1948 - 55th reunion

Spring seems to have escaped us this year. But we did catch a day of sunshine on Friday, June 6, which made the clambake all the more enjoyable. Although turnout for our class was disappointing, our financial secretary, Ben Rush, provided information about some of our absentees. Ben’s wife, Nora, passed away this year after a long illness. Ben continues in his retirement role as professor emeritus of surgery at the New Jersey Medical School, teaching medical students and imparting his medical and surgical experiences to residents as well. He was able to take the Yale alumni trip to Australia. He reports that out of a class of 55, 40 of us are still on this side of the green although the health status of most is unknown. He did report that Jim Needham and Art Terrill felt that travel was not an option and that others felt the same way.

Our other secretary, Paul Koehler, was present with his wife, Marge. Paul has two new hips and a knee and has remained sequestered at his home in Newbury, N.H. Our former secretary, Paul Goldstein, with spouse Betty, did not have to travel far from Branford, Conn., to be part of the celebration. Paul spends his retirement keeping his hand in the delivery of health care. He is a supervising attending in the pediatric primary care clinics at Yale-New Haven and the Hospital of St. Raphael. The young, sharp and bright residents help to keep his cerebral circuits stimulated. He finds they can still stand a bit of gray-haired wisdom. Howard Simon with wife Chris came to the clambake but couldn’t make the dinner on Saturday. Bob Lempke and wife Mary were present at our dinner at the Graduate Club, where we were guests of the medical school along with the Class of 1953. Bob has found his niche in retirement with painting in oils, acrylics and watercolors. He has been rewarded with shows both locally in West Lafayette, Ind., where he and Mary live, and statewide as well. Mary also celebrated her reunion here with the Yale School of Nursing. Our stalwarts Allyn Bridge and wife Charlie came in from Moreno Valley, Calif. Charlie is the class agent for the School of Nursing ’48 and celebrates her 55th as well. She is busy as a volunteer for AARP, helping seniors in tax counseling. Al is active in a Learning in Retirement program at the University of California, Riverside. They love California.

News from some of our absentees: Bud Rowland and wife Ester were scheduled to be with us, but last-minute personal matters cancelled their plans. Bud recently retired as chair of neurology and director of the Neurological Institute at Columbia. In his retirement he published a book celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Arden and Helen Miller just sold their home and moved into a villa nearby, where many of the chores of home ownership are delegated to others. Paul Goldstein found David Holman celebrating his 50th at the Graduate Club; David reported that brother Hal Holman, M.D. ’49, is still full time at Stanford Medical School. Hal continues his research in autoimmune disorders and recently was cited by the American Rheumatoid Arthritis Society for his work. He spends most of his time promoting and developing a unique primary care delivery system to the great Palo Alto community.

We had a remarkable class and produced many stars in the medical science and health care fields. There are many great memories of years in New Haven, particularly the first class show we produced with the Class of ’49 and the basketball and squash games in facilities now gone. You would be amazed at the renovation and expansion that has taken place. The Boyer Center, the Hope restoration and the new six-story building at 300 Cedar St., the site of the old nursing dorm, are reasons alone to come back for our 60th.

A stronger effort to attend would make for an even more pleasant event. Stay well!

—Paul Goldstein