Class Notes

River Campus Undergraduate: Slater Society–1950s

1927
Zora (Zoe) Emery Barker, a teacher for many years, turned 100 last May.

1939
Libby Browning Wohler’s paintings were featured in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church’s Art of the Spirit Gallery in Rockland, Maine, last April. Her oils and monoprints of landscapes, seascapes, and interiors of Maine homes have been displayed in many of Maine’s galleries.

1944
At the annual meeting of the University Club in Washington, D.C., last April, Bill Tayler was honored for his seven years of service as a member of the club’s board of governors. A retired attorney, he has chaired the board’s executive committee for the past two years.

1950
Kenn Hubel, class correspondent, writes:

The Rev. Jean Dimond wrote enthusiastically about her evolution from premed studies to biological research to religious studies and the gratifying recognition that ministry would be her life’s work. She served at inner city churches in Cleveland and Detroit and “a slew of interims in New York State and Pennsylvania.” Although officially retired, she continues to preach occasionally and spends hours volunteering as a chaplain at Rochester General Hospital. Her note celebrates “50 years of the ordination of Presbyterian women and the satisfaction of seeing the University’s library tower” through the trees from her apartment on the 14th floor of Pinnacle Place in downtown Rochester. (919 S. Clinton Ave., Apt. 1444, Rochester, NY 14620; (585) 241-9807).

Dwight Hotchkiss earned his M.D. in 1954. He married Mary Ann in 1960 and joined the staff of Hunterden Medical Center in Flemington, N.J., in internal medicine and hematology/oncology. He served as chief of medicine for 10 years and as clinical professor of medicine at Rutgers Medical School (now the New Jersey College of Medicine at New Brunswick). After retiring from Hunterden in 1990, Dwight and Mary Ann moved to Keowee Key in Salem, S.C., in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. For the next eight years, Dwight worked as a substitute physician with CompHealth, enjoying a doctor’s life for two to three weeks, then traveling all over the country for several weeks. He retired fully in 1998 and now is president of the Hospice of the Foothills Foundation’s board of directors in Seneca, S.C. Dwight says he hasn’t figured out “whether this job is keeping me young or wearing me out.” They have two children, a son and a daughter, and four grandchildren. Dwight and Mary Ann enjoy traveling with their grandchildren to intergenerational hostels where they learn about camping skills. (5 Dinghy Ct., Salem, SC 29676; djhotch (at) bellsouth (dot) net).

Priscilla Winchell Podlich taught elementary school for four years before marrying Bob Podlich, a Baltimore real-estate attorney. They raised two sons and a daughter and when they retired in 1986 joined their elder son at his apple orchard in Washington State. Priscilla writes that she participated in “all the usual activities of church, school, community volunteerism, and lots of carpools.” Bob died in 1992, and Priscilla experienced “the various pains yet many opportunities” of widowhood with its “different kind of freedom—little worry about laundry, meal preparation, closet space, toilet seat position, etc., etc.” She feels lucky to have four of her seven granddaughters almost next- door and her son nearby. “I have spent considerable time grandparenting, and it is a rich experience to be part of their lives.” (355 West Marine View Dr., Orondo, WA 98843; (509) 784-1665).

Janet Price (JP) Randall married Walt Randall in 1954 after having worked for Kodak in Detroit. They have two sons and a daughter and four grandchildren. JP teaches art at a Montessori preschool and helps with the numerous administrative chores. Walt died in 2004. She brightens the days with watercolor painting and would love to hear from old friends. (402 Elm St., Flushing, MI; (810) 659-8493).

—Contact: Kenneth Hubel, 2562 Oak Circle N.E., North Liberty, IA 52317; (319) 626-6562; khubel (at) southslope (dot) net.

1951
Elizabeth Jacobson Reiss writes, “I am enjoying auditing classes at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven to enrich my life.” Elizabeth lives in Orange, Conn.

1952
Selwyn Becker is the author of Teenagers’ Dilemmas and Opportunities: A Social Psychologist Writes to His Grandchildren. Selwyn writes, “It deals with issues like dating; conformity pressures; cheating, cheaters, and lawbreakers; as well as decisions about careers, colleges, etc.”

1954
Richard Sarkis ’58M (MD), clinical medical director at the Hospice of Southwest Florida, was named the 2004 Florida Physician of the Year by the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Physicians Advisory Board.

1955
Jan Gregoire Coombs ’56N is the author of The Rise and Fall of HMOs: An American Health Care Revolution. Jan is a medical historian living near Madison, Wis.

1957
Kenneth Guenther has been elected to Clark Consulting’s board of directors. He is the owner and manager of Guenther Consulting Services, serves on the board of Certegy, and is vice chair of the Washington Campus, a consortium of business schools. . . . Rick Zuegel writes that he has produced the DVD Four Seasons with David Hult ’79E, Lee Wilkins, and Brian Reagin, concertmaster of the Chautauqua Institute’s symphony orchestra. “I supplied more than 450 images of the institution during its four seasons to complement Vivaldi’s popular composition, which was played by the Chamber Music Society. The DVD captures the multimedia performance given in the amphitheater during the 2004 music season. NPR recorded the performance for use with their programming. My wife, Barbara Blake Zuegel, and I have summered at Chautauqua for many years, and I have taught photography in the continuing studies program.”

1958
John Rathbone, class correspondent, writes:

Judy McDonald Norman writes that she fulfilled a retirement dream by going back to Italy, always a favorite destination. Her early June trip was to northern Italy: Milan, the Lake Country, and the Veneto (Venice, Padua, Verona, and Ravenna). She and her husband, Richard, planned to do all the touristy things: gondola ride down the Grand Canal, vaparetto to the glass museum in Murano, and pics on the Rialto Bridge. Then home to another golden summer on the St. Lawrence.

Joe Steinman writes that he taught a two-week mini-M.B.A. (“of sorts”) to 50 science and engineering Ph.D. students and 10 midlevel technical managers from industry at Purdue University. Joe writes, “This is my eighth year, and I am still enjoying doing it, even if it is rather demanding.” He and his wife, Jennifer, planned to vacation in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for all of June and then spend five weeks in Switzerland. Joe adds that he plans to teach one more year on the finance faculty of the University of North Florida “and that will most likely be it.” He also expects to “do this Purdue gig at least once more and then I will see. As I noted, I enjoy it; I think that I bring a lot of value to these ‘techies,’ and, finally, the compensation is rather special also.”

Judy Frank Pierson and her husband, Art, flew up from Florida to Boston in April to see two of their sons run in the Boston Marathon. “The city took pity on us and we had a great welcome, weatherwise,” she says. “Eleven family members gathered to cheer on Larry (a Northwest pilot out of Albany) and Norris (an RPI administrative and conference director). Proud? You bet!” She adds, “Art and I enjoy golf and tennis in Naples, Fla., before traveling north to Cape Vincent, N.Y., for the summer, where we play golf and tennis as well as participate in community efforts.” While in Cape Vincent, Judy chairs a writers’ group called Poets & Writers INK, and Art works on a land trust group for the village park.

Marg Taylor Adams visited an Elderhostel on Jekyll Island, Ga., where she tried to improve her golf skills. Marg writes, “We really enjoyed our time there. At our next Elderhostel in August, we will be staying in New Hartford, N.Y., and going to the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown.”

—Contact: John Rathbone, 2375 Brookview Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346; jrathbon (at) dreamscape (dot) com.

Lawrence Chessin, an internist and infectious disease specialist, is head of Medical Associates at Genesee in Rochester.