Who is the most unforgettable character you’ve ever met?

September 10, 2025

Dear 1964 classmates and friends,

This main purpose of this email is to deliver the latest issue of Class Notes. One version will appear in Yale Alumni Magazine in November; the longer form is embedded below.

I’m sure that I’m not the only classmate who remembers the Reader’s Digest “back of the magazine” column titled “The most unforgettable character I’ve ever met.” I didn’t read much of the material my parents received, but I was fascinated with this column. So, I’m asking you to reply with the most unforgettable character you’ve ever met. My emphasis is on “unforgettable” and “met.” He/she doesn’t have to have a Yale connection, though that would be interesting. For openers, my most unforgettable character was Martin Luther King, Jr. (honorary 1964), with whom I had both a family and Yale connection. I met him in 1955, when he was at Boston University, and later during our 1964 commencement exercises. There hasn’t been a year since then that I haven’t thought about him.

I want to call your attention to three upcoming events. Two of them are Zoom events for which you must register when you receive the invitation. The third is an in-person event during The Game weekend in November.

• October 9, 2025 (4:00pm Eastern): Bob Buchanan will moderate a panel of six classmates who served in the Vietnam War, reflecting on both their experiences during the war and in the years since. You have already received a Zoom invitation and you must register to obtain the attendance link.
• November 6, 2025 (4:00pm Eastern): Pete Putzel will moderate a Zoom event in our 1964 Class Authors series that will feature Stephen Greenblatt and his new book, Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival.
• November 21, 2025: On the Friday before The Game, Yale Athletics will hold the Blue Leadership Ball in Payne Whitney Gymnasium. One of the honorees for the George Herbert Walker Bush Leadership Award is our own Wendell Mottley. We are organizing a 1964 table for this dinner. Please call me (407-770-8942) if you are interested in attending.

As we enter the fall season and year-end holidays, I wish you and your family health and happiness.  Please share your plans, especially those that involve other classmates.

Cheers,

November/December Class Notes

[To read these Notes in your browser in living color, click here.]

This column expands on the version which will appear in the final issue of YAM in November/December 2025. There is a lot of class activity during the balance of the year that could not be reported in the magazine version due to their closing date. Additionally, I have somewhat less news to report this month since I was on a cruise in Alaska for about one third of the bimonthly period. Thanks to all the classmates (Sam Francis, Pete Putzel, and Bill Galvin) who gave Nancy and me advice and travel tips for this cruise. In addition to being the 50th US state I’ve visited, it was spectacular in all respects: natural beauty, bird and animal kingdoms, history and culture, food and hospitality. Ellen and Bill Galvin will be cruising in China during October. Bobbie and Sam Francis will be cruising the Caribbean on the five-masted square rigger, the Royal Clipper, in January.

The question I posed in July — “Have pets played an important role in your life?” — struck a chord with many classmates. At least a dozen replied with their “pet stories:” Tony Thomson, Dick duPont, John Podeschi, Angus Gillespie, Dan Pollack, Harvey Geiger, Chip Brennan, Tom Barnard, Dick Berk, Pat Caviness, and Steve Norman.

The Yale Bulldogs open their football season on September 20 against Holy Cross. If they win the Ivy League this year, they’ll get an automatic bid to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. The Game will be on November 22. The Yale Athletics Blue Leadership Ball will be on the Friday night before The Game, and there will be a 1964 table to honor Wendell Mottley. Wendell will be awarded the George Herbert Walker Bush ’48 Lifetime Leadership Award, joining Jim Duderstadt and Chris Getman with this distinguished award. Contact Tony Lavely if you are interested in attending. Before I leave the topic of football, I want to alert you to the recent announcement that the Harvard-Yale game in 2026 will be played at Fenway Park in Boston. I attended The Game in this venue in 2018, and it was very special.

Joe Wishcamper (who is recovering from back surgery) has organized a topical Zoom event on October 9 in which Bob Buchanan will moderate a panel of six 1964 Vietnam veterans: Kip Burgweger, Bob Hannah, Frank Hotchkiss, Greg Howe, George Levendis, and Cole Oehler. The discussion will focus on their experiences in Vietnam and on the impacts later in their lives. Poignantly, this is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Be sure to register when you get the Zoom invitation. Family and friends are cordially invited. If you miss this event, you will be able to view the video recording on our Class Website/News at a later date.

The next Yale 1964 Authors event, organized by Don Van Doren, will be on November 6. It will feature Stephen Greenblatt and his engaging new book about Christpher Marlowe, Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival. Pete Putzel will moderate the session. Be sure to register when you get the Zoom invitation. Family and friends are cordially invited. As with other Zoom events, if you miss it, you will be able to view the video recording on our Class Website/News. Additional Zoom events are being planned for 2026.

The fall golf outing is scheduled for September 30 - October 1. Ted Jones organized this semi-annual outing; call Ted if you want to join. Day 1 will be hosted by Dave Kalayjian at his Clinton Hill CT golf club. Day 2 will be at Lyman Orchard, in Middlefield CT. The group will dine at Mory’s on Tuesday night. Ted reported that The Course at Yale, which has been undergoing major renovations and improvements, will reopen in 2026 in time for the Class golf outing in the spring.

The YAA Assembly and YAF Convocation will take place November 20 - 22. Tony Lavely, Ralph Jones, and Ward Wickwire will represent the Class, and our reports will be posted on our Class Website/News. Tony Lavely will attend President Maurie McInnes’ quarterly update on September 17 via Zoom.

Regional classmate luncheons continue monthly at Mory’s on first Wednesdays (Ralph Jones) and Yale Club of NYC on third Wednesdays (Ted Wagner). Classmates will gather via Zoom in the Bay area on second Wednesdays: September 10, October 8, November 12 (Owen O’Donnell) and in the Boston area on third Wednesdays: September 17, October 15, November 19 (Jerry Flannelly). Holidays sometimes cause the regular dates to be changed. Contact these classmates if you would like to be added to their email list. You do not have to reside in the designated areas to attend the Zoom calls.

In News, Angus Gillespie delivered the opening lecture in August at the New Jersey Folk Festival which he founded in 1975. Also in August, Timothy Breen made a special presentation about 18th-century social reformers at the Great Maple Syrup Bubble in Greensboro NC. Bob Hilgendorf wrote from Santa Fe: “I enjoyed skiing on the last day of the season at Santa Fe Ski Basin and Taos Ski Valley and then skied at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado in May. My son Nathan lost his job in the USAID purge … sad day for him and the USA.” Like the native New Englanders they are, Dick Niglio and Tony Lavely will enjoy a traditional New England Lobster Fest with their wives, Dana and Nancy, at the Minneapolis Club in September. Live Maine lobsters flown in the day before. Later in the year, they’ll attend opening night at the pre-Broadway launch of “Purple Rain,” the Prince musical.

In Publications, Gene Van Loan posted his article titled “Brief Essay on the Illogic of America’s Contemporary Version of Birthright Citizenship on the Social Sciences Resource Network (SSRN).” Gus Speth has added a new collection of his poetry, Working Hard to Dream, to our Class Website/Publications. We have added a new book co-authored by Howard Gillette, The Greater Philadelphia Region: A New History for the Twenty-First Century, to our Class Website/Publications.

Thanks again to our webmaster, Sam Francis, who tirelessly maintains our Class website and distributes group emails to all classmates. Remember, most classmates have their emails in our Class Directory and their home addresses on our Classmates Map. Is your information current?

We have been notified that three classmates died since the previous issue: Gloster “Bev” Aaron died in June 2025. He matriculated with us in 1960, affiliated with our class but did not graduate from Yale. His family did not publish an obituary. Peter Grant died on June 11, 2025. Born in South Africa, Peter spent most of his career with Putnam Funds. He is survived by his wife Livingston and a large family. Gill Cochran died on July 19, 2025, in Annapolis MD. He was awarded the Bronz Star for heroic and meritorious service in Vietnam. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Gill founded the law firm, Cochran and Chhabra. Gill is survived by his wife Eileen and a large family. You can read obituaries and remembrances of these men on our Class Website/In Memoriam. Karen Carmean posted, “Friends in Cambridge and eastern MA: come to our memorial meeting for Doane Perry on Saturday, September 20 at 2:00pm at Friends Meeting at Cambridge.” If you would like to add a remembrance, contact Tony Lavely. If you would like to buy a Mory’s Memorial Brick, please contact Ted Jones.