Gary Engleberg
After Midwood, I went to Columbia, then joined what was called an ATP (advanced training program) in the summer of my junior year at Dartmouth, and then again in the summer of my senior year in Quebec before going to Senegal as a Peace Corps English teacher. The rest is history. You might be interested in a book I have written, "Learning to See and other short tories and memoirs from Senegal," about my over 50 years of living and working in this West African country. It is the easiest way for me to share parts of my experience with you all. I am attaching information about the book and where you can get a copy if you are so inclined. I would enjoy hearing your reactions if you have the time. (e-book (ISBN 9781543908374) or print version (ISBN 9781543904802) from Book Baby at goo.gl/QGWyJn, Amazon or Barnes & Noble) [Gary is co-founder of Africa Consultants International (ACI), an ngo that promotes cross-cultural communication, health and social justice. ACI has been a key player in the response to the HIV epidemic in Senegal, and has worked extensively in reproductive rights health and the promotion of LGBT rights. You can write to Gary directly at this email address: [email protected]] |
I live in Phoenicia, in the heart of New York State's Catskill Mountains. I've been divorced for 11 years from Gael Alba, and we maintain an excellent working relationship. We had two sons, Nicholas, who is currently attending Binghamton University, and Thomas, who passed away this past February. 22nd at 19 years of age.
After graduating from Midwood, I attended Pace College for a year, then transferred into Brooklyn College, majoring in English Language and Literature, with a minor in Education. However, I decided to enter the business world after completing my training as a medic in the Army Reserves. I entered the Executive Training Program at Abraham & Strauss department store in downtown Brooklyn, which entitled me to work unlimited hours for a very limited salary. |
I became an assistant buyer in the men's furnishings department, and then moved on to Interstate Department Stores' buying office in Manhattan. I enjoyed living and working (and partying) in Manhattan as a young man, and decided to go into sales. At age 30, I married, and then went into textile sales, which outlasted my marriage by about 10 years.
In 1980, I purchased a country house, married again, travelled the world, moved up here full-time, and raised my two children. I am now retired, am chair of my local Democratic Party Committee, and plan to take over the world. I've always been a late bloomer. When I'm not womanizing, I enjoy gardening and cooking. Life is good, even in the face of its most severe adversity. |
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After the best four years of my life in Midwood, I studied to become an early childhood teacher at Brooklyn Colege (Dear Old Dad's wish) and years later became a nurse (my dream). Subsequently, I lived in California for a few years. Moving on, in my forties, I became an Interfaith minister (my true calling) at the New Seminary for Interfaith Ministers in Manhattan, under the tutelage of Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, and went on to get my Master's Degree in spiritual counseling at the Seminary.
Over the years, I have studied world religion and have officiated at many, many weddings from small |
apartments to the U.N. Chapel and the World Trade Center. Now retired in Tamarac, Florida with my sister, Fran (Midwood '64), where it's just too darn hot!
I miss New York. Never remarried. (No, I never did marry "that blonde guy," as so many fellow graduates have asked me over the years.) I live for my daughter, Elizabeth (age 42) and the love of my life, my granddaughter, Julie (age 6 1/2). My email address is [email protected] and I'd love to hear from you. By the way, Gary Engelberg, now living in Senegal, Africa, is the "one who got away." Back then, my closest pals were Susan (Miller) Weinberg and Ellanna Lerner. The past 43 years it's been Arlene (Turman) Shatkin. Life is kind and relaxing now. |
My narrative, after Midwood, was a bit unusual. Lacking the GPA for Brooklyn College, and the funds and sophistication to apply elsewhere, I joined the Army. Afterward, I did my undergraduate work at Long Island University, and my graduate work at Brooklyn College.
I spent almost four decades teaching English and gifted education to middle- and elementary-school kids. To say that I loved every minute of it is an understatement. |
I'm in Florida, now, and still teaching. I've spent the past decade as a sea turtle and wetlands naturalist. I conduct two guided marsh walks a week, year-round, at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge at the everglades edge of Boynton Beach.
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Although I've been married and divorced, I've kept my maiden name. I'm now living in London, but I spent more than six years living and working as a human rights lawyer in Palestine/Israel (Ramallah and Jerusalem.) I have two children, Dan, 39, an emergency room doctor in Philly; and Corinna, 36, a professor of international relations at the University of London. I have four grandchildren.
