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CLASS NOTES
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CLASS NOTES
Museums and Michelangelo’s
breathtaking Sistine Chapel. We
strolled through St. Peter’s Square
and to St. Peter’s Basilica to see
Michelangelo’s Pietà, which is considered
among the most compelling
of all works of art in the Western
world. That same night we dined
at a typical Roman restaurant with
wine and music and then enjoyed
an illuminated night tour of the city.
This was a magical trip (completely
escorted) and the first time
our nine grandchildren had been
out of the United States and to
Europe. Although Maxine and I
had been to Italy twice, and had
seen almost everything we saw on
this trip, the magic of this time was
seeing Italy through the eyes of our
grandchildren.
Robert Walker writes, “I wasn’t
the brightest light on the 116th
Street campus; however, I was willing
to work. Dean Harry Coleman
’46 was a big help! It was a pleasure
to see him again much later when
I headed the local division of the
University’s $200 million campaign.
“Others at Columbia who meant
so much to me were baseball coach
John Balquist ’32; Tony Montana,
for whom I worked three times a
week from 8 p.m.–midnight, all
through college, flipping hamburgers
in the Lion’s Den; and Frank
Sorrentino, my four-year super
roommate.
“Sorry to hear from Howie
Hansen of Tony Misho’s passing.
Tony and I played on Columbia’s
baseball team and in the summer
of our junior year played nine
games in Brazil and Puerto Rico.
Tony was special, an outstanding
football and baseball player.
“After graduation I was drafted
into the Army. Following Radio,
Radar and then Guided Missile
School at Redstone Arsenal near
Huntsville, Ala., I remained there
for the balance of my service. Upon
returning home I entered the insurance
business with MassMutual in
Springfield, Mass., and six years
later I joined Pension & Health
Associates as a consultant for
corporate pensions and employee
benefits, retiring as a partner and
v.p. in 1996.
“Thankful for my schooling, I
have been a reader in Springfield’s
Read Aloud Program for 20 years
and a tutor for 12 at Kensington
Avenue Elementary School (an International
Baccalaureate Primary
Years Programme School built in
1908), chairman of my 50th and
55th junior high school reunions,
and chairman of my 50th, 55th and
60th high school reunions.
“Giving back to the community
has always been a priority of mine:
I have been a volunteer with the
YMCA of Greater Springfield for
57 years; on the board for 20 years
(chairman for three); Layman of the
Year, Red Triangle Award, named
Y Golf Honoree for volunteer work;
and chaired the Personnel Committee
for 12 years ending in 2006.
“Gratefully, I learned to play
handball at Columbia and had the
privilege of playing in one game
of doubles with Lou Little. At the
Springfield Y, I played competitive
handball for 35 years and, although
I no longer play, I still work out
regularly.
“My wife, Jean, and I were mem -
bers of the former 1637 Old First
Church, Congregational in Springfield
for 53 years, where I served as
chairman of the board of deacons
and moderator, headed four fund
drives and was on the board of
trustees for 43 years, the last four as
chairman.
“I have been a member of Kiwanis
for the past 43 years, past
president, life member of Kiwanis
International and coordinator for
our community partnership with
Washington Elementary School
(built in 1918). Also a past president
of the Springfield Junior Chamber
of Commerce and a past board
member of the Foundation of
Springfield Technical Community
College and the Employers Association
of Western, Mass.
“My wife and I lived in the same
apartment area in Springfield when
we were kids. The love of my life
and I have made our home in Longmeadow,
a suburb of Springfield, for
54 years and celebrate our 61st anniversary
in July. I’ve had a good life
thanks in good part to Columbia.”
James Santos writes from Stowe,
Vt., “Then: After graduating with
an engineering degree from Lehigh,
went to GE followed by military
service and owning a novel and
technical remanufacturing business
with its attendant stresses.
“Afterward: Consulting services
coupled with new product development
in the ergonomic, exercise
and appliance fields for me and
clients.
“Now: Good fortune. I still ski
and play tennis. Returned to carving
stone and exhibiting regionally.
Still have my pickup truck and
crane. Married for 46 years to my
beautiful wife, Ruth, and have two
lovable children. I am fortunate
but still keep my fingers crossed!
Regards to all classmates.”
Howie Hansen sent this sad
news: “We lost another outstanding
football teammate and classmate in
Tony Misho on October 15, 2012.
