Yale Divinity School

Warmest greetings to a splendid class that is only months away from celebrating a memorable reunion. My experience of tending to this column a year ago was enjoyable, but currently you’ve made it even better—this column yields a half-dozen more entries than last year’s. Should you wish to be in touch with any of our classmates mentioned below, please send me your e-mail or other address and I’ll convey it to the relevant person. And don’t forget to mark your calendar: Our 50th class reunion is scheduled for October 12-15, 2009. Plan to attend if at all possible. If you’re willing to participate in an informal planning committee for this stellar event, do let me know. While I’m confident that I can count on support from Ralph Barlow, having a few more on board is sure to help the cause.   – Ken Kuntz ’59 B.D.

Douglas Bailey ’59 B.D., ’60 S.T.M. still serves on the Pension Board of the United Church of Christ as an Annuitant Visitor contacting retired UCC clergy families in central southeast Ohio and a few in West Virginia. Also he continues to serve as chair of a regional UCC Association’s Ecumenical Concerns Committee whose membership consists of both UCC and Disciples of Christ clergy with an eye to promoting a partnership with these two denominations along with other ecumenical relationships. Doug’s involvement in the Grove City Kiwanis Club includes a Meals-on-Wheels route he drives monthly. In June 2008 Doug and Gerry took a two-week trip to Italy with Globus Tours. Some highlights in Rome included St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and Vatican museums. They were on hand when George Bush’s motorcade arrived prior to his visit with the Pope. Doug found the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi and the Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino awe inspiring.

Ralph Barlow ’59 B.D., ’64 S.T.M. writes, “The Jubilee of the Class of ’59 draws near. A joyful time, a jubilee nonetheless is celebrated in the context of continuing problems and sobering recollections.” He asks, “Can we imagine how YDS, in the nearly 50 years since we graduated, might contribute to a reassessment of our work?” Ralph states that Jim Dittes looms large in his imagination, recalled in an article he wrote for Pastoral Psychology, online February 23, 2007 and printed in the March 2007 issue. Titled “Salvation Events Left Unattended: An Inquiry into the Unconscious,” it relates how Jim initiated a change in Ralph’s thinking about three major events in his 33-year ministry in Beneficent Church, UCC, Providence, RI. “A long-tenured ministry is highly vulnerable, hiding for a long time the dynamics of what really happened.”

Ralph admits that family also brings joy amid stress. His parents, wife Evone, their offspring, Paul Martin (named after Paul Schubert and Haverford philosopher Martin Foss), Andrew Ralph, and Ann Kathryn, and their grandsons give Ralph’s life a blessing that is biblically existential and most pleasurable. “It is undeserved and rather mysterious, however real, at its deepest levels.” Ralph also mentions Dodeka, 105 years old, to which he has belonged for 38 years and which he presently serves as historian. A diverse group representing several different vocations, Dodeka is dedicated to an understanding of the present in the light and darkness of the past, and committed to “striking 12 in companionship.”

Bill Barnes ’59 B.D. and Brenda hope to attend the 50th reunion. Brenda continues to accuse Bill of “flunking retirement,” given his many connections around issues of affordable housing, education, prisons, and inner city scholarships. “Retirement,” says Bill, “deserves a new name: re-tread.” At 77 Bill still trudges down to the local YMCA several days a week for workouts that he suspects are becoming increasingly modest.

John Bertsch ’59 B.D. reports that in the context of a comfortable retirement, he and his wife are active in a classical music organization in nearby Akron, OH, which is in its 121st year. Through this involvement they have made many new friends and discovered an endless variety of opportunities in the arts. Enjoyable family moments give them ample occasion to marvel at the things that their children and grandchildren are doing. He adds, “Having rejoined the United Church of Christ in Kent, we are happy to reconnect with many long-time friends and to make many new ones in a very healthy congregation.” John considers his approach to retirement unique: “I quit working!”

Robert W. Croskery ’59 M.Div. notes that his big news concerns moving. Having sold two condos (one in Hammond North—in greater Cincinnati—and the other in Greenville, NC), he and Beverly now claim two residences, a condo in Hammond North and a larger place in Greenville, the city in which their son Rick resides as a physician on the med school faculty. Bob adds, “We hope to spend our final days in NC where the winters are quite pleasant. For the next year we shall live out of two homes and I will continue to be the Designated Pastor of Mount Adams Pilgrim Chapel, preaching two Sundays monthly through the winter, and spending 20 days in NC.” Having resigned from several local boards, Bob seeks more time “kibitzing with the elders at the gate.” Mindful that their daughter Virginia, a music professor at Simpson College who resides on her horse farm in the Des Moines area, survived summer floods, Bob admits that “life can be so unpredictable. I simply give thanks each day for being alive, planning as if I shall go on forever, but knowing that any day may be the last.” Joyfully Bob has made the acquaintance of another Robert Croskery, a retired banker in Lethbridge, Alberta, who is a talented artist. He and Bev spent two weeks in Canada this past summer in order to visit the other Bob and his wife, and to set foot in Calgary, Edmonton, and Banff. Cincinnati summer operas and good books also make their claim on Bob.     