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I practiced law (mainly as a Public Defender) in New Jersey for 20 years before going overseas. I'm now legal adviser to the Free Gaza Movement, have been a passenger on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, and hope to be one again, as I believe it important for ordinary folks to stand up for human and political rights when our leaders fail to do so.
My best friend at Midwood was Lillian McLean. |
After graduation from Midwood, I attended evening classes at Brooklyn College. My interests in graphic art and architecture were not career paths where young women in the 60’s received much support, so I set my goals on becoming a social worker. My classes at Brooklyn College started at 6:15 and ended at 9:15 four nights a week. I well remember the race from work in Manhattan to make those 6:15 classes. It included eating dinner straight out of a brown paper bag during the subway ride back to Brooklyn. Those were long and exhausting days, with a schedule that continued for three years.
My first day job was working for a trading firm on Wall Street where I met my future husband, Paul Berry. We were married in 1963, and moved in 1964 to Northern Virginia, where Paul had a position with a new firm. In 1966 our son, Alec was born, followed by our daughter, Rachel, in 1968. They took center stage as I became a stay-at-home mom for six years. When I reflect back, I still think of those years as a period of privilege and growth, not just for Alec and Rachel, but also myself. Those years served me very well. In 1969 we moved to Reston, the new planned community in Virginia, and it is still the place I call home. In 1973, Paul was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. That first year after Paul’s death had the kids and me facing so many changes, and we could not have managed without the support from friends and the Reston community. |
Several years later I married Sam Harahan, and also became the part-time stepparent to Sam’s sons, Ted and Chris. Home Economics at Midwood never taught me the challenges of blended families, but we made it work, and will celebrate our 36th anniversary in November. Prior to retiring, Sam was the founder and director of a civic group called The Council for Court Excellence (a non-partisan court reform organization). He’s a non-profit maven, a Southern gentleman, and also part cowboy! He came with me to the reunion.
During my second year in Reston, I became a founding member and co-organizer of a preschool. I also learned about the nuts and bolts of an expanding and much-needed service called child-care, and what contributed to quality child-care. The preschool experience led to 25 years with children’s programs (co-operative, private and public) as an adminis-trative assistant and graphic artist. I retired in 2005, and thoroughly enjoy that second cup of coffee in the morning, and my afternoon naps. Sam and I have eight grandchildren, and they fill quite a bit of our free time. I’ve been very active in a lay-led Jewish community, and also commit volunteer time to other organizations. I enjoy photography, quilting, cooking, and road trips, and seem to always have a tote-bag over my shoulder, filled with fabric scraps and embroidery floss. I have a Facebook page, but have never used it. I anticipate though, that someone at the reunion will convince me to give it a try. |
My family and I live two blocks from Columbia, where, as a professor, I study climate, and run a Masters program called “Climate and Society.” Barbara and I are married 43 blessed years. We have two children, Laura and Jacob, both married. Laura lived in Haifa for 12 years. She married an Israeli who wanted to study Yiddish at Columbia and now they live six blocks from us. Jacob's wife is Irish from the old sod, and they live in Brooklyn near BAM. Grandchildren are the best, and we are lucky to have them (two from each of our children) close. We get to babysit a lot; I love it, but can’t match Barbara’s stamina.
We travel a fair amount to places more or less related to my work, which means just about anywhere, including Antarctica, but more often the tropics. We try to spend increasing parts of the winter in Miami Beach. At college I got involved in civil rights (I went south with SNCC in 1965) and Viet Nam protests. From 1966-70 I lived in the East Village, stayed out of the army as a programmer/ math |
analyst at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (on West 112th Street, over Tom’s Restaurant, famous from Seinfeld), got married, had a child, and moved to rural New Hampshire, where I taught in a small college for two years, played a lot of tennis, and decided the rural life wasn’t for me. So, in 1972 I went to MIT, and while we were there, we had another child.
I finished my PhD in 1975 and we moved back to Brooklyn, to the house I grew up in, to be near my widowed father. We moved back to MIT, and then came to Columbia U. in 1984 — specifically to the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades NY, where I still have my office. I've done a lot of work on climate impacts on agriculture, water, health, and now conflict; and have written a book and a great many papers. ( I am known chiefly for building a numerical model that simulates and can predict the El Niño phenomenon. The New York Times, 12/31/96, actually did a detailed bio, if anyone's interested.) I love most of my job, especially mentoring students. |
Sometimes, it seems like just yesterday, but here we are looking forward to our 50th reunion! After graduating from Midwood, I stayed local and graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Started teaching, got married, spent a year in VISTA on the West Coast, and returned to settle in the D.C. area (Bethesda, Maryland), where my four children were all born and raised.
