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class notes
st. lawrence university magazine | WINTER 2015
1963
Leah Kollmer Puzzo
135 Hillcrest Avenue
Leonia, NJ 07605
201-461-7052(home)
201-321-5519(cell)
Next Reunion: 55th, 2018
Leah Offenhamer Girolami is a
GG (great grandmother)! Her
daughter Sandy is a grandmother
The only news I have to pass
on is a very sad item. I recently
spoke to Margot, widow of my
good friend and fraternity brother
Jim Laible. Jim passed away
in the spring after a long bout
with a rare affliction. I need not
repeat the details that appeared
in the last issue’s “In Memory”
section, but I will say he will be
remembered as a great friend and
wonderful family man.
tact me at least once during the
coming year! Wishing each of you
a happy, healthy 2015.
1962
Steve Wahl
7899 E. Soaring Eagle
Scottsdale, AZ 85266
480-575-5300
Next Reunion: 55th, 2017
spent September in Portsmouth,
N.H., one of the towns Ken en-
joyed. Pat and Chan did see
Mary Frogner Lutz and Arno.
Speaking of New England,
while Gene Hays was in his New
Hampshire farmhouse, Bob Karl
’59 visited him. Gene remarked
that his fraternity brothers keep in
touch with each other and “make
a point of getting together to
relive all those wonderful times
we experienced at SLU!”
In recent issues of St. Lawrence,
President Bill Fox ’75 has written
about the value of roommates.
And in his remarks at Matricula-
tion in late August, he spoke
about the importance of St.
Lawrence friendships. I was re-
minded of his words when I heard
about the deaths of three more
classmates last year – Nancy Orth
in May, Margaret “Pedge” Potter
Daniels in June and Bob “Bum”
Steer in July. Several of you wrote
that you had roomed with one of
them and how you valued their
friendship. Others wrote of fond
memories from over 50 years
ago. Also in July, Marion Bessey
Hart lost her husband, Doug. On
the way home from her camp,
Claire Schwennker Stilwell made
a point of visiting Marion, one of
her college roommates.
Scott Conroe '77 sent a note
that The General, a documen-
tary about Terry Slater and the
1989-90 Colgate hockey team
he coached, was produced by
Terry’s sons, Grant and Todd. The
team was ECAC champion and
NCAA runner-up. The film traces
Terry's building the program
after arriving in the late 1970s.
Several players and supporters
were interviewed, including Scott,
a sports writer who covered the
team for the Syracuse Herald
American. Scott said one thing
the players mentioned was Terry's
anger at a loss to SLU! A DVD can
be purchased at
ersentertainment.com or www.
thegeneral-themovie.com.
As always, I hope one of your
New Year’s resolutions is to con-
Apparently Neil Sweezey avoids
typing, so his wife, Alice Place
Sweezey ’60, wrote for him! She
and Neil have been married 53
years and have a wonderful life in
Arizona. As they’ve done for the
past 15 years, they spent most
of the summer in the Wasatch
Mountains in Utah. Then for the
autumn they were on the Oregon
coast, where their kids and grand-
children who live in Seattle could
easily visit.
Last winter, Jane Goolsby Urner
and Steve ’60 visited Rod ’59 and
Barbara McCutcheon Lankler ’59
in Tubac, Ariz. While there, they
ran into Tory Liersch Spater Som-
merville ’63. Small world! They
had a glorious summer in the San
Juan Islands, northwest of Seattle.
In November, they were in Hawaii
for their daughter Nancy's wed-
ding.
Bob and Betty Horwitz Graham
have joined most of us in the
Three-Quarter Century Club! In
early September, they attended
the Historic Car Festival at Lime
Rock, Conn. Bob reports that the
new residence hall and reconfig-
ured Quad are beautiful.
Jack Fancher and Barbara were
in Georgia for a granddaugh-
ter’s wedding and then went to
Alabama to visit a daughter. He
wrote, "We all find it difficult to
realize that our granddaughter is
now 24, a college graduate, and
married. Either she's too young
or we are not ready.”
Sandy Towle hoped to have his
second novel, The Assassins’
Game: A Caleb Frost Thriller, pub-
lished in time for holiday gifts.
Many of you will remember
meeting Jim Finke’s wife, Elaine,
at a reunion. Jim wrote that her
dementia is worsening and after
several years of home care, he
and their children made the diffi-
cult decision to move Elaine to an
extended care Alzheimer’s facility
close to their home.
In late August, Ken Shilkret
vacationed in York Beach, Maine.
While there he and Patrice en-
joyed the local towns, LL Bean’s
and golf. Ken must have just
missed seeing Pat Wright
Ingraham and Chan, who again
fortunate to see Ann Somerville
'63 and Bruce Benedict and
Dennis Skidmore '61 and June,
on Nantucket. In September, we
watched the St. Lawrence football
team trounce the Coast Guard
Academy 45-14 on a 90-degree
day. We were there with Ruth
Carling '59 and Barry Budlong.
Later we met up for a delicious
dinner at the Budlongs' with Bob
Lyle '58 and his lovely wife, Lois.
David Weber once again is in the
news. Along with his many other
accolades, he has been named a
"Distinguished Alum" from Lock-
port, N.Y., high school.
1961
Hulit Pressley Taylor
1713 Surrey Lane, NW
Washington, DC 20007
202-625-0203
Next Reunion: 55th, 2016
Last year, Floyd Sandford and
his wife, Sharon, had a wonderful
trip to China. In September, Floyd
spent over three weeks in Eng-
land hiking in two remote scenic
areas in Somerset and Worces-
tershire, visiting four cathedral
cities and doing an Earthwatch
Expedition on climate change in
a woodland near Oxford. Floyd
is a docent at the Cedar Rapids
Museum of Art. During the sum-
mer, he was asked to portray the
Emperor Hadrian and to intro-
duce visitors to the Roman gallery
and a display of honorific busts of
several of the emperors.
In June, Pat Linderoth Taylor
had a great trip to France with
her 15-year-old granddaughters
who are first cousins, one from
Charleston, S.C., and one from
Petaluma, Calif. They shopped on
the Champs Elysees, saw the cha-
teau country and Mont St. Michel,
D-Day sites, the Bayeux tapestry
and Monet’s garden in Giverny.
Pat was barely home before she
and John ’59 headed to Iceland
for a hiking tour!
Jay Fleisher was also in Iceland,
where he conducted a two-week
geologic excursion for the Geo-
logical Society of America.
rence) River’s Catch and Release
brochure. At age 10, Kamdyn is an
avid fisherman and Lois claims he
could catch a fish if he put his line
in a mop pail.
Texans know a good man when
they see one! In June, the Town
Lake YMCA in Austin recognized
Ed Myers as a RecognizeGood
Legend. Ed has been teaching in
the water for over 60 years. In his
82 years, he has done a lot with
his career as a swim instructor,
from establishing a swim program
at St. Lawrence to teaching Naval
recruits about water safety. A
beloved swim instructor, Ed’s
community impact as a teacher
is enormous. The Town Lake
aquatics director called him
the “hidden jewel of the Austin
YMCA.” Congratulations, Ed, for
this well-deserved honor.
If your name does not appear this
time, change that by sending me
the latest news from your part
of the world. How about a note
regarding your most memorable
professor, coach, or employee at
SLU, with an explanation?
1959
nancy erLer waldron
25414 Lake Wilderness
County Club Drive SE
Maple Valley, WA 98038
425-432-3885
Next Reunion: 60th, 2019
1960
Ann Younger Moore
41 Brookside Drive
Wilbraham, MA 01095
413-596-9335
Next Reunion: 55th,
May 28-31, 2015
The news from the class of 1960,
once again, is very sparse! Please
go to your computers/ipads/
pens/paper and send a brief
update on what is going on in
your lives. Your fellow classmates
would really love to know!
In the meantime, keep in mind
that our 55th reunion is the end
of May. Let's make it a great and
memorable event!
Last summer, Jay and I were
Although they are located most
of the year in Indiana, Craig ’60
and Jolene Holt Fuhrmann
manage to spend some of the
winter in Ft. Pierce, Fla. A family
reunion took them to Lake Michi-
gan last summer, with 15 able
to attend. Three of their seven
grandchildren are in college, in
three different states.
New Jersey is the home base
for Jack and Betsy “BJ” Dunlap
Erhard, although they do love to
travel. Jack took this picture of
the Fuhrmanns and BJ about to
enjoy a lobster dinner on Long Is-
land. Future plans include a trip to
Prague with a river cruise to Ber-
lin. B J and Mary Lou Horn Davies
attended the memorial service on
Long Island for Barbara Gray.
California is home for Carol and
Allan Drew. Abandoning the
sometimes confining winter of
Northern New York, they moved
west nearer to family.
“Big Apple” resident Jack
Buchanan’s whirlwind trip to
Europe proved to be as much fun
as he anticipated. It began with
a nostalgic, bittersweet visit with
Susi’s family in Germany, where
he and Susi courted. Good food
seemed to be the hallmark of his
visits with friends in Paris and in a
few villages near Dordogne.
Lois Langtry’s grandson is the
poster child for Save the (St. Law-
Save-the-dateS
REUNION 2015
May 28-31, 2015
alumni.stlawu.edu/reunion
#SLUReunion
HOMECOMING 2015
October 9-11, 2015
• All-Campus Block Party
• Homecoming Football Game
• Live Entertainment
Watch for more information!
We rarely hear “St. Lawrence Days,” a wonderful Laurentian song
written in the mid-1980s for the Singing Saints by President Lawry
Gulick and English Professor Bob DeGraaff. I shared its lyrics with the
Class of 2018 at its First-Year Convocation, an autumn ceremony dur-
ing which new students mark their commitment to St. Lawrence and
its honor code. Let me share them with you, too:
St. Lawrence Days
The snowflakes falling through the lamppost light
Bring memories of autumn’s flight.
Leaves in the fall turn to scarlet and brown;
Remnants of childhood come scattering down;
Pines in winter, ever green, hold their cones for seed,
Give their color to spring leaves—life’s enduring loyalties.
Life, keep us as we change and grow,
Faithful to the truths we know.
As Laurentians, of course, we understand seasons—and that St. Lawrence, the place where we travel
from childhood to adulthood, is with us long after we’ve left Canton. Speaking to the fresh-eyed faces
of ’18, I conveyed our commitment as Laurentians for Life and that integrity and honesty, faith and
truth—Fides et Veritas—are sustaining Laurentian values. So, too, did several seniors and President
Fox.
After enduring our approbations, the first-years lined up to sign their pledge to the Honor Code.
Their signatures are kept in an ancient leather-bound volume once used to house the minutes of the
corporation.
Before the ceremony began, I watched two of the student speakers, Thelmo President Kelly
Appenzeller ’15 and Caroline Fleischauer ’15, chair of the Academic Honor Council, page through
the old book to find their signatures from their First-Year Convocation in 2011.
Remnants of childhood came scattering down before my eyes.
Over the last decade, alongside our colleagues on the faculty and staff, your Alumni Executive
Council has worked very hard at conveying to students that in choosing St. Lawrence, they chose
an experience of fellowship that transcends time and place. The convocation and signing ceremony,
begun just four years ago, are the fruit of that work.
Watching Kelly and Caroline search through page after page in that old register, I felt that rare
satisfaction that comes with a job well done—their enthusiasm conveyed that we’d succeeded.
As seniors, they’re just about to embark on a new season.
Faithful to the truth, I’m confident, they’ll go.
Edward J. Forbes ’02
President, Alumni Executive Council
Follow the Alumni Executive Council: facebook.com/SLUAlumniAssoc @SLUAlumniAssoc on Twitter
Your Alumni Council—‘St. Lawrence Days’