Tom M. Dicken ’59 B.D., born in Jan 1936, assumes that he may be the youngest member of the class. That said, he is beginning to feel some of the aches and pains of age. When he was 20, Tom sought to keep his age a secret since most of his classmates were mature beings of 22 or 23! The Fall/Winter 2007 issue of Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, contains Tom’s essay, “Dying: An Interim Report.” He and Nancy submit that while we all entertain interim reflections on the subject, “no one is qualified to do a ‘final’ report.” This project offered Tom a chance to reflect on death and dying, look back over his scholarship of the past 11 years of retirement, and pull together a few threads of his life. He adds, “Nancy and I still get out to plays and concerts, follow politics almost compulsively, keep up with four children and ten grandchildren, and travel some.” They hope to attend the 50th reunion.     

Tom G. Duggan ’59 B.D., having concluded his interim pastorate after Easter 2008, is fully retired. In summer 2008 he and Gail enjoyed a 7,000 mile road trip spanning the Mexican border and the Canadian Rockies. “We drove down to Nogales to see the infamous fence our country is building. It’s amazing how different the fence is between the US and Canada! Hopefully Barack Obama will give our nation the kind of leadership we need at this critical juncture in history.” Their splendid 7-week trip included an intergenerational Elderhostel with their 11-year-old grandson, where they visited Yellowstone before the fire and Craters of the Moon. Fulfilling a lifelong dream of visiting the Canadian Rockies, Tom and Gail found Lake Louise absolutely beautiful. They tarried in Banff and Jasper, visiting many nearby lakes and meadows. Enjoying his service on the YDS Alumni Board, Tom reports that at a recent meeting, where discussion on male chauvinism abounded, a decision was made to change Alumnal to Alumni. (Tom is aware that Yale’s School of Nursing continues to use Alumnal.) Tom was a member of the American Church in Paris committee that successfully obtained a new pastor with solid international church experience. He also serves on a board at Pilgrim Place, their retirement community, as it seeks to borrow 20 million dollars to build new residences and offices. His and Gail’s good health makes their retirement fun and challenging. Tom urges that if you haven’t yet put YDS in your will, do so now!

Rem B. Edwards ’59 B.D. spends much time since retirement as Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, and general flunky for the Robert S. Hartman Institute (http://www.hartmaninstitute.org). He is senior editor of their new professional journal, The Journal of Formal Axiology: Theory and Practice. Its initial issue hosts articles by two of our classmates, Rem and Tom Dicken ’59 B.D.  In April Rem and Louise drove to Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas for a wonderful trip with glorious scenery, even though it was so dry that the cacti failed to bloom. Given current astronomical gas prices, Rem assumes that most of their future excursions will entail day trips to places near home, like the Joyce Kilmer National Forest in NC, which they have previously visited. Rem remains very active in vegetable and cactus gardening and is thankful for favorable summer weather. He and Louise truly enjoy their children and four grandchildren. Rem expects to be “with all of us survivors at YDS in October 2009 for our 50th.”     

Robert Gartman ’59 S.T.M. admits that little has changed since his entry in last year’s column: “When my Mississippi Confederate great-grandfather was a POW of the Yankees in 1864, he began his letter home to his wife and children with ‘I’m still in the land of the living!’” Bob and Patty are thinking of attending our reunion. They didn’t interact with that many ’59ers during their sojourn at YDS which entailed only one year as Bob pursued the S.T.M. degree. So they might know rather few who gather on the hill. Still, “We’d like to see the renovated YDS campus, look over the neighborhood in Hamden where Patty supported us by teaching at Putnam Avenue School, and view what used to be the Disciples House on Canner Street.”  Since 1959 they have resided in Dallas and Midland, TX, Springfield, MO, and back to Dallas. Bob served as a Disciples pastor and, before retiring, a planned giving officer for Texas Christian University. Patty taught school and later became a computer programmer. They successfully reared two children and are blessed with four grandsons. Bob recalls that at YDS he wrote a paper on why the US should recognize Red China. “Now much of what we buy comes from China, but strangely the US still boycotts Cuba. My YDS degree was in Christian Ethics. My teachers were the best—it was a golden age for the Divinity School. Sadly, a half-century later the world needs what they taught more than ever.”   

Eric Gass ’59 B.D. and Pat are new grandparents to Sonia Leila Gass, a charmer who is likely to be their one and only. After reluctantly agreeing to be president of the Trustees of Jaffna College Funds for an addition year, Eric is ready for someone else to fill this slot when his term ends in Oct 2008. Currently he serves on a board in their local community named Save Our Slopes, Polk County (NC). This grass roots organization is designed “to bring pressure on local governments to plan growth in sensible and sustainable ways, and not leave it to the big out-of-town national developers.” They are encouraged by their success to date: “After a ‘visioning process,’ the county, towns, and townships will hopefully put in place ordinances and zoning regulations that will provide ‘smart’ growth and preserve the semi-rural nature of our county.”

Jeff Hamilton ’59 B.D. retired from the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1994. He notes one telling difference in the elective process from 1986 to 1994, the years of his four terms of service, and now: “Although I was listed as an ordained minister in all campaign literature, the issue of ‘being religious’ was not there. Ironically, in the next cycle, the ‘faith’ issue emerged and candidates began to talk as if to claim that having some kind of faith was a qualification for public office. The recent presidential campaign confirms that, but Obama and McCain seem to have a more balanced view.” Jeff is in his 14th year serving as the Associate Minister of First Christian Church in Oklahoma City, a church that was the center to families and other services following the Murrah Building bombing of 1995. A few years ago Jeff and a Harvard Divinity School graduate collaborated on a book, Talking Faith and Politics, which the Disciples of Christ press published for its adult series (Chalice Press, 2003). In addition to active involvement in Democratic Party politics, Jeff serves as President of the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma that addresses issues of civil and human rights, interreligious cooperation, public education, and civility in public discourse: “Oklahoma has a diverse religious culture even if the state is heavily Southern Baptist!” Should Jeff take up the challenge of friends that he chronicle his career as a liberal from Yale in the Oklahoma Legislature and in church life, “some humorous stories would emerge.”