He was a good enough student to
have the time to excel in football
and be a big-hitting first baseman
in baseball. He and I spent many
hours together in the off-season on
the handball courts with coaches
Lou Little, John Balquist ’32, Lou
Rossini and Paul Governale ’43 —
he was a very versatile athlete!
“Tony was a leader in the locker
room and Mr. Cool on the playing
field with great storytelling ability.
To this day, his football teammates
remember his stories of the old
preseason camp at Baker Field’s
Manor House, and how the ‘Night
Riders’ would deplete our ranks
in the dark of the night … or reminding
us about celebrating new
Columbia President ‘Ike’ Eisenhower’s
birthday at our training
table as Doc Barrett rolled in his big
birthday cake, only to be instructed
by Little that ‘the cake was for
coaches only’ while we sang Happy
Birthday to Ike. Or the ‘hot toast’
story at our pregame meal at Bear
Mountain Inn before the Army
game at West Point. Each table had
baskets of hot toast, which Little
discovered and ordered John Bateman,
our assistant coach, to take
them all back to the kitchen. Tony
was a master at telling those types
of stories!
Irv Milowe ’53’s 100-page book of poems, Strawberry
Albatross, is available on Amazon. Many of the
poems have won prizes.
“After graduation, as an ROTC
Naval Officer, Tony spent two
years in the Pacific aboard ship
and was recruited to play football
for the Amphibious Force team
at Coronado, Calif. Billy Wade of
Vanderbilt fame and Chicago Bear
stardom was the quarterback in
the same backfield and Columbia
teammate Bob Schwegler, a
UDT member, played his usual
linebacker position.
“Football teammate Bill Wallace
recruited both Tony and me into the
life insurance business with Home
Life of New York in 1954. Tony was
appointed manager of a scratch
agency in Orlando in 1961, a move
that was recognized for much of his
success. He subsequently opened
branch offices in Tallahassee, Daytona,
Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
Being the astute leader he was,
he became president of Home Life
Manager’s Association and the
Florida General Agents and Managers’
Association. Tony’s football and
baseball teammate, Steve Reich ’53,
became his biggest producer for
many years! Tony retired at 60.
“Other achievements along the
way: He became president of the
Florida Left Hander’s Golf Association
and shot his age at 72!
“His ol’ teammates greatly
missed seeing him at their periodic
gatherings because of his health
issues.
“Our thoughts and prayers are
with his wonderful wife and his
three daughters.”
Your reporter is sad to report the
death of David Braun on February
3, 2013; an obituary appeared in
The New York Times. I met Dave by
chance at Rockaway Beach the summer
before we began at Columbia;
we were both looking forward to
starting. We were not close but I
always considered it an honor that
Dave remembered how we met and
thought of me as a friend.
Your reporter wishes all the
members of the Class of 1952 good
luck and good health!
53
Lew Robins
1221 Stratfield Rd.
Fairfield, CT 06825
lewrobins@aol.com
I hope everyone enjoyed Alumni
Reunion Weekend. The deadline for
this issue of CCT fell before the big
event, but we’ll have a full report
on all the doings in the Fall issue.
If you attended, please share your
thoughts and stories with me. The
class photo, however, may be found
on the CCT website (college.colum
bia.edu/cct) as part of this issue’s
reunion follow-up coverage.
Meanwhile, Irv Milowe sent the
following fascinating email:
“I work part-time in psychiatry
and psychoanalysis and I am a professor
of psychiatry at the University
of Miami, which is five minutes
away from home in Coconut Grove,
Fla. An interesting project has been
the China American Psychoanalytic
Alliance, through which we trained
hundreds of Chinese therapists via
Skype. This came about as we supervised
our starting group’s work
during the Chengdu earthquake,
and were then asked by the Chinese
government to start six, two-year
psychoanalytic psychotherapy
programs throughout China. We
have 100 graduates, 250 in their
fourth year of training and 250 on
the waiting list. Amazing that if
psychoanalysis disappears in the
United States, it will survive in
China. I also am the poetry editor
for its magazine.
“My spouse is a Psy.D., also an
analyst, and we have been doing
research work on a new form of
couples therapy with a number of
international colleagues.