I returned to work as a single mom, and stayed in Bethesda |
until a little over four years ago, when the cold became too overwhelming, and I moved south to Boca Raton. I LOVE Florida, and treasure my visits north to see my four extraordinary grandchildren!
I am working part-time and would love to get together with other Midwood alumni in Florida! It was great reconnecting with old friends at our reunions (I went to the one in New York and ours here in Florida)! |
After graduating Midwood, I started college at Hunter College (Bronx), but mono struck and I was sidelined. Subsequently, I earned an AAS in Civil Technology at SUNY Farmingdale. The first of many adventures started when I enrolled in the University of New Mexico, where I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering.
After graduation, my wife, Joan, and I were excited at the prospect of living in Europe or Japan, but my first job took us instead to the jungles of Venezuela along the Orinoco River. After a couple of years in Puerto Ordaz, and following the birth of our first son, Ivan, we returned to the States and lived in various locations including Vigrinia, Lousiana, Michigan, Pennsylania and New Jersey. We had another son, Daniel, while in Michigan, where I also obtained a Professional Engineer’s license. We settled in Dallas, Texas in 1978, where I continued to work for Mobil Research & Development, a job that included assignments in Norway, France and Newfoundland, Canada. My next position, with El Paso Corporation, took me to El Paso. While in El Paso, I became involved in community-based volunteering. I was on the El Paso Juvenile Courts Coronado Council and on the board of El Paso Community Concerts. |
Also during that period, I was introduced to Contra Dancing (a type of traditional folk dancing). When I relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado, I became active with Pikes Peak Traditional Dance, a local Contra Dance group, and became a board member of that group. I returned home, to Dallas, in 2004 to take care of my wife, Joan, whose cancer had returned after three years of remission; Joan passed away in 2007. Since returning to Dallas, I continue my volunteering at the Dallas Arboretum, the Donor Council for Carter BloodCare, Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse (a singer-songwriter venue), and Richardson’s annual Wildflower Music and Arts Festival. I’ve also been active on the board of my neighborhood civic organization, and as a Dallas Police Volunteer in my neighborhood patrol program. I continue to Contra Dance and am on the board of North Texas Traditional Dance Society. In 2013, I married the lovely Kate Henry (a fellow Contra Dancer). Kate and I enjoy traveling. This fall we spent time in Maine, and we're happily planning several trips for 2015. What am I doing now — 53 years out of Midwood? I’m trying to figure out what’s on the agenda for the next 53 years! |
After graduating, I went to Pratt Institute where I studied architecture, and during the summers, worked for CBS. There, I met Barry Manilow because, as fate would have it, we shared a mail route. On our lunch breaks we used the 52nd street CBS radio studios to create and practice an act we did at some nightclubs in Queens. Eventually we went our separate ways. Mine was much less glamorous and monetar-ily rewarding, but very fulfilling.
I served in the military because I took ROTC at Pratt Institute, and I was able to finagle a stint in the Air Force as an intelli-gence officer, with tours in San Antonio, Texas; Istanbul, Turkey; and finally in Maryland at the super-secret National Security Agency. NSA offered me a good civilian job. Since I was going to get married, I left the Air Force, and spent the next 32 years working my way up through the NSA Operations Directorate ranks to become a senior executive, earned my Masters in National Security Management, attended the National War College, and learned a lot from postings overseas. I retired from NSA in 1999, and started a consulting business. |
I consider myself to be very fortunate. God has given me an interesting life, kept me safe from harm, navigated me through life’s perils, and surrounded me with good friends and a loving family. In 1967, I married a beautiful woman, Sue, whom I love and appreciate more today than when we first said our vows. We are blessed with two wonderful children, Thomas and Krista, both happily married. They live in Virginia and Nevada respectively, and have given us five grandchildren whom we adore. We try to make ourselves available to our grandchildren as much as possible.