Peter Hodgson ’59 B.D. and Eva celebrated the 50th anniversary of their meeting, in June 1958, at an SCM conference in Maine. In September they participated in a Global Volunteers program in Hungary teaching conversational English to school children in a town near the Serbian-Croatian border. Peter remarks that “this was a wonderful opportunity for Eva, who, during her career as an ESL teacher, never taught children from her native country.” Peter’s book on liberal theology was published in 2007; currently he is working on Hegel’s philosophy of world history. They look forward to attending our 50th reunion in October.

Kyoko Komatsu Ishikure ’59 M.R.E. and her husband have recovered from last year’s horrific gas explosion in their apartment complex. Kyoko continues to lead a busy life, arranging exhibitions in their galleries and attending auctions: “It is always a delight to meet with artists but it is doubly so when they are young and full of enthusiasm.” While they do not know how long they can do so, she and her husband travel rather extensively. In 1993 they were guests of Enid [Arnold] and her husband, Sir Ernest Woodroofe in Guildford, England. Since Enid was a victim of Parkinson’s disease for many years, she wanted to see Kyoko before her condition worsened. Her husband died in 2000 and Enid in 2004. Moreover, Kyoko saw Georgie McLean ’58 M.R.E. in Brussels in 1999 and again in Paris in 2000. Kyoko adds, “The world has been changing so quickly and drastically that I find it difficult to catch up, but I’m still hanging on, counting my blessings.”

Tom Johnston ’59 M.Div., retired as Executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Trinity, and continues to live in Camp Hill, PA. He and Anna revel in time spent with their grandchildren in Arlington, VA, and Hammond, IN. They have also become caregivers for their daughter Sara who became disabled from a chiropractor inflicted neck injury. Service activities are important to Tom. One is a disaster response mission of Carlisle Presbytery. Monthly “Lend a Hand” sends busloads of volunteers to disaster areas. After Katrina nearly 1,500 were deployed to coastal Mississippi, and more recently they assisted flood victims in Iowa. Tom is also an Angel Flight pilot, flying medically indigent patients to treatment. Locally he serves on the Board of Christian Churches United and chairs its non-profit corporation to build and operate a shelter and transitional housing for 40 homeless men. And he still finds time for sports—biking, swimming, sailing, canoeing, and hiking. Since retirement Tom and Anna have traveled extensively, walking in Paul’s footsteps in Turkey, sailing the Greek Islands, taking a river cruise in Russia, and visiting the Amazon River basin, the Galapagos Islands, and Pointe Petra. Sailing in the Caribbean, skiing with the Ski 70+ Club, and family reunions at a cabin in Western NC are annual events. And every year or so he joins Bill Fish, Ned Edwards, and others active in his college’s Christian Association on a retreat, relishing the time to reconnect and reflect. Expect Tom to be attending the 50th reunion.

Mary Keithahn ’59 M.R.E. volunteers on the staff of First Congregational UCC, Rapid City, SD. Augsburg Fortress has recently published Sing the Stories of Jesus: Twenty-Five Songs for the Youngest Singers,a collection that composer John D. Horman and she have written. They have collaborated for 20 years in writing hymns, anthems, and musical dramas for the church (their website: www.hymnsetc.com). Helen Kemp, 90, mentor of many leading children’s choir directors in the USA, wrote: “Wonderful texts for our youngest singers, with melodies that enhance the words and will delight our little choristers.” The songs draw from stories of Jesus common to Bible story books and curriculum resources published by several different denominations for ages 4-7. Age-appropriate biblical texts address important ideas about Jesus. Since all of the scriptures are included in the Revised Common Lectionary, the songs give children an opportunity to provide relevant, meaningful music for congregational worship. For each song the authors provide creative suggestions for teaching the words and melodies. Mary’s colleague is organist and director of music at Warner Presbyterian Church, Kensington, MD. In fall 2008 the Lay School of Theology program for the UCC in western SD included Mary’s course “Congregational Song.” Rather than engaging in overseas trips this year, Mary is catching up on numerous home projects, enjoying the beautiful Black Hills, and, assisted by her 15-year-old grandson, campaigning for Obama.

Ken Kuntz ’59 B.D. is basically retired, yet in spring 2008 he taught an evening course on Biblical Archaeology and in February a short course for retirees on biblical wisdom literature in the University of Iowa’s Senior College. He also teaches students via three website courses in the university’s Guided Independent Study program. Ken enjoys his role on the YDS Alumni Board which entails two trips to New Haven annually (presently he is its secretary). He finds the exterior of the YDS campus as beautiful as ever, and is becoming acclimated to the interior (where his bed once stood in Hopkins House, there stands a water cooler in a hallway of the Institute of Sacred Music). Ken still attends meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature; recently his article on animal imagery in the Hebrew Psalter was published. In June 2008, Ken and Ruth escaped flood-drenched Iowa, heading for Winston-Salem (visiting Graham and Sybil Rights), then back to Cincinnati where they joined an Elderhostel on a barge cruise along the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. In August they took a Vantage tour of Iceland, enjoying overnight stops in Reykjavik, Stykkisholmur, Akureyri, and Selfoss. They saw stunning waterfalls, vast fields of lava, grazing sheep, and many clouds of steam erupting from the ground (abundant geothermal energy). A year ago Ken resumed weekly piano lessons he left behind in 1952. He and Ruth are blessed by enjoyable moments with their two adult children, daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter. 