“A second major project recently
reached fruition, as a 100-page
book of my poems has been
published. Strawberry Albatross is
available on Amazon. Many of the
poems have won state and national
prizes and previously were published
in a number of anthologies.
“Despite an almost fused back
and two hip replacements, I still
play a good round of golf with my
spouse. We have six kids and 10
grandchildren between us, and an
active family life all over Florida.
The family has won major fishing
contests in the Florida Keys. We
have abundant mango and banana
trees and live surrounded by gardens,
as every potted plant I had
in Washington, D.C., or New York
grows into bushes and trees here.”
REUNION WEEKEND
MAY 29–JUNE 1, 2014
ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS
ALUMNI AFFAIRS Vanessa Scott
vs2470@columbia.edu
212-851-9148
DEVELOPMENT Esfir Shamilova
es3233@columbia.edu
212-851-7833
Howard Falberg
13710 Paseo Bonita
Poway, CA 92064
westmontgr@aol.com
54
There are times when you receive
word from classmates you haven’t
heard from for some time. Jerry
Gordon is a case in point. Jerry and
I were able to get together often
when we both lived in Cincinnati,
where a well-organized Columbia
College Club was formed; then my
work took me to California. And
so, recently, I was happy to hear
from Jerry and his wife, Pat, who
have now moved to Jupiter, Fla. As
he put it, “We are enjoying every
minute of it except for the difficulty
I’m having adjusting to the iPod,
iPad, iPhone and texting.”
By George, does he have company.
We received, sadly, unfortunate
news about the death of Dave Williams
on December 6, 2012, in Memphis,
where he had lived for many
years. He had gone there from the
Eastman School of Music to become
chairman of the music department
at the University of Memphis. Larry
Gartner, Dave’s roommate for three
years at Columbia, recalls him with
great admiration as a wonderfully
warm and sensitive person and a
musical genius who was a great
teacher and composer. Larry says
Dave even taught him to appreciate
and understand modern classical
music.
Larry also recalls that Dave was
an incredibly fast typist on the
IBM electric machine. He worked
his way through Columbia typing
admission letters in the Admissions
Office at night. He was so fast
they fired all the other typists. “He
added something quite special to
my Columbia experience,” says
Larry.
Life has a way of providing us
with both good and sad experiences.
Ron Sugarman looks ahead
with both pride and high expectations.
He has two grandsons who
are 2. Ron loves them and is optimistic:
“Both look like Columbia
material,” he says.
Time marches on. In a little less
than a year we will celebrate the
60th anniversary of our graduation
at Alumni Reunion Weekend 2014
(Thursday, May 29–Sunday, June 1,
2014). If you are able to be part of
our reunion, please contact Bernd
Brecher (brecherservices@aol.com
or 914-961-4101).
Please stay well and enjoy life.
Hope to see you on campus.
55
Gerald Sherwin
181 E. 73rd St., Apt. 6A
New York, NY 10021
gs481@juno.com
Exciting and informative events
have permeated the University and
the College during the past several
months. In February, Trustee
Emeritus George Van Amson ’74
had a lengthy “sit-down” discussion
with President Lee C. Bollinger
at the Columbia University
Club of New York before a crowd
of alumni and friends. Much was
discussed about the present and
future of the school, including
Global Centers, online learning,
Manhattanville and more. Other
noteworthy events at the club
included a lecture by Professor Ira
Katznelson ’66, who spoke on his
new book, Fear Itself: The New Deal
and the Origins of Our Time.
Also in February, a panel and discussion
of the healthcare industry
landscape took place at the club’s
Columbia Networking Night. More
than 250 Columbians were in attendance
to meet, greet and socialize.
Ten esteemed faculty members
were presented the Lenfest Distinguished
Columbia Faculty Awards
at Casa Italiana on February 27.
This event is one of the school’s
premier gatherings. [See Around
the Quads.]
Dean James J. Valentini was
made honorary men’s basketball
coach when Columbia played Yale
at Levien Gym on March 1 and
received a rousing cheer when he
was introduced at mid-court. The
Lions smothered the Yale Bulldogs
by double figures, 59–46.
The eighth annual Columbia
Alumni Association at Sundance
Film Festival event took place in
January in Park City, Utah, with
contributions from more than 50
alumni, students and faculty. It
gets better and better for the school
in Morningside Heights.