Since my retiring a second time in 2009, Sue and I spend equal time between our homes in Gambrills, Maryland (near Annapolis) and Naples, Florida. We travel as much as possible. I spend time sailing and playing tennis and bocce, but my dream is to break 80 at our golf course. I am still trying to determine what I want to be when I grow up. If you have any constructive suggestions, feel free to share them with me at [email protected]. I’d like to hear from you. |
After Midwood, I bounced around a few colleges, ultimately graduating from NYU. In 1966 I went out to San Francisco to attend graduate school, and got very involved in the anti-war movement, as I suppose others of my Midwood classmates did. After several years organizing in the student movement and attending graduate school, I received an MA in Economics.
I returned to New York in 1972 for a job with the United Electrical Workers, a progressive union, where I later met the woman who would become my wife, Heidi Steffens. |
Over the next nearly 40 years I worked for a number of unions in various capacities – each one being fulfilling and exciting – and retired two years ago.
My daughter Michelle, 39, is married and living in Cambridge, MA. She has two kids – Gordon 4, and Sal 2 -— and has returned to school to finish her PhD in Education Policy. My son Russell, 24, is starting graduate school, working on a Masters in Biostatistics at Brown in Providence. Heidi and I are currently enjoying the process of figuring out our retirement move out of Washington, DC by visiting far-flung areas that hold interest for us. |
When we graduated, everyone knew that I was going to Israel for a year to study/work with Youth Leaders from Abroad, as evidenced by the writings in my Epilog. When I returned, I spent a year at Brooklyn College, but most of my time was invested in the Zionist youth movement with which I was affiliated.
At the end of that year, when I was all of 18, I married and returned to Israel, where I lived in Tel Aviv and had Talya, my oldest daughter. We returned to the states and lived in Kendall Park, NJ, where I had Joel and Ari, and I finally completed college, at Trenton State, in education. We returned to Israel in 1972 (where I have lived ever since), and I lived on Kibbutz Barkai for 16 years. I divorced, and subsequently remarried in 1976. My husband, Amnon, is an Israeli. We had two more daughters, Maya and Nirit. I taught |
kindergarten and first grade in my wobbly Hebrew, discovered it wasn’t for me, and became the elementary school administrator, later kibbutz librarian. Then I went to library school and discovered my calling. When we left kibbutz in 1988, I began work in the University of Haifa Library, first as head of reserves, finally as head of reference. I retired in 2007.
Amnon and I live in a small town, Pardes Hanna, down the street from two of our daughters while the third lives a town over. The boys also live in Israel. All five are married. We have 8 grandkids, with two more on the way. Since retiring, I have discovered a passion for lamp-working, which is making beads from molten glass with a torch, and turning the beads into jewelry. I also volunteer in the local hospital library. Amnon is still working as maintenance manager at a fancy retirement home, and together we enjoy traveling abroad and a recent hobby: Israeli folk dancing. Keeps us young! |
After spending the majority of my life in Brooklyn and Staten Island, and working on Wall Street for more than 25 years, I moved to Florida, and love every minute of it. I was director of a world-renowned hospital here. I love the weather, loved my job, and have a good life here.
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I am the proud mom of a beautiful daughter and two grandsons. I spent eight years working for the hospital, retired in early 2008, and stayed home for awhile. I got very bored, and joined the Delray Police Department, where I work on a part-time basis. It keeps me busy, and keeps my mind working.
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I live in Boca Raton, Florida, having retired after a career as a neuro-radiologist in Hollywood, Florida. After Midwood, I graduated from BU''s six-year medical program, did an internship at Temple University Hospital, a stint as a flight surgeon in the Navy, a residency in radiology at Yale, and a fellowship in
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neuroradiology at NYU-Bellevue. After a few academic jobs, I went intoprivate practice. Later, I went to law school, and can practice medicine and law in Florida.
My interests are in public/health policy, computers, and keeping fit. I have not had much contact with the class of '61 until going to the 50th reunion in New York, but would appreciate hearing from all. |
Hello to all my Midwood 1961 classmates.
After Midwood, I took five very "fuzzy" years to graduate from Brooklyn College, then became a New York City schoolteacher until 1971. I've been the owner of a printing company in New York City since 1980. In 1968, I was incredibly lucky to marry a great girl from Jefferson High, Beverly Wiss, my wife of 43 years. We've been blessed with two great children, Heidi, a noted New York City photographer of children and families; and Peter, a designer and noted photographer of raptors in New England. Heidi has also blessed us with twin grandchildren, Harry and Rose. |
Beverly and I split our time between our Manhattan apartment, 320 feet above the East Side, and our Florida home on three Nicklaus golf courses. (You may remember that we actually had a Golf Team at Midwood, of which I was captain).
