Photos from Our 63rd Reunion

Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25, 2024

Class president Peter Pettibone	Class vice-president and Caring Committee chair Bob Pickens	Class secretary George Brakeley
Reunion Chair Ev Prather, Pickens, and Foundation Trustee Jim Blair	Jon and Patty Hlafter, Pettibone	Maureen McGinity, Mary Pickens, Brakeley, Pickens
Pettibone, Patty & Jon Hlafter, Art Smith	Susan & Jim Blair, Pettibone	Frank Novak, Blair

Brakeley & Ellen Boer (with photo of Peter) at the P-rade

Notes, Class of 1961 Meeting on May 24, 2024, at the Nassau Club, Princeton, NJ.

Present: Peter Pettibone, President; Bob Pickens, Vice President; Ellen Boar, Treasurer; George Brakeley, Secretary; Charlie Rippin, Co-Class Agent; Reunion chair Ev Prather; Jon Hlafter, Jim Blair, Joe McGinity, Will Somers, Art Smith, Frank Novak, Andres Hamori, Lee Blyler, Carol Wojciechowicz, and Jim Wickenden, plus ten spouses and guests. Felix Wong put in a brief appearance at the meeting’s end.

Peter Pettibone welcomed the group.

Ellen Boer reported that we have $108,000 in the Class Treasury. A brief discussion followed about using some of the funds for the mental health project we supported this past academic year. She noted that Gil Omenn and his wife Martha Darling had just made a leadership gift to Princeton to fund the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute and that Ellen and Bob Pickens had represented the class at the dedication event on May 20.

George Brakeley reported that we lost 28 classmates during calendar year 2023 but only five so far this year. He thanked the class for being so good about sending news. He noted the fact that there were classmates at several recent celebrations of life (Prather, MacMurray, Menna and Craft) and suggested that we be more systematic about such events in the future, that is, assuring class representation whenever possible. He also reported that Andres Hamori had sent in a note about Al Oestreich’s death, and in their subsequent exchanges George persuaded Andres to come to this meeting, the very first class event of any kind he has ever attended.

Charlie Rippin reported that, with a month to go, we are at 43% (versus our goal of 61%) in participation and have raised $137,000 against our goal of $161,000.

Reporting on the Class of 1961 Foundation, Ev Prather and Jim Blair noted that the Foundation was the late Joe Prather’s vision. Speaking for the Caring Committee Bob Pickens reviewed our last Caring Committee Zoom meeting entitled “Elder Care,” which was facilitated by a gerontologist and attorney from an elder care law firm. He read the letter (posted on our website) from Judy Jarvis, Executive Director of the Office of Campus Engagement, thanking us for our generous contribution to Community Care Day this past October. The idea of Community Care Day came directly from undergraduate and graduate students, and encourages the entire campus to focus on rejuvenation, mindfulness, and community building. He said, “We are hoping to support this endeavor again this year in October as it received overwhelming support as evidenced by over 90% support from the student body.”

Peter Pettibone reported on a new project, chaired by John Cooper, which is arranging quarterly one-hour Zoom presentations by selected classmates who have a professional or personal story to tell. The first one is scheduled for September 25 at 4:00 PM, when Peter Georgescu will talk about his coming to the U.S. and his subsequent career. A reminder eblast will be sent out right around Labor Day.

George Brakeley reminded the group that our 65^th reunion - our very last one before we join the Old Guard - is a mere two years away, and suggested that that planning should begin soon.

The meeting concluded with a short concert by the Tigressions, led by Bob and Mary Pickens’s granddaughter Julia Kingston ’24, and concluding with Old Nassau.

Respectfully submitted,

George Brakeley, Secretary

Photos from Our 62nd Reunion

Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27, 2023





	Andy Frisbie '00 dropped by.