Alan McLean ’59 B.D. retired from parish ministry for an entire decade, spent 40+ years in urban church contexts, the last 20 at First Church of Christ in Hartford, CT (founded in 1632). Perhaps his greatest satisfaction of these past 10 years has been the opportunity to teach part time as an adjunct faculty member at The Hartford Seminary. Courses in Lay Theology, Community Ministry, and sharing in Christian-Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue events have provided much incentive for study and stimulation. Three years ago Alan and Joan moved to their 1813 farm house in New London, NH (now insulated with something other than 19th-century newspapers in the walls!). Alan reports that they see Gordie ’59 M.Div. and Jan Forbes ’57 M.R.E. most every summer and often connect with Bob ’59 B.D. and Nancy Grant. In August 2008 Alan and Joan observed their 50th wedding anniversary with their 4 children and 7 grandchildren.  Alan extends greetings to all ’59ers “who shared the amazing gifts of our YDS seminary days.”

Orlan Mitchell ’59 M.Div. remains thankful for the YDS experience, even more so now that friends in his retirement community in Grinnell, IA, have put together a men’s reading group that visits the classics as well as current literature. “The issues raised therein seem similar to those we dealt with in our years at YDS. It’s always good to have some idea of what others are talking about and think important.” Orlan regrets, however, that during his YDS experience he had at best minimal exposure to Islamic thought which he finds so vital today. “As one person stated in a past newsletter, we had too much exposure to North Atlantic Theology.” Orlan adds, “For me that has been offset with my doctoral studies on the Pacific Rim and in being still motivated to understand others, a trait developed at YDS.”

Warren Molton ’59 S.T.M., now 81, still devotes 20 hours weekly to pastoral counseling and his wife of 58 years, Mary Dian, continues to practice as a Jungian therapist. Since they closed their counseling center of 12 therapists a few years ago, they work in European style in their home. One of Warren’s books, Friends, Partners and Lovers (Judson, 1979) is still in print after a revised edition appeared a decade ago. His latest book, If God Is (Forest of Peace Press, acquired by Ave Maria Press at Notre Dame), containing Warren’s poems and essays, recently went out of print after five years. After serving as an assistant pastor, chaplain in Korea, pastor while at YDS, then chaplain at UConn in Storrs, and a professor of pastoral theology at Central Baptist Seminary (American Baptist in Kansas City) for six years, he and Mary Dian joined the Episcopal Church and Warren opened a counseling center. “Of all the callings, this I have loved the most and will continue so long as health permits.” Feeling the same way about her work, Mary Dian has completed a manuscript with a working title, Four Types of Women, developing an essay by Toni Wolf, Carl Jung’s colleague. In June 2008 Warren and Mary Dian enjoyed a family reunion of their kids and spouses, grandkids and spouses, and great-grand kids at the place they share with friends on the beach at Isle of Palms, SC.

Martha M. Newell ’59 B.D. moved from New York City in 1990 to Willamette View, a lovely retirement community south of Portland, OR. Home to 600 retirees, this facility is quite alive and a great place to live as Martha looks out on Mt. Hood from her 7th floor apartment. Pleased that Willamette View lacks a program staff, she reports that all activities are initiated and run by residents. In an office in a small apartment on the 6th floor Martha continues her private practice as Jungian analyst both with three individuals and a supervision group of eight who meet regularly to share questions and concerns relative to their work as therapists. She is thankful for the opportunity to remain involved with other professionals. Martha also uses her skills as a drummer with the Willamette View Chorus. Playing a set of traps, she provides the beat and covers over any slips to the delight of those in the chorus. Having played in a kindergarten rhythm band, Martha finds it fun to be back playing. Since retiring she has traveled extensively in Alaska, Norway, and around the states, but no longer owing to expensive gas and high airfares. Through the years Martha has corresponded with Kyoko Komatsu Ishikure. Alarmed to learn of the explosive damage to her apartment more than a year ago, she was relieved to learn that Kyoko wasn’t hurt. 

Roy G. Nyren ’59 M.Div. and Nancy are happily retired in Boca Raton, FL, moving there in 2005 after nearly 10 years in Zephyrhills, FL. They occupy a town house overlooking a small lake and 26 tennis courts. In August 2008 they celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary. They delight in connecting with a son and family who also reside in Boca Raton. Their daughter and family live in Bethesda, MD, and another son lives in MA. Roy serves a local UCC congregation part time as “Pastor for Missions and More” and nearly every Sunday Nancy serves as a volunteer storyteller. During their 12 years in Florida. Roy has twice functioned as an interim pastor. Roy enjoys tennis, swimming, walking, biking, going to the many ocean beaches nearby, reading, and volunteering as assistant coach for their son’s cross country and tennis teams (he’s a high school history teacher and coach). Roy and Nancy have been active as election officials, supervising those interesting Florida elections! In good health, they anticipate many productive years ahead together. During the past three years Roy has won three gold medals in Tennis Doubles in the Florida State Senior Games. On many Saturdays he stands at a busy intersection protesting the Iraq war with a diverse group called “The Boca Peace Corner.” He adds, “We pray without ceasing for an end to the madness which is Iraq and for a change after the election in November!”      