I am also lucky to have had Don Rubinstein as my best friend for all these years; he is especially loved by our children, and is godfather to Heidi. My sister, Sandy (Class of '58) and brother, Gary (Class of '60) are also still in the Greater New York area. I wish all of you long life and love of family. |
After 44 years, I’m still practicing law in New York City, and not ready to retire. I do a lot of transactional and estate planning; it keeps my brain active and involves lots of interaction with clients, colleagues, the IRS and others.
My wife, Jane (also a lawyer), Jane’s daughter, Sarah, and I live in South Orange, New Jersey in a big old 1890s house. Jane and I are artsy-crafsty (Jane is a serious knitter and I am a woodworker) and we’re both passionate photographers. |
I’ve had several photo exhibitions and publications, have taught at the International Center of Photography in New York, and been actively involved with the North American Nature Photography Association.
Jane and I are also avid eaters. We do lots of traveling, almost always with cameras in hand. In fact, we do so much traveling that some of my law partners accuse me of being semi-retired. |
Following Midwood, Brooklyn College, and graduate Art History studies, I spent over 30 years in museum work, arts administration and arts funding in New York’s Hudson Valley, retiring just this past year as Executive Director of a regional museum service/training consortium near my home in Westchester, where I live with my husband Monte (BC ’65). The whole retirement mode is new to us both — but filled with new travels and new generations.
Our son, Ian (34), is G.I. Attending at Montefiore Hospital/Einstein Medical Center, married, and father to Simon (not quite 2 years old). They live, happily, nearby in NYC . Our |
daughter, Silvan (38), just became a mom this spring whenAnna was born to her and her husband, Jeff Davidson. They live in San Diego, where Silvan is Conservation Education Specialist at the San Diego Zoo.
I’ve been lucky to keep up with a number of my Midwood friends, and looked forward to seeing everyone at the reunion. The timing was great; we had just returned from a trip to see the prehistoric cave paintings in the French Dordogne. Best was to gather together some classmates from P.S. 152 — many of whom are also part of Midwood’s class of ’61. |
After graduating from college, I stayed in the Boston area for five years, where I worked at several universities and hospitals. I moved to northern New Jersey when I married, and worked at the Katharine Gibbs School. I've lived here in Montclair for 34 years. After the births of my children, I left my job, but began to do volunteer work, especially writing newsletters and publicity for local organizations, my children's schools, and Hadassah.
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Twenty years later, about to divorce, and with a lot of trepidation, I returned to school for my Masters degree in Library Studies, and, for the past 18 years I have been a reference librarian at the Passaic Public Library, in New Jersey. I recently began to work part-time, which has given me the opportunity to spend time with my grandchildren, and hopefully will be a transition into retirement. My children are Jonathan (35) and Rachel (31), and my grandchildren are Fiona (2) and Henry (1).
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From Brooklyn College, I went straight into teaching (elementary school), and met and married my husband within the year. Two years later, we began raising a family in the suburbs on Long. Island’s south shore. Along the way, I earned a masters (Adelphi), taught high school for two years, divorced, and then was a writer, editor, and free-lance writer on trade magazines and community newspapers before switching into copywriting and then advertising. After a stint as an advertising director at an international company, I opened a tiny agency.
A dozen years later, ready for a change, I became certified in museum studies, took an interim job as library director of adult programs, moved to Nassau's north shore, and …coming upon the harsh revelation that I couldn't afford to live on museum salary, returned to teaching — full-time in the New York City system (English, journalism, and desktop publishing), until my recent retirement. Along the way, I relished every career for as long as I was in it, and, when it was no longer gratifying, was lucky to be able to move on to the next. In 2010, I pulled up stakes in the suburbs and gave myself |
my dream, a home in the city — and am loving it. Life now encompasses just about everything I enjoy — family (a married son, who lives nearby, has given me two terrific — of course — grandchildren, Kayla, 6; and Dylan, 4) and friends, theater, music, dance, museums, city walkabouts, discussion groups, and some travel.
