University of New Hampshire 1954 Virtual Yearbook
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Dan Ford wrote these notes and generally spends more time than he should futzing with computers. Otherwise, he skis at Aspen most every winter, flies a 1946 Piper Cub out of Hampton Airfield, and reviews books for the Wall Street Journal. A novel, Michael's War, was published last November. For a list of his books, click here. (03) I still do all of the above, and my history of the Flying Tigers will be published in a new edition by HarperCollins in September. (07)

Harriet Forkey and her husband Jere Lundholm '53 live in Durham and enjoy skiing, biking, and retirement. Harriet is also into dressage, which involves riding a horse around a small ring and looking very pretty. (97) More recently she writes: "Still skiing Big Sky, Jackson Hole & Grand Targhee every winter. Beautiful country and if I were 30 years younger I'd move there."(02) Harriet had a rough 2003, with her daughter injured in an accident and her daughter-in-law and grandson attacked by a pit bull. When we have children, we set out hostages to fortune. (04)

Harriet received the Alumni Meritorious Service Award at Reunion Weekend in June '05. Awarded since 1934, the medal goes to "alumni who, through unselfish devotion and loyalty, have faithfully served their Alma Mater." (05) A while ago, I boasted of our early ski week in Aspen and got this from Harriet and Jere: "We too are headed to Aspen in March but first to Courcheval, France, the end of January.... Very busy with house projects and trying to keep healthy. A grand daughter due in May. We're in the last two decades of the UNH Sports Gallery Project with hopes of completion in two years." (06)

Stan Fortenbach retired in 1973 to San Diego, where he no doubt passes Charlotte Marsh (see below) on those fabulous beaches. (94)

Joan L. Westling Fox, Marshsfield MA: "We are in the no news is good news phase. Jim continues to build and repair boats, as well as helping with restoration of antique furniture for our small business. We are in two shops in Plymouth MA and sell at shows. It's fun and keeps us busy as does our large family." (02)

Robert Fugler, Fullerton CA: "Retired from Kodak, Rochester NY, after 30 years. A widower, remarried, and moved to California, where I play golf year round." (02) "We may experience some of your winter weather when we travel from balmy Southern California to Denver for a grandson's wedding on New Year's Eve. Will bring our boots, if we can find them." Bob and Ammelies (who is from Dresden) have 14 grandchildren and a great-grand. (06) "Our fourth great grandchild was born in Chicago on June 3rd. This makes [the Fugler family's] third such blessed event so far this year.... Our twin grandsons who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2005 are currently in pilot training in Mississippi. Another grandson just finished his freshman year at the Academy. We had the 23rd annual reunion of my World War II outfit, the 82nd Combat Engineers, in Salem, MA last week...." (07)

Bill Gallagher emailed to say: "I've had a busy life and have neglected most doings at UNH for 45 years. Got your web site from the NH Magazine and became fascinated and nostalgic.... The Vietnam slide show brought back the memories of my two unscathed tours as a gunship pilot with aerial rocket artillery (ARA) with the 1st Cav (66-67), and then with the 101st Airmobile (70-71). Pushing a Cobra loaded with rockets across the treetops near Khe San was always exciting and frightening. I'm overjoyed and saddened to have been a survivor of that era." Bill retired from Army Aviation "after 26 years of service and transitioned into a Washington-based think tank doing government contract work in the information technology fields. Now retired again, married with two children and two grandchildren. Son is a pilot for United, and son-in-law is an F-16 pilot for the USAF. Just attended the reunion for Salem's Woodbury High Class of 1950, and enjoyed getting reacquainted with Don Hulme and Marilyn Turner Campbell. Now living in a self-built log home in a National Park just ten miles down the Potomac from the George Washington Monument. Life is good, and always has been." (00) More recently, he notes that he is a widower--sorry to hear it, Bill! "My play time now alternates between running and kayaking. Do hope to summer in New England on the water and trying to hook up with classmates." (02)

After being downsized from Travelers Insurance in 1989, William Buzz Gardner went to work for Equifax, only to part from them because "like all major corporations they thought I should work full time." Bill evidently prefers to work on his golf handicap. (97) In 1999 he moved with his wife to Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, where they play golf and travel. (00) More recently he reports: "Visit daughter & husband in summer at Newport RI where they & kids summer. Have 2 grandchildren, boys. Spent New Year's at Balsams in [Dixville Notch] NH so I could refresh memory about how cold it was at UNH in winter." (02) More recently: "Spend too much time playing golf. Get back to New Eng. in summer to visit daughter (class of '80) and the grand kids. Wife and I will be volunteering at the women's open golf tournament in Newport R.I." (06)