Marguerite Rece ’59 Div. married Ellis Rece in 1958, moving to the South for the first time in her life. She has three adult children, Julie (a wound care+ R.N.C.), Will (a Culinary Institute of America trained chef), and Katie (an accountant) as well as 4 grandchildren. Marguerite and Ellis were part of a self named “church for church dropouts.” Being spirit-led, this Church of the Covenant met opposition from the mainline United Methodist Church. During the 1960s Marguerite was a minister’s wife, a teacher/office manager at Paine College, and an activist in the Civil Rights movement. During the Vietnam War she and Ellis were invested in the Peace movement in Augusta, GA. And in the 1970s Marguerite worked at a VA hospital in psych/mental health and assisted Vietnam vets suffering post traumatic stress disorder. Although she and Ellis divorced in 1986, they get together with his new wife during important family events. In 2004 Marguerite returned to Atlanta, taking up residence in a wonderful condo community and began engaging in psych/mental health work at two different hospitals. Since it no longer feeds her spirit, she retired as a nurse in January 2008 and is presently working as a volunteer out of an AFSC office in Atlanta. In June she met Jim Cavener at a Quaker gathering in NC, not having seen him since the ’60s. She states that one of the most memorable statements she has encountered came from H. Richard Niebuhr: “God made me a person before He (sic) made me a man.”     

Don G. Reiff ’59 Div. and Mary “continue as before.” Relatives far and near joined them and their wonderful daughters for a 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Aug 2007. Don says “It’s always good to hear about people in the partial-class of which I was once a member—looks like they’re all doing well in the Lord’s work.”

Graham H. Rights ’59 B.D. retired in 2000 but remains active in the church and community through service on various boards, committees, and task forces. In 2002 he completed 15 years on the Board of the Moravian Church Foundation, which oversees business investments of the worldwide Moravian Church. He is on the board of the local Moravian continuing care retirement center, the Moravian Music Foundation, the pastoral care center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, the Ecumenical Institute of the Carolinas, and a local Crisis Control Ministry. He also participates in the Moravian-Episcopal Dialogue that has developed a proposal for full communion to be considered by both denominations. Much effort recently has gone into work with a task force examining the administration and ministries of the Southern Province of the Moravian Church in America. Since 2000 Graham has enjoyed participation in a local Moravian congregation three blocks from where he and Sybil live. He sings in the choir and Men’s Chorus and plays in the band. In 2006 he coauthored a study booklet, What We Believe: A Glimpse at Moravian Theology, used by Women’s Fellowships of the Northern and Southern Provinces and later reprinted for wider circulation. Given Sybil’s declining health, Graham has cut back on involvements. They feel blessed that their two children and two grandkids live within their Winston-Salem community. Graham deeply appreciates the preparation he received at YDS and the enjoyable student life of those years. He hopes to attend the 50th reunion. 

Harold Sawyer ’59 B.D. left the ministry, the church, and the faith in 1968, journeying to California to begin a new life as a secular humanist and student in social policy planning at UC Berkley. One degree and three years later, Hal, his wife Tam, and three kids took the leap to voluntary poverty. They moved “back to the land” on a 40-acre parcel near the coast of western Sonoma County where Hal spent the next 30 years as a carpenter and reinvented the wheel from kerosene lamps to photo voltaics. Although he and Tam divorced in the early 1970s, she still lives on the ranch with her now not so new husband. In 1990 Hal lost his second wife Alex to breast cancer. For the last 18 years he has lived with his bed and bridge partner Sue Snow. “We have a great time in spite of the fact, or maybe partially because of the fact that we are both cancer survivors.” Classmates wishing to visit wine country are invited to contact Hal (please ask Ken for his email address). He adds, “I still have an interest in the origins of the Jesus movement and in the development of Christian writings. Until recently I have been an active member of the Jesus Seminar.” 

Don Skinner ’59 B.D. now lives at Wesbury United Methodist Community, a continuous care facility in Meadville, PA, where near neighbors include Jim Hammerlee (YDS ’58). This venue sustains Patricia, who suffers from vascular dementia and now lives in Wesbury’s Memory Support Center. Don’s extra-curricular activities include biweekly columns on environmental issues for the Meadville Tribune newspaper; teaching a first-year seminar at Allegheny College; weekly adult-ed classes at Wesbury and at his church (Emmanuel UCC); and serving as president and chair of the board of the Chautauqua UCC Society at Chautauqua Institution. He is working on his fifth book, a narrative on living with dementia.

Rich Thompson ’59 M.Div. served the Presbyterian USA Church in Tulsa, OK, then for 22 years in Glen Ellyn, IL, until his retirement in Austin, TX. More recently he has been interim minister in two UCC churches. Margaret, his wife of 42 years, died in 1998. Rich is now married to Jane Neth. Between them they count 7 children and 10 grandchildren. They reside in Fort Collins, CO. In summer 2008 Rich enjoyed some time in the UK.

David Waite Yohn ’59 M.Div. reports that after his wife, Rev. Dr. Craig Millett, and he jointly retired as co-chaplains and professors of pastoral theology (David) and psychology (Craig), they started a new church as co-pastors. At present he is slowly working on his sixth book and is caregiver for his wife’s Parkinson’s disease and myoclonic epilepsy.

