1937
As we settle down to the usually pleasant job of imparting news to you good people, we find our mood impaired by further sadness. Adding to the four deaths of last month we now must note the passing of Dick Joslin, Hank Lenning, and John Latchis. Obituaries will be in the back of the Magazine. Also, Jean Gray had a serious stroke in Florida, and we await news from Al. And with deep regret we report the sudden death of our adopted member, Donald B. McKinley. Don graduated from RPI in 1936 with a degree in civil engineering. At retirement he was a senior VP of Spencer White and Prentiss, a nationallyknown construction firm. After retirement he consulted for Indonesia, Iran, and Taiwan. Don was a trustee of Vermont Academy, a member of many engineering societies, active in church work, a Rotarian, an avid golfer, and a loyal member of 1937. He is survived by his wife Charlotte and three daughters.
Reverting to the annual telethon news source, we may bring late tidings, but bear with us. Big John Merrill, being retired, is only dabbling in real estate. He and Helen were heading to a friend's condo in Hawaii for a month. At 215 pounds, he claims to be a bit heavy but has no grey hair. Their home being half a mile inland' at Newport Beach, they had no damage from the big storm. He said to say hi to Mutt and Mort and noted that he gets phone calls from Conti when Phil has "had a few."
Don Dumont has also eased up in real estating now that he and Polly take longer vacations. Tom O'Brien bought a condo of which he is secretary; other than noting a new grandson he had little to add. John Doukas, ever the optimist, has diabetes, had a stoke, and hurt his back thus was laid up for a while. He was driving again at that point and said he was lucky to be up and around. JoeKiernan now works his law practice from home, retaining a limited number of clients. When the office rent went out of sight, the seven partners opted to split up. He says Fink Broadbent retired from the state of Maryland real estate appraising. Roy Hatch remains a tennis buff, playing every morning. He is a church elder and serves on a special Birmingham sewer system committee. He is proud of his daughter Beddon, who got her master's at Cornell and wrote her first fulllength play, about lawyers, which opened at Kenyon College (in Ohio) and is heading for Broadway.
Ben Gutman retired from the family trucking business two years ago and now is doing consulting work with fleets. He was never able to attend any of our reunions, as they conflicted with their annual labor contract negotiations. He gave up golf due to arthritis. Jake Randolph retired from Alcoa some time ago and spends much of his time keeping an eye on his investments.
Norm Hosford retired from the aircraft instrument division of Bendix. His big interest is his 30-foot sloop, in which they sail up and down the East Coast, operating out of Old Lyme, Conn. Adopted member Judge EdMartin was just back from a European visit to see their lawyer son in Italy; they spent a week each in Paris and London, had three months in Florida, and were heading for Alaska in July! He went back to work as a special master on administrative appeals in the Superior Court.
George Skinner has been extremely active since retiring from Ma Bell. He and Gaily have had five trips to Third World countries: nine months in Jordan and two trips to Taiwan and Cape Verde, all because a friend put his name into the International Executive Service Corps in New York, fondly dubbed the Pot-Bellied Peace Corps. His work entails financial advice on the installation and operation of phone systems.
We tried to contact Art Covey at his Heritage Village, Conn., address a while back, but he had moved to Katonah, N.Y. Reason: He had married a younger woman with children, which are not allowed in Heritage Village. That marriage did not work out/so he and Lois separated and Art moved to be with his son in Texas. The address is 1203 Mustang Trail, Kingswood TX 77339; phone 713/358-1579. He asked about Bob Kenney and JakeRandolph, among others. Call him up; he's a happy guy now.
Eric Rafter says he is slowing down but still works on the college enrollment committee out there in California. And if you get out that way keep an eye out for John Palumbo on any golf circuit. He was in charge of the working group at the Los Angeles Open and was involved with the Police Celebrity Golf Tournament. He is friendly with Ernest Borgnine, Mr. T, and numerous sports people. He still does part-time tutoring for the movie studios.
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