Over the years, I tried put my skills to use to give something back, serving on the boards of the Long.Island. Advertising Club, Long Island. Museum Association, and the School/Business Partnerships of Long Island; acting as UFT chapter leader; and briefly heading a MoveOn group. I’ve no doubt I’ll soon find an organization where I can be of some use again. For 2011, though, my “project” was been putting the 50th reunion together, and it’ was fun to be in contact with so many people from the past — only a handful of whom I knew back then; the rest were a delight to get to know. My friend since 5th grade (at P.S. 203), Beverly (Hyman) Friedman, pushed me into making the reunion happen, and it was a terrific experience. She and I celebrated with a trip to Portugal. And now...there are more adventures to be had. |
After graduating from Midwood, I took the oft-chosen route of attending Brooklyn College, and majored in French and secondary-school education. I received a Masters in Bi-Lingual Education from Long Island University, and a Masters in Administrative Science from Johns Hopkins University. That was subsequent to my having moved to Maryland in 1979. I've been here in Maryland ever since. In fact, I just retired from my teaching career in the Montgomery County school system — after 32 years. The younger of my two sons, David, resides in Los Angeles, and is working in the television industry; and my older son, Jason, is a physician in Montreal, Canada, where he has resided for the many years. My pride and
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joy is my wonderful 15- year-old grandson, Daniel, who is the person I most enjoy being with.
Now I am enjoying my new life. I will continue to play tennis and bridge, go to the gym, to do even more in exercise class, to travel without having to worry about working on lessons for my students, and to just enjoy the blessing of being alive and well. I truly believe that my years at Midwood gave me skills that I use today. I learned the value of studying and not giving up, even when the going was rough; how to make new friends in a not always comfortable setting; and, most of all, to take risks and to then deal with their aftermath. |
When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, “What should I be? Should I ride horses, do pirouettes…” Here’s what she said to me, “You are only six; you have plenty of time to decide.” Life goes on.
It was during my second term of freshman year at Midwood’s annex when I saw the light. I was tutoring my grade advisor in algebra. He was a French teacher who had to teach math, and I was a great math student who spoke French with a |
Brooklyn accent. It worked out well.
In college, I majored in math and minored in French (which I still speak with a Brooklyn accent). Back to Midwood I came, and am still there. I have had many jobs (cheerleading coach, Sing advisor, and numerous others), leading me to finally get Mr. Grebanier’s job, now called COSA (Coordinator of Student Affairs), but moving up from B71 to 417. I do every-thing but teach math and coach an athletic team. |
After Midwood, I went into the insurance industry, selling life insurance for John Hancock and Prudential, and hated it. Subsequently, I worked in Special Education for awhile, then moved upstate NY, where I became a councilor in a maximum security prison for juveniles up to age 21.
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Retired in '95 due to some serious health issues. Now, I'm just sitting back, somewhat bored....but life's been good. Among the major rewards are three children, along with six beautiful grand kids.
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In spite of being told at Midwood not to apply to college, I managed to earn bachelors masters degrees. I taught health education, and went on to manage and own health clubs.
My greatest accomplishment is my family. I have two biological children and four adopted. Between them, I am a grandmother of seven. |
Unfortunately, after 42 years, my husband passed away, and I lost my biggest fan and best friend. I still live in Brooklyn, in Cobble Hill, and stay active in community affairs.
Writing was never my forte, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. |
I have wonderful memories of my days at Midwood. In addition to getting a great preparation for college, I met my two best lifelong friends there…Judy (Halbert) Gilbert and Roz (Hochman) Frommer. (Judy and I came to the reunion together.) I went to Brooklyn College and earned my BA in Psychology and my MRS when I met Barry Smith, my future husband. Barry and I have been married for 45 years, and have 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. Luckily, we all live within commuting distance and see each other often.
For the past 40 years, I have owned and operated A-1 |
Messenger Service, Inc. We make same-day deliveries for over 800 clients (none of whom need us every day) and serve legal papers nationwide. Barry retired from A-1 six months ago, but I chose to continue working. I love what I do.
As a hobby, for the past 16 years, I've been singing with the Heart of New Jersey Chorus, a chapter of Sweet Adelines' International. I sing the bass part — even though I was a soprano at Midwood. I remember most of the songs from the Midwood Sings, and I can't wait until September to join in singing them with that "Midwood spirit" again. |
I have been married to Jeff Shapiro (Class of '60) since New Years Eve of 1963. We have one son Robert, two daughters, Tