Am composing here on deadline with limited space and still in sour mood about the Harvard-Yale outcome and the fatal (and, as of this writing, still unexplained) accident in one of the parking lots next to the Bowl — which sort of puts the results of games, however depressing, into some kind of perspective.
Was there an upside to this weekend? Indeed there was. Joe Staley, accompanied by his able assistant Linda B. Staley, organized a successful class council meeting wherein we renewed and strengthened our relationship with Calhoun College, where we have been underwriting summer internships and providing professional counseling for the last couple of decades. There was much other important business at that meeting, to be described in the next notes, where there will be more room and less pressure to get this in to YAM’s editors, who have already been patient enough. There I will also report more fully on a terrific after-game party hosted by Al and Peggy Atherton at their lovely house on Bradley Street, once occupied by Yale President Charles Seymour in retirement as well as Alison Henning, wife of the legendary Saybrook master, Basil Duke Henning. The Athertons have done a spectacular job of restoring one of those classic New England frame houses down behind and to the left of Timothy Dwight (very roughly speaking ) and it was more than enough to provide cheerful hospitality for about 15 of us and our spouses, all to be named later.
Three of our own retirements: Dr. Bruce Morgan and wife Barbara, after 40 years in northern Virginia, have pulled up stakes and relocated to Aliso Viejo, California, roughly halfway between San Diego and L.A, and, as far as he can tell, not a classmate in the vicinity. Tom Carroll has retired after 44 years as professor in the social sciences and director of various prestigious institutes and centers for advanced studies at Michigan State in East Lansing, where he will continue to live. Dr. William Barstow Long is also retiring after many years as a clinical educator at the University of Pennsylvania. Daughter Carrie played lacrosse at Yale.
We were able to note only briefly in the last column the passing of Colin Smith in California on Sept. 10. Here’s more: Colin, a wonderfully funny and artistic soul, had a great life. At Yale, he was an entertaining member of the Pundits and a source of merriment (and wisdom) to everyone who knew him. After two years in the Navy, he put his creative talents to work in the advertising business , and was a member of the team that developed the “Who’s Behind Those Foster Grants?” campaign. He served as a sales manager for New York magazine and Vanity Fair. After moving to the West Coast about 30 years ago, he got involved in high-end furniture, meanwhile continuing his deep interest in sculpture. Donations in his memory can be made to the Kronos Quartet, 1242 Ninth Ave., San Francisco, CA., 94122.
Various people notified us of the death of Fred Cooper in St. Paul, Minnesota, in October. One of his Andover classmates (Peter Bradley, who knew him for 60 years) described him at his memorial service as “something of a clown and cut-up in his prep school years” who, after entering Yale, underwent a conversion of sorts and decided upon a life of the mind and scholarship. He received a PhD from Penn and, from 1971 until his retirement last May, taught art history at the University of Minnesota, where he became a full professor, received the university’s distinguished teaching award and contributed significantly to the literature of Greek, Roman and early Italian art. He was also a cineaste, gourmand and avid collector of kitsch,. One of his favorite pieces, according to reliable accounts, was a table lamp made from a rhinestone-encrusted bust of Elvis Presley. He is survived by two daughters and two stepchildren. Our condolences to his wife, Helen Bradley Foster, of St. Paul.
Meanwhile, classmates who knew Oliver Mallory Ford during his three years at Yale (he came in with us, left early, but for some reason Yale lists him as a member of the class of 1960) may by now have learned of his passing in July, 2010 . Oliver was active in the Dramat, and was an especially gifted lighting designer and worked summers at theaters in Williamstown and Wellesley. He eventually graduated from Penn with a master’s degree in architecture, which he practiced until he switched careers about 30 years ago and became a financial analyst and consultant in Philadelphia. He left his wife Sally, who passed away this year, and two children, Kate and Alex. I am grateful to Lewis Lloyd, ’60, for this information. Lewis tells me that Oliver’s family foundation, in Cleveland, has made a generous donation to the Dramat.