Notes from 2007

Douglas B. Bailey '59 B.D. '60 S.T.M. retired in 1995 after serving 22 years in coordinating various training programs at a county child welfare agency in Columbus, OH. He came to this agency after completing his Ph.D. in adult education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973. For the past few years as an ordained UCC minister he has served the Pension Board of his denomination as an Annuitant Visitor, making regular contacts with retired clergy and surviving spouses in central southeast OH. Doug reports that he and his wife Gerry are a “second time around” married couple, having completed 37 adventurous years of married life. Gerry teaches piano and organ, giving private lessons in their home at Grove City, OH, after having taught music in the Wisconsin public schools for many years. In 2001 CSS Publishing Company in Lima, OH, published Doug’s book, Clips and Quips for Midnight Oil Sermons and Last Minute Sunday School Lessons. Containing various metaphorical language tools for use in preaching and teaching, it includes an endorsement from Harry Baker Adams. 

After graduating from YDS, Joe Barnabas ’59 M.Div. returned to Ahmednagar College in India, now prepared to add chaplaincy to his already long list of responsibilities at the College. He and his wife Sarala ’58 M.A., youngest daughter of the College’s founder Dr. B.P. Hivale, valued their time in New Haven, the talented faculty they met, and the friendships they formed. Upon their return to Ahmednagar, Barnabas was appointed as Acting Bishop for this Diocese on behalf of the Church of North India. While other opportunities presented themselves, he has always felt that his mission in life was to serve the young, and he has devoted himself to this cause. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pune University along with numerous other awards for his contribution to higher education, yet he feels very humble that he was called upon to serve and teach young people. Sarala has had much success with her writing and was recently commissioned to write her memoirs to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Ahmednagar College. Their two children and four grandchildren are all doing well. “Looking back,” Barnabas comments, “it may have been arduous, but was also a glorious half century…So much done, so much left to do.”

John Bertsch ’59 B.D., retired for ten years, reports that he has taken a novel approach to retirement—he stopped working! He and Jeanette have lived in their present house for 26 years. Their children are both married and each has two children. They live close enough so that John and Jeanette have the pleasure of seeing them fairly often. Since they are both involved with a classical music organization in nearby Akron, they have made many new friends and listened to a great deal of fine music. Moreover, since they live close to the Cleveland Orchestra’s Summer home, John and Jeanette attend several concerts each summer. They have rejoined the UCC church in Kent, OH, which John served in the ’60s. They have enjoyed renewing many friendships there.

Sue (Carter) Bjick ’59 M.A., '59 Div. recently finished her year as chair of the Harper Forum, a town-gown group of some 250 business and professional community leaders that meet with Binghamton University heads to organize a superb speaker series. She still has a part time private practice as a clinical psychologist and her husband works part time in his retirement job as licensed massage therapist. In October 2006 they attended Sue’s 50th Rhodes College reunion with her four closest friends present and intact enough to enjoy a full weekend of love and laughter. Sue’s and her husband’s two daughters have provided them with two teenage granddaughters and two grandsons. The youngest, born in September 2006, is their joy right now.  Aside from family visits, Sue and her husband enjoy Yoga practice, and Sue finds joy in a weekly hiking group and monthly book group. 

Bill Barnes '59 B.D. retired 11 years ago after a lengthy service in Nashville inner city churches (4 years in the first one and 30 in the second).  He writes that he and his wife concur that he is ‘flunking’ retirement: “The addictions still rage—to jails and prisons, to re-entry, to affordable housing, to living wage.” Bill attached to his contribution an advert for his book, To Love a City. It is focused on a small, diverse congregation making a go of it by pursuing a Christ-led vocation in a low income minority inner city neighborhood. The book costs $20 (checks payable to ‘O.N.E./Barnes Scholarship Fund,’ Box 128261, Nashville 37212). All monies received above publishing costs go to the scholarship.

Jim Cavener ’59 B.D. for the past quarter century has been writing for newspapers in Asheville, NC, his adopted city of some 30 years, and in southern CA where two former editors still seek his work when he’s back on the west coast each winter in Claremont. For the past decade Jim has been a member of the board of directors of the NC affiliate of the ACLU and is vice-president of the Western NC chapter of ACLU—two other officers of that chapter are his partner, Alan Scott Robinson, and Jim Harrison ’59 B.D.. In June Cavener was a voting delegate to the ACLU’s biennial national conference in Seattle. Since Jim recently became the representative of the Western NC Yale Club to the Association of Yale Alumni, he’ll be making November pilgrimages to New Haven for the annual Alumni Association Assembly of lectures, workshops, tours, banquets, and either the Yale-Harvard or Yale-Princeton game, whichever is the home game that year, thus spoiling his long record of never having been in the Yale Bowl.

Robert W. Croskery ’59 M.Div. and Bev celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in August. After retiring in 1998 Bob was president of the Trimex Corp. and then president of Wabash Mining Co. He has held interim positions at Shiloh Church (UCC) in Dayton and Mt. Adams Pilgrim Chapel in Cincinnati. In the past year Bob and Bev have taken trips to China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. Bob serves on the boards of the Cincinnati Ballet, the Hoxworth Blood Center, and the Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory, and has been active with the Medical Missions Hall of Fame. He also served six years as president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors, and two years as president of the Cincinnati Yale Club. Their son Rick is a physician in North Carolina. Their son Rob was called from his law practice three years ago to the army, in Special Operations. Their daughter Kate is a Methodist minister in Wisconsin and an adjunct teaching law at DePaul. Their daughter Virginia is an opera singer, professor, and equestrian. The Croskerys regularly visit Nancy and Tom Dicken '59 B.D. '64 Ph.D., who live in nearby Versailles.

Tom Dicken '59 B.D. '64 Ph.D. and his wife Nancy report that although age and health issues begin to make some inroads, they still travel a lot. Tom reads fiction, art, history, biography, and philosophy of religion, but virtually no theology, which in his eyes seems irrelevant. He watches the church with bemusement and even fondness, but with little passion. He publishes a stray article every year or so. Tom and Nancy haven’t decided among Hillary, Barak, Bill, or John, but count the days till they can take a deep breath and know the nightmare is beginning to come to a close. They see Bud Hayes, Jan Parsons Mackey ’60 B.D., Rem Edwards, and Bob Croskery ’59 M.Div. from time to time and occasionally bump into someone who knows others in our class. Tom adds: “I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s or this moment for any other.”

Tom Duggan '59 B.D. and his wife Gail are in their ninth year of retirement at Pilgrim Place in Claremont, CA. He recommends that those looking for a progressive Christian retirement community should consider Pilgrim Place, founded by the UCC denomination. He finds it to be a wonderful college and seminary community close to Los Angeles. During his first five retirement years Tom read, gardened, rested, and traveled to Asia and Europe to visit his former parishes. Then he entered the world of interim ministry at the call of his local Presbyterian congregation. For the past year he has served a small church “up in the mountains,” as the locals say. He has enjoyed working at two half-time pastorates. In October he and Gail fly to Paris to participate in 150th Anniversary celebrations of the American Church where Tom served for more than a decade. He has written the words of a hymn for that service.  Since that experiment, he has written some ten other hymns. While abroad, he and Gail will also visit friends on the southern coast of England. Tom, like Ken Kuntz '59 B.D., is a YDS Alumnal Board member.

Rem B. Edwards ’59 B.D. has spent most of his time since retirement volunteering as the Secretary, Treasurer, and Webmaster for the Robert S. Hartman Institute (http://www.hartmaninstitute.org) that is dedicated to understanding, developing, and applying the theory of value created by R. S. Hartman. Rem publishes on human values, especially those in religion. He writes: To take their Christian or Religious Value Profile, and measure your “spiritual temperature,” go to http://www.rvp-cvpautoscore.com. Rem keeps in regular touch with Tom Dicken '59 B.D. '64 Ph.D and, more recently, Bud Hayes. He and Tom are stuck by how enduring the influence of Richard Niebuhr has been on them. While as a student Rem did not appreciate Niebuhr being on both sides of every issue, he has come to recognize “all the uncertainties that maturity must acknowledge as we seek to live meaningfully, seriously, and with conviction in the face of uncertainty.” Rem’s main hobby and source of exercise is gardening, both vegetable and cactus. He suspects that he has the largest and most flourishing outdoor cactus garden in the entire state of Tennessee!  He and his wife immensely enjoy and cherish their two children and four grandchildren.

Bob Gartman '59 S.T.M. after graduation from YDS served as a Disciples of Christ pastor in Texas and Missouri and then had a stint with Texas Christian University in planned giving. His wife Patty taught school and later turned her efforts to computer programming. In retirement they both travel extensively. Bob finds some time to preach, teach, research genealogy, read, and volunteer. In July Bob attended the Yale luncheon at the General Assembly of their church in Fort Worth where he was very impressed with Dr. Serene Jones’ report of YDS. He writes: “More and more I think universities and seminaries may be the best hope for a world growing ever less than we had hoped it would be.” He often reflects on what he learned of Christian Ethics from Niebuhr, Gustavson, Bainton, and Miller.  Bob and Patty are favored by their daughter, son, and families living near them in the Dallas area.

Eric Gass '59 B.D. this year has been serving as president of the Trustees of Jaffna College Funds that supports educational programs in the Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. It has been a much busier incumbency than usual due to upheaval in the nation and with their partner church there. In August Eric and Pat took a long anticipated first visit to China with what Eric says is an outstanding agency—Overseas Adventure Travel (he recommends checking out their website). As a related matter, Bill Jones ’58 M.Div., ’65 S.T.M. sent Eric a book, The Soong Dynasty, by Sterling Seagrave, the son of the Burma missionary Seagrave, known as The Burma Surgeon. In Sept Eric officiated at his son Robert’s wedding. Eric still plays tennis, sings in the choir, and tries to do his voluntary part with several groups, one of which seeks to slow development in his North Carolina area.

Peter Hodgson ’59 B.D., '60 M.A., '63 Ph.D. retired in 2003 after 38 years on the faculty at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Since then he and Eva have enjoyed Elderhostels in Portugal and Spain, Nova Scotia, Hawaii, Central Europe, and Greece. They spend summers at a cottage in Eagles Mere, PA. Peter has continued working on Hegel in various connections, and his book, Liberal Theology: A Radical Vision, was published in May by Fortress Press. In it he revisits some of his experiences at YDS and appreciates how much he was formed by them. Peter hopes to attend the 50th reunion.

Joe Hough '59 B.D. '64 M.A. '65 Ph.D reports that after a year-long bout with cancer, he is up and going full steam ahead. While he has loved being president of Union Theological Seminary (NYC), he is ready to pass the baton, and will do so next June. Joe states that this has been the most challenging and deeply satisfying eight years of his career. He is truly grateful for having had this opportunity.

Kyoko Komatsu Ishikure ’59  M.R.E and her husband were involved in a serious house explosion on June 19. The badly damaged rear side of their building was pictured in the Japan Times. Kyoko expected it would take a few months for them to be able to return to normal life. She writes that nobody can believe how she and her husband survived without getting hurt at all. They are most grateful to God for having protected them.

