1996

1996

With 2024 fully underway, a great swath of our class began celebrating a massive milestone—50th birthdays! To mark the occasion, some of our classmates are taking amazing international trips, reuniting in commiseration with fellow ’96 quinquagenarians, or making big moves in their daily lives.

Linda (Brewer) Ephraim and husband Jason marked her 50th in late November with an incredible trip to Madagascar and Zambia (with some transit stops in Istanbul, South Africa, and Dubai in between). Shannon Smith-Bernardin and husband Alex traveled to Rome, Naples, and Florence, Italy, where “it was particularly fabulous to have kicked it off at exactly midnight here in [Florence] with the cathedral bells ringing” and a surprise private pasta-making class. Laura Bennett and Jeremie Perry also took an Italian excursion of their own in mid-October.

Rebecca (Oettinger) Feder, husband Russ, and sons made the bold decision to trek to the Arctic Circle in December. “I am very grateful our boys are adventuresome and still such good travel companions for our amazing trip to Stockholm to see a dear college friend, Kiruna and Abisko in Sweden (200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle) to see the natural wonders, and over to Iceland for more adventures.”

Sharon Karlsberg, husband Craig Sakowitz ’93, and sons did something “different” in December, spending Christmas Eve in Lisbon, Portugal. “We managed to get in a good walk around the city, ride a funicular, snack at a Christmas market, and enjoy a lovely (if long) dinner before bed. We loved the fabulous views all around [and Lisbon] feels both cozy and vast at the same time.”

Derek Squire and son Jake made memories closer to home, with what has been deemed the “Eighth Annual Father-Son Giants Road Trip: Don’t Mess with Texas” edition. They ventured down to the Lone Star State for an escapade in three parts: Part 1 in Austin, where they toured the University of Texas, checked out the bats, “kept Austin weird,” and dined with friends (including Craig Pawling and his wife); Part 2 in Fort Worth, where they took in a rodeo, rode (mechanical) bulls and (real) horses, and cheered the Texas Longhorns to victory; and Part 3 in Dallas, where they toured “the JFK assassination site and cheered the Giants on to a better draft pick.” In September the duo took in a University of Michigan football game in Ann Arbor, meeting up with fellow alums Lawrence Park and David Levin.

Bill Tovell Jr. just celebrated his 25th anniversary at JPMorgan, as his family continues to settle into their new home of Dallas. His youngest son attends St. Mark’s School and is a classmate of other Dartmouth alums’ children, including Burns McKinney’s; his elder son is “following in the footsteps of Andrew Webb” as a member of the Highland Park lacrosse team. In October he headed back to New York for a “legendary” mini-reunion with fellow ’96s, including Matt Wiltshire and Jamie Hutter (in from New Zealand).

In July multiple ’96s gathered in New York for Trevor Peterson’s 50th, including Rose Lee, Jorge Motoshige, Thomas Clarke, Sharon Walker, and Michael Roberts (among others).

Anne (Tamaroff) Byers and husband Chris set a new course in mid-December—relocating from California to northern New Jersey. “It has been a whirlwind. We are loving the town and the area, the history, all the trees, lakes, people, a true fall season, a sense of community, and more wide, open spaces.”

Lastly, congratulations to Misha Rosoff on his October engagement to Marina Payukova. “Technically she said, ‘Of course I’ll marry you,’ but I’m pretty sure that means ‘yes.’ Can’t wait to marry my best friend!”

—Garrett Gil de Rubio, 1062 Middlebrooke Drive, Canton, GA 30115; ggdr@alum.dartmouth.org