1951

Last month we heard about Duke Winsor's plans for his journey into retirement a literal one, in his case, as he and his wife, Jean, are embarking upon a three-to-five year voyage aboard their 30-foot sloop Retreat. With our two-month publication lag, it is too early at this writing to expect any of you to have got your thoughts together for your contribution to "The Great 1951 Epistolary Debate on Values: The View from 60 or Thereabouts," with its special emphasis on retirement. Therefore, let me repeat the topics you may wish to consider writing about, however briefly: The Value of Retiring and Devoting Oneself to of Continuing to Work; The Value of Changing Careers at Age 50 +; The Value of And here is a new one: My Personal Renaissance Now That the Cold War Is Over.

I have been doing some thinking about the significance of the astonishing turn of events in Europe in early November 1989, and it has occurred to me that my entire adult life has been played out in the shadow of wars, both hot and cold and that, more significantly perhaps, I am about to retire just at that moment in history when both the world and I are heading off in new directions. We seem to be entering upon a new era of human history at precisely the time when most of us are entering upon a new era of personal history. Perhaps the old Chinese saying "May you live in interesting times" is not a curse after all.

We hear that Dick McFarland is not retiring but remaining as chairman of Inter Regional Financial Group in Minneapolis, though he is stepping down as its president. Dick has been with the company for 36 years and has been active in community affairs, as reported in this column from time to time.

Suds Bissell, of Wellesley, Mass., is looking ahead some five years when he expects to retire at 65. But right now he is chairman and CEO of the Keystone Group, Inc., which manages $11 billion in mutual fund assets. Ten years ago, Suds helped The Travelers acquire Keystone at a time when the insurance company sought to diversify its financial services. Today, he and others are buying Keystone back from The Travelers, a move which Suds feels will cap his career in the finance business, a career that began in 1952 in Boston after the completion of his studies at the Harvard Business School.

Don O'Dowd, of Fairbanks, Alaska, plans to retire this coming summer from his position as president of the University of Alaska system. Don has had a long and distinguished career in education. After getting his master's and doctor's degrees from Harvard, he went on to Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., for 20 years, to teach and then to be its president; thereafter, Don was for five years executive vice chancellor of the SUNY system in New York State; and finally he was selected in 1984 to head the Alaska system of higher education. Now, Don, we're all wondering what you will do in your retirement: the Iditarod?

Take care, be good to yourselves, and keep in touch.

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