CAM
101521
This column
reflects the life transitions of our classmates as well as the overhang of our
many months dealing with the Covid Pandemic.
The tone is less than uplifting.
Ever the optimist I, along with you, hope for better days. Keep sending your Class Notes to us,
especially if you have exciting, happy news you wish to share with your
classmates.
Elanor Erskin (Stanford) elanorerskin@gmail.com writes that she is in a retirement community for two years
and is enjoying it very much. “Covid
caused restrictions
but activities are coming back.
Plenty of time for reading and storytelling. I have four grandchildren
in undergraduate or graduate programs, one a 2nd lieutenant in the
army. Final thought, “Have an attitude
of gratitude”.
Therese
Baker Degler (Elzas) writes from Stanford CA and her long term campus residence on Mears Court. “I’m trying to
finish a study of the original Mears Court leaseholders. My late husband, Carl Degler,
was one of them. I and another original
owner interviewed 15 of the original 32 originals in 2003 after they had been
in their houses since 1968, the year the street was built. I will prepare a text describing what the
original owner felt about the street after 35 years. Mears Court is one of the faculty housing
streets on the Stanford Campus. I’ve now
lived on this street for since 1989.”
She further lamented the effects of
the Covid virus in curtailing family and travel activities. However, she has been unscathed.
Most of us
know David Lipsky from his lengthy tenure as Dean of the ILR
School. “I was a member of the Cornell
faculty for 50 years. I retired in2018. I was the Anne Evans Estabrook professor of
Dispute Resolution and served as Dean from 1988 to 1997. Regrettably my wife, Sandy, died in early 2020. We were high school sweethearts and met in
1956, We were married in 1962. 58
years. I maintain an office at the ILR
school and do my best to stay up to date in my field. Obviously 2020 was a terrible year,
especially for me, but we must persevere and do our best.”
Again, we
hear from Gail Ripans (Kweller)
gkripans@gmail.com in Atlanta, GA. “I moved to a senior
community, Lenbrook, in January of 2020. I still lecture
about international relations, especially the Middle East. My twin grandsons will
have their Bar Mitzvah in November in Atlanta.”
Gail comments that the pandemic is “A Biblical Plague and can happen
again.” She further adds that she
remains in regular contact with a group of five of her fellow Cornellians.
Willard
Reed has moved
to Rensselaer, NY and writes, “My wife passed asway in Oct. 2017. I sold the house in Ocala and purchased a
doublewide in a trailer park. When the
pandemic struck, I eventually caught the virus, lost 30 pounds and had a memory
problem. Both are getting better a
little at a time. Now I have relocated to
Rensselaer near one of my sons. My
pandemic takeaways include some loss of memory, learning and strength.”
Gerrit White gerritwhite@yahoo.com “Elizabeth and I have gotten our COVID shots
and are happy to resume our traveling again after a long-inspired drought.
Playing golf, pickleball, gardening, and swimming on The Villages Aquatic Swim
team has kept me busy, along with the active lifestyle here at The Villages. We
have a reunion scheduled in August at the NJ shore for our family of 12,
including our 5 grandchildren. Our oldest grandson will start college this fall
in the nearby city of St. Petersburg FL. I wish everyone would take their
vaccine shot so this pandemic can be eradicated world-wide.
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Deanna Nass (Spitzer) dnass39@optimum.net My daily life is more contemplative
and more ‘inward-bound’ than it was before the pandemic. This isn’t
necessarily a bad thing – since it allows me time to savor and appreciate
(anew) the experiences of the past as encapsulated in old photos and
correspondence saved in an album. Additionally, the technology of email has
enabled me to maintain many of these friendships, bringing them from the past
into the present. The technology has also allowed me to gratify my life-long
interest in the arts, presenting me with a virtual reality of ballet
performances, art exhibits, and concerts that comprise the current cultural
scene in NYC. I
wonder if anyone remembers me from the one year I spent at Cornell – living my
freshman year in Clara Dickson VI, a major in art history. Though I loved
everything about that freshman year, I transferred out of Cornell to the
University of Chicago – to join my fiancée who was entering his first year of
medical school. There was no regret concerning the transfer however, since it
was a matter of two truly great institutions offering the best in higher
education. Nevertheless, looking back at the happy days spent at Cornell, I
would welcome any re-connection with the brief friendships sparked there. As you are aware, after publication of the May/June 2021 issue
CAM’s content has transitioned to a free, digital-first publication as part
of the new Cornell alumni communications hub. The July/August Class Notes have
been published! Here is a link: https://alumni.cornell.edu/july-august-2021-class-notes/ For those who prefer a more traditional magazine, there will
also be a paid print option; details on its content and timing are still
being discussed. Please keep your news
flowing to us. Doug Fuss <dougout@attglobal.net> and Susan Stevens (sastevens61@gmail.com
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