Mary (Nelson) Keithahn ’59 M.R.E. moved from Belle Fourche, SD, to a new town home in Rapid City. She volunteers on the staff of First Congregational UCC and recently went with a mission group to spend time with their sister church in a squatters’ village outside San Jose, Costa Rica. She has also taken part in tours of Jordan and Scotland involving a week in the Iona community. Mary continues writing hymns, anthem texts, and musicals for the church. Her first hymn, “When Quiet Peace is Shattered,” was included in Paul Richardson’s revision of Erik Routley’s A Panorama of Christian Hymnody. She and composer John Horman have recently completed a Holy Week cantata and a collection of Bible songs for children (website: www.hymnsetc.com). For 18 years Mary has been involved in the South Dakota UCC Conference Music, Arts, Drama, and Dance camp. Last year she participated in political demonstrations supporting a referendum against very restrictive state anti-abortion legislation. This proved successful, but not their efforts in behalf of the gay marriage amendment. At Mary’s 50th Carleton reunion, where a new hymn by her and Horman was commissioned, she was presented an award for distinguished achievement in composing text for religious music.

Orlan Mitchell '59 M.Div., after YDS graduation, served UCC churches in IA and SD, then eight years as president of Yankton College. That was followed by 11 years as an executive for the Iowa Conference of the UCC. He and Verlene live in a UCC related retirement community in Grinnell, IA. Orland reports that they have five children, all professionals in their chosen fields, making more money a year than he ever did! They find retirement good, with some winter time spent in the warmer climate of Texas, always when George W. is out of state. They participate in a current events book club and in lay activities at their local church. On occasion Orlan and two other YDS grads residing in Grinnell enjoy lunch and their own alumni meeting. In return trips to the YDS campus Orlan has witnessed the physical decline of buildings and their partial rejuvenation.

Ed Poitras '53 B.A., '59 B.D. and Genell left Korea in 1989 after 30 years of service with the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. Ed taught church history and historical theology at the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, while Genell taught  and practiced social work at Ewha Woman’s University and Taewha Christian Community Centers. They were deeply involved in the struggle for human rights in Korea and active in the arts community and in various translation projects. From 1990 until his retirement in 1997 Ed taught World Christianity and Misson Studies at Perkins School of Theology at SMU while Genell worked at Brian’s House for families with HIV. They then moved to a house in Maine adjacent to their daughter and family, affording them daily contact with two grandchildren. Ed recently completed a term as the president of the Maine Council of Churches. He also volunteers as associate pastor of the United Methodist Church in Brunswick. Earlier Ed and Paul Minus '55 B.A. '58 B.D. '60 M.A. '62 Ph.D. were among those who raised funds for the Kenneth Scott Latourette lecture room at YDS. Ed reported Lee Cooper’s death last year after an intense struggle with cancer. Ed himself is a prostate cancer survivor.

Don Reiff '59 Div., who attended YDS only during the 1956-57 academic year, has just retired as a linguist/speech pathologist. In August he and his wife Mary were with their daughters and families in California to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Rich Thompson '59 M.Div. served the Presbyterian USA church in Tulsa, OK, then for 22 years in Glen Ellyn, IL, until his retirement in Austin, TX. Subsequently Rich was an interim minister in two UCC churches. His community service has included serving as president of a high school board of education and as a 20-year host of an interfaith television series. Margaret, his wife of 42 years, died in 1998. Subsequently, Rich married Jane Neth. They reside in Fort Collins, CO. Between them Rich and Jane count seven children and ten grandchildren. As a highlight of his ministry, Rich helped integrate a church in Oklahoma during the early years of the Civil Rights movement. While at YDS he was editor of Religion at the Newsdesk. His interest in electronic communications evolved into interfaith public service broadcasting, followed by leading PCUSA Media Literacy after his retirement. Among those interviewed over the years were Bill Moyers, William Sloane Coffin, and Fred Rogers. In the aftermath of Margaret’s death, Rich found participating in the Hospice Bereavement process to be a significant spiritual value. Rich mentions that he proposed to Jane by drawing a line in the sand at the Alamo!

Ron Tipton ’59 B.D. and his wife Donna are active members of First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor, MI. Through their church they also help support a church and community project in Nicaragua. Since their three children and four grandchildren live nearby, they are much involved in their lives. On August 4 their children sponsored a 50th anniversary party for them at a local country club which turned out to be ‘a really exciting, fun, memorable, and much-appreciated event. Ron and Donna especially enjoy train travel. They have taken trips in all directions out of Chicago and have ridden on several Canadian trains. In September they took the Empire Builder to Seattle, then on to visit Vancouver, Victoria, and other attractions in Canada. Ron adds: “Like all retirees we are amazed at how busy we are.”

David Waite Yohn '59 M.Div. was licensed in the United Church of Christ in 1956 and ordained in 1959. For 50 years he focused on creating and developing new programs, or rebuilding and revitalizing troubled or failed programs. His journey included religious and secular work in hospitals, prisons, churches, universities, a police department, judicial court, and seminary. Byway treks led to a D.Min. degree, five books, along with various articles and liturgical resources. A survivor of two types of cancer, David is now his handicapped wife’s caregiver.  He reports that his travels discovered contemporary ‘churchianity’ becoming less and less creative, positive, and relevant. A staunch advocate for the UCC’s vision, David finds his pilgrimage heading in Quaker directions. He wrote in pencil—a superb venue! His piece closed: “Constantly overwhelmed with gratitude for the privilege of enjoying my adventures and fellow pilgrims, I now travel with a single prayer: ‘Thanks!’”