastern neighborhood in Cincinnati, requiring lots of trips to donate away many things! Suzanne qualified for the Boston Marathon last year and will be running in April of 2022, 40 years after she ran her first marathon. She has two kind sons (all grown up with loving partners), as well as four cats to amuse them. When training eases, she knits, sews, watches birds, and writes.
Susan Oakes (Jones) and her husband spent a long weekend skiing in Steamboat with Jim Parker and his wife Julia, as well as Chris Barr ’78. Sue also spent a weekend in March exploring Pittsburgh with classmates Liz VanLenten, Sally Hirsh (Kozokoff) and Judee Schwartzman (Silberschlag). She is sorry to be missing reunion weekend, but her son’s two year delayed 2020 graduation from Colgate is happening the same weekend. Finally, she is looking forward to a 3 month sabbatical from her law practice this summer, when she and daughter Dana ’18 will spend 2 months hiking and traveling throughout the UK and Switzerland before Dana starts grad school at Duke in the fall.
We are saddened to report the death of Stephen Thomas Coenen, a resident of Chicago, Illinois, who passed away on September 3, 2021. Stephen was born on November 23, 1958, to the late Dale Coenen and Alice Jane Queenan Steen of Stamford, CT. He was raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, graduated from St. Paul’s School, New Hampshire, and from Kenyon in 1981. Stephen pursued a career in software design. He will be remembered for his unbounded curiosity, eternal optimism, and generous spirit. He is survived by his mother, Jane Queenan Steen, daughter Melissa Merva, and sister Alison Coenen Abrams.
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If you missed the chance to share your news for this letter, you can submit a class note at any time via kenyon.edu/class-note-form.
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Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022
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