Don Gould of Wayne NJ bundled chemicals and plastics for Union Carbide, with such success that he was named an honorary life member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals. (94) "Retirement has been a change of career to volunteer activities. Since retirement as Principal Engineer at Union Carbide, I have become: chairman, Andover NH planning board; financial secretary, Andover Congregational Church; treasurer, Andover Historical Society; and trustee, Highland Lake Protective Assoc. All this and folk dancing make for a busy life." (02)

More recently, Don writes: "An impromptu trip to UNH on Homecoming Day to see fellow classmate, roommate at Engelhard Hall, and Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity brother Bruce Barmby, included a quick visit to the dedication of the new Kingsbury Hall. This is an awesome building, quite an expansion of the original building that opened in 1949, just before we started our time at UNH. My name tag with Class of '54 at the bottom prompted a few questions about what was it like at the 'beginning of time' in Kingsbury Hall. A few questions and some fast walking got me to the Chemical Engineering section of the third floor. The departments are assigned areas based on weight and height of equipment. This puts the Civil Engineering folks on the first floor and the Chemical Engineering ones on the top floor. The demonstration at the Chemical Engineering Department was production of biodiesel fuel. Computer rooms on every floor replaced our slide rules." (07)

Annabel Gove Grady writes: Deb Atherton Atwood, Ann Jones Chase, Jane Spinney Huber and I are in almost daily touch by email. I am the editor of these musings, and transfer them from email into [Microsoft] Word. Then I print them out. The 2000 volume is 670 pages. We deal with things lugubrious, hilarious, profound and silly, and have a wonderful time doing it, and probably save some bucks on therapy while we're at it." (01) More recently: "I took a busload of adults on a Napa Valley College tour of New England about fifteen years ago, and they were just thrilled with the foliage colors, an early dusting of snow on the Old Man, and climbing the easy trail at Sabbathday Falls on the Kancamaugus Highway. I was delighted to show it all to them. Sometimes now, someone will stop me at the grocery store and share their memories of that great trip!" (06)

Warren Griffin retired from researching rubber-like materials for the Air Force. "We just finished an addition to our log home in Shawnee State Forest (OH). Lots of windows to see the birds. Plan to resume volunteer construction with a Christian organization to keep up carpentry skills and help others." (94) "Recently received my PT Cruiser--a delightful little car." (02)

Mary Moore Haesche of Palm Beach Gardens FL retired after 16 years teaching business in middle school. (97)

George Hartwell works as a consultant and was raising a golden retriever pup in Pittsfield MA. (97) More recently: "My wife and I have retired to an active retirement community called Bristol Village in southern Ohio.... We both are very busy doing the things we want to do. We have (done) some traveling and can now visit our children more often because we are closer to them. Our health remains good and we are enjoying life." (02)

After 33 years with GTE Labs, E. Fletcher Haselton retired to Belgium in 1993 and counts 11 grands and a great-grand. (97)

Ron Hill is "keeping busy as president of our historical society and chair of the Jackson [NH] Bicentennial Committee." (00)

Joyce Hiller summers on Cape Cod, winters in Florida, travels, golfs, and volunteers at the library, Nature Conservancy, and a shop to benefit the educationally handicapped. (94) More recently: "The second Hiller scholarship in Kinesiology will be awarded this May from the endowment I announced at our 45th reunion. Field Hockey has also benefited with three winners!" (02) "After a fine summer on Cape Cod I'm heading to Naples, FL for the winter season. I can continue playing golf and go swimming whenever I wish without worrying about the weather (except for a possible hurricane or two)! My best to all classmates." (06)

Barbara '53 and Ed Hobby "spent five days in Ireland and it was sunny every day!" (At the reunion, Ed was pondering the mathematics of raffling off a 1954 Chevrolet at our 50th, this to raise a huge sum for the class fund that helps pay for visiting lecturers and the like. If I'm not mistaken, some of the figures mentioned had two commas in them.) (99)

David Hogan married Nadine Coombs in college, worked for General Electric, and now raises hay, works with wood, restores a 1933 Chevrolet, and does lunch with Wally McRae--"which I mention to collect some points for class spirit." (94)

"We live in a little town on the east coast of Florida called Sebastian," said Jane Spinney Huber. "We play tennis, I do a lot of writing, and of course David is building an airplane, Velocity, an experimental aircraft.... For 10 years now several of us get together at Little Lake Sebago in Maine where Debbi Atherton Atwood and Fred rent a cabin. Annabel Gove Grady comes in from California, Ann Jones Chase from Exeter, and we have lunch with Priscilla Hudson Whittemore who lives in Portland." (99) Alas, Dave died died in 2007. Sorrowful good wishes to Jane!

Don Hulme and Betty live in Hastings, NE, and spend summers at Cobbets Pond in Windham, NH. As reported by Bill Gallagher, who bumped into them while changing planes in Minneapolis: "Had a quick reunion and learned that Don is retired from engineering/manufacturing and spends time teaching his acquired skills at seminars in the area. Their hope is to relocate back to the southern NH locale in the next few years." (01) More recently, Marylin Campell reports that "They have a summer home in Windham NH and hope to move back here in the future." (02)

Mahmud Muham mad Idriss emails, with respect to 1954: "Those were truly the good old days. Best of everything including plentiful supply of oil." (04) It seems that he has worked off and on for the past 41 years in Saudi Arabia. Mahmud--or Mihmod, as his name is also Englished--is a civil engineer and has a consulting office in Jedda, if you happen to find yourself in the neighborhood. (He's originally from Damascus, Syria.) (07)

Nancy L. Hunter: "Looking forward to seeing the gang. Hope lodging doesn't separate all those attending." (04) More recently, from Vacaville CA: "Emory joins me attending all UNH events [in] northern Cal. area. Even held a social here." (06)

Jane '53 and Jack Jette of Stratham, NH, are both devoted to Sandy Point Discovery Center, educational outreach for the Great Bay estuary. January to May, they're at the other end of I-95 in Florida. (00) "We've been in this same rut now since I retired in 1987--six months in New Hampshire, six months in Florida. Hope to see you next June at the 50th." (04)

Getting into the spirit of things, Richard McLaughlin reports that he "had a small reunion" with Jim Keogh and other UNH graduates in Jupiter Fl. (03)

Hans Klunder, Norton VT: "Inge Klunder and I were married on Aug 25, 2001. Inge maintains a house in Stuttgart, while we also have a house in Vermont. Enjoying a great winter in Vermont of a retiree!" (02) "Surely enjoying retirement and look forward to our second anniversary of marriage August 25. Inge, who lives in Germany, will be here in Norton VT enjoying her vacation with ... our children." (I couldn't figure out which child went with which parent. Congratulations to all of you, in any event!) (04) Hans and Inge have a terrific letterhead with American and German flags and addresses in Vermont and Stuttgart. "Am enjoying retirement here (with X-mas tree plantation and beef cattle) and in Germany as well." Suttgart is Hans's original home town. (06)

Dr. Valerie Jensen Knotts was elected to the West Texas Hall of Fame in honor of her community service and her student projects. Val is associate professor of occupational therapy at Texas Tech University, Odessa campus, and broadcasts her classes to students in Lubbock and Amarillo. She and husband Frank have five children (their youngest daughter is an engineer with NASA Houston) and seven grands. They enjoy life on their ranch in Odessa with cows, goats, ducks, geese, chickens, peacocks, turtles, dogs, cats, fish in the pond, and "lots of rattlesnakes too." (04) Jean Miller reports: "Saw Valerie Jensen Knotts in July when she returned to the Boston area from Texas where she now resides. She is working on a chapter for a textbook regarding Gerontology that will be published by the American Occupational Therapy Association. She keeps busy teaching on line courses in O.T. and enjoying her children and grandchildren." (06)

Raymond "Razor" LaRoche of Hudson NH was battered by a stroke and a heart attack but he pulled through with the help of "a wonderful lady named Lee." (94) He skipped our 45th reunion because his daughter was expecting her firstborn--at the age of 41. He was, however, planning to be in Tampa when UNH met the University of South Florida in October. (99) More recently he noted that he divides the year between Hudson and Ocala FL. "Health is wealth. Let's all be greedy." (02)

Irvin Lawler runs Pro-Scan Inc. in Concord and at last report was appraising 600 New England churches. (97) More recently: "90% retired today. Retaining membership as a member of the Republican Senate Inner Circle in Washington throughout the year. Do not ever retire completely." (02)

Patricia Nutter Leighton: "Have moved to the Portland ME area to be closer to kids and the seven grandchildren. Enjoy attending all their functions and babysitting the youngest, a two-year-old. We've even had him on skis this winter." (04)

Alden Lovell is president of Life Skills University of Rapid City SD, elder of the Church of the Highlands, and a clinical pastoral counselor. (97)

Mary Ellen (Lovett) Lovell was awarded the Medal of Honor in Christian Counseling by the American Biographical Institute. She was cited for "her perseverance and dedication toward contributing to a better society." (I wonder if Mary Ellen met her husband in the 1954 Granite?--she and Alden are paired off at the top of page 82. Propinquity is destiny, after all.) (04)

Continued on M-Z / Go back to A-E