We cannot forget the Alumni
Travel Study Program where, this
fall, alumni will have a chance to
explore “Town & Country Life in
Tuscany” with guest lecturer Dr.
Angela Puglisi. It’s not too late to
join the group.
Our classmates are always doing
something, either at Columbia
or in their own neighborhoods.
Dick Kuhn paid a visit to Jadwin
Gym, home of Princeton basketball,
squash, fencing and track
and field, to see his alma mater
battle its fierce rival in basketball.
We also heard from Alan Sloate,
who is active in Westchester in a
lot of ways. Bob Schoenfeld wrote
from Plainview (Long Island),
N.Y. Great to hear from the former
hoopster whose father, Sam ’30,
was a big-time referee and player
for Columbia. Bob has produced a
special film about his dad, which
I am sure is available for viewing.
We’ll be in touch to get the good
doctor involved in class activities.
Tony Blandi resides in Florida,
where he’s taking in the sunshine,
for the most part. His motto is,
“Stay well. Do good things. Drink
good wine. Stay in touch.” We
received a call from Abbe Leban
(a close friend of the late Ferdie
Setaro), who has relocated to the
Bay Area. San Francisco versus
Wilmington, Del. — mmmmm.
John Naley let us know that
his good buddy, Ron McPhee, is
out of the hospital and recuperating
from an operation. No one is
tougher than Ron.
Jack Freeman, who attends all
receptions involving sports, was
seen at the Basketball Alumni
Reunion in early February. Jack
forgot where he was — he brought
his mitt to the event.
Did you know that Allen Hyman
probably owns the record for
being hood marshal at University
Commencement He did it again
this year.
We usually don’t go across the
street for news but Toni Coffee ’56
Barnard, widow of Donn Coffee,
received an Alumni Medal this
year at Commencement. Truly
deserved.
Larry Balfus, who attended the
Dean’s Scholarship Reception on
February 7, still is toiling away on
Long Island, doing yeoman’s work
for the Alumni Representative Committee
(ARC) of Nassau County.
Our Hall of Famer, Barry
Pariser, is active with the Columbia
fencers in addition to painting.
With the basketball season
ending a few months ago, the
Columbia Club of New England
held a special alumni function in
Cambridge. We were hoping to see
our New England classmates —
Harold Kushner (probably watching
the Celtics), Eddie Goldberg,
Lew Banci, Ralph Wagner and Ted
Baker (still sprinting in Maine).
Through ARC, Lew Mendelson
is recruiting high school seniors
in Washington, D.C., to apply to
the College as well as soliciting
money for the Columbia College
Fund as a Class Agent. In addition
to Lew, other CC ’55 Class Agents
are Aaron Hamburger and Don
Laufer, who coordinate and host
class dinners in the New York
area. We get a regular group of
attendees — Alfred Gollomp, Bob
Schiff, Ron Spitz, Bill Epstein,
Anthony Viscusi, Al Martz and
Herb Cohen.
The burning question for Walt
Deptula is: How is your autobiography
coming along Other
former athletes of note are the late
Willy Storz, who would have been
terrific with the current group running
for the school, and Stanley
Zinberg, who with Barry would
make wonderful additions to this
year’s group of fencers.
My fellow classmates.
It is less than two years until the
magic 60th comes upon us.
There is a lot to do but most of
all, just be there. Showing up is
more than half the battle.
This could be the best weekend
ever. We’ll keep you posted.
Love to all! Everywhere!
56
Stephen K. Easton
6 Hidden Ledge Rd.
Englewood, NJ 07631
tball8000@earthlink.net
Our class continues to be active,
and a number of class functions
have been well attended. We had
a February class luncheon at the
Columbia University Club of New
York. In attendance were Al Franco
’56E, Ron Kapon, Ralph Kaslick,
Al Broadwin, Maurice Klein, Stan
Soren and me. As usually happens
when Columbia alums get together,
we had wonderful discussion. We
covered a litany of places of recent
travel, continuing work involvement
for some class members,
information on the adult education
available at various colleges in the
area, including Columbia, and an
What’s Your Story
Letting classmates know
what’s going on in your
life is easier than ever.
Send in your Class Notes!
ONLINE by clicking
college.columbia.edu/cct/
submit_class_note.
EMAIL to the address at
the top of your column.
MAIL to the address at the
top of your column.
SUMMER 2013
74
SUMMER 2013
75