The following are Class Notes submitted from alumni. Have news you'd like to share with fellow alumni, email mmudho@friendsseminary.org.
Friends We've Recently Lost
Grace (Gould) Kayatta '42 passed on May 1, 2022.
Arline Cinamon Mirantz '44 passed on October 13, 2023.
Sally-Ann Palen Pontier '49 passed on March 4, 2021.
Darren DuClos '90 passed on April 5, 2018.
We ask that all almuni join us in holding these alumni and their families in the Light.
Class of 1952
As reported by Martha Manheim Green '52
“I have just seen Debby White Andersen '52 who was visiting her son, Matt who lives in Sharon, CT. She seems well, if not quite as spry as once she was. Her husband Arthur will be ninety-five in July but is holding up well too. They have returned to Hilton Head, South Carolina where they used to live and are happy there. I am in contact with Arthur S. Lukach, Jr. '52 and Sharry who live in Sleepy Hollow, NY and have a house in East Hampton which they have just renovated and where they spend time with their children and grandchildren when the weather encourages that. Stephan and I have driven to Sleepy Hollow to have lunch nearby and will do that again. I am in touch with Jean Clift Olson ’52 and Tom Bryan but have not seen them recently due to the pandemic. They usually come to visit me in Maine during the summer but didn't this past one. Jean likes to paint on my terrace and Tom likes to work on his computer. Jean writes that she now has five great grandchildren and a granddaughter, Lily is pregnant. Nathaniel Cooke '52 writes that he and Nancy have moved to an assisted living facility in Mystic, CT called Stone Ridge which he says is a good and timely move considering their age and health. They have been very happy in Cleveland and will miss their many dear friends but not lose contact. Jeanne Seebe Manser '52 lives in Sarasota, FL and writes that she is expecting her nineteenth great grandchild in April 2024, twelve boys and seven girls. Her grandchildren are spread all over the country. Margaret Wharton Segalas '52 and Herc divide their time between summers in Nantucket and the rest of their year in Vero Beach Fl. Their son, Don has a house in each location and their daughter, Katy lives in their guest cottage all summer. Both are married and each has two children. Don's daughters each have a child which makes Maggie and Herc great grandparents. After giving up sports except for swimming, Maggie (now called Peggy), plays a lot of bridge. Herc reads.
Peter Stack '52 reports, “My past year has been pretty uneventful. I did have the opportunity to hear Juja Wang at the Rose Theater and, more recently, Holiday Brass at the David Geffen Hall. The total redo of that venue is still mind boggling to me. Balky knees have caused me to curtail my skiing but not my love for the sport which I embraced with a passion during my six years in Switzerland. I did go up to Killington to watch Mikaela Shiffrin compete in a number of races. She is undoubtedly the greatest skier the sport has ever known. A beautiful young woman with talent and personality to match.”
My news is that last April Stephan Chodorov and I finally married after knowing each other seventy years and keeping company for forty-six. We still live in separate states but spend a good deal of time together - happily! We are both well and can do most of what we like to do.
Class of 1965
Laura Tanna '65 reports
Forty-nine years ago I traveled to Abeokuta in Westmoreland to research and record Nago songs, part of my work on African heritage in Westmoreland, Jamaica. For 12 years I served on the board of the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank. Later I served for 12 years on the board of the King's House Foundation. So on Thursday, September 28th, the ACIJ/JMB asked me to serve on a panel at Liberty Hall with two other scholars to discuss a video made 25 years ago on the "Ettu and Nago: African Retentions in Jamaica." That same afternoon I received a Medal of Honour at King's House from Sir Patrick Allen, the Governor-General of Jamaica. (See photo below) I find it incredibly ironic that after 50 years in Jamaica, my work on the African heritage of Jamaica should be recognized on exactly the same day as my work with the British heritage of Jamaica! The ACIJ/JMB very kindly sent me the link so that anyone who wants to view "Ettu and Nago: African Retentions in Jamaica" which was made 25 years ago may click here. Finally, Susan Reid and I had a chance to get together in Paris Oct 19-21, 2023 with our husbands. See photo below.
Class of 1974
Norm Feit ’74 hosted a Zoom meeting for the Class of 1974 on December 19, 2023 to discuss their 50th Reunion plans. Ivy Baer Sherman ’74 shared a picture from their 40th Reunion in 2014.
Picture (left to right)
Herb Sawyer ’74 (standing), Keith Korman ’74 (standing), Bill Elliot, Jonathan Holtzman ’74, Carolyn Ward ’74, Deirdre Donchian ’74, Marcia Hochman ’74, Ivy Baer Sherman ’74, Peter Jenkins ’74 (standing), Kenneth Grossman ’74 (standing), David Hochman ’74 (standing), Jonathan Turkle ’74, Nina Webb ’74, Scott Swinton ’74, Paul Reeder, Larry Parker ’74, Linden Colby, Bobby Meehling ’74 (standing).
Class of 2002
Congratulations to Emma Hayes '02 whose son Jalen Bryant, was born on December 8, 2023.
Class of 2004
Congratulations to Legacy Russell ’04 on the birth of her son, Ernie. Ernie Asteroid Iwalani János Russell-Konrath. Born on October 11, 2023 to happy parents Legacy Eyes-of-the-Moon Russell ’04 and Andreas Laszlo Konrath.
