By John A. Wilkinson
Nine more classmates with Yale College daughters: Bob Convey, Donald Dell, Michael Harris, John Hawkins, John Hazelwood, Dave Martin, Al Puryear, Terry Rothermel, and Charlie Weymouth.
Another distinguished scientist from our class: Carl Akerlof, particle physicist and astrophysicist at the University of Michigan, fellow of the American Physical Society, leader of the ROTSE collaboration (Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment), and much more.
Bill Boardman has recently published his essays: Exceptionalism: American Exceptionalism Takes its Toll. This collection from 2012–2019 “. . . anticipates pretty much all of our crises except the coronavirus. Sixty years of skeptical pessimism is finally paying off, unfortunately. May you all be well and safe.”
Tom Miller writes that his father, Bill ’28, not only sent his three sons to Yale, he recruited from the New Trier High School those Yale football greats Tom Singleton, Mike Pyle, and Hardy Will.
Cards and calls, texts, and emails received with appreciation from Bob Ackerman, John Blanpied, Lynn (Rob) Hanke, John Hetherington, Ralph Hirshorn, Peter Knudsen, Izzie (Steve) Kunitz, Harry Mazadoorian, Arvin Murch, Steve O’Brien, Matt Riddle, Jim Taylor, and Peter Wells.
Six more classmate deaths all listed on our ’60 website, most with supporting full obituaries and/or tributes:
Henry Dater, April 24, 2020. Computer programmer for IBM; senior staffer for Bobby Kennedy’s campaign for the Democratic nomination; creator of a database for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; political junkie for Democratic candidates, locally in his adopted Montana and nationally.
Jonathan Howe, March 3, 2020. Joining his two passions, his career as lawyer and aviator made him director for the southern region of the Federal Aviation Administration; director of the National Business Aircraft Association; and for four years in Geneva, Switzerland, director general of Airports Council International.
David Jeffery, March 17, 2020. From editor of the Yale Record to student of writing at Johns Hopkins, he became a writer and editor at the National Geographic; proud mentor of his younger staffers; lifelong Democrat and docent of his Episcopal church.
Richard McKamy, March 30, 2020. Insurance executive; passionate sports fan, especially tennis and golf; expert on New York Times crossword puzzles; avid collector and creator of jigsaw puzzles, designing and cutting his own for his family.
Robert Schmidt, April 10, 2020. Surgeon; published medical researcher; chair of medical committees; volunteer for YMCA camping and youth hockey; active in Old Men’s Hockey; cabinet maker. “The advantage of working with wood is that you can always start over again.”
Alfred Veerhoff, April 16, 2020. Whimsical humorist and satirist (see 50th reunion book); editor by profession, but volunteer to community activities which advance the opportunities of people with disabilities: the Boy Scouts, Special Olympics, voter registration, and especially the SPIRIT Club, a fitness center for people of all abilities.
COVID-19 disrupted our world, large and small, ending it for all too many; but look ahead to what reunion cochairs Rusty Wing and Dick Sigal might imagine and keep in mind our mini-reunion next spring in Philadelphia and Wilmington.
Tempus fugit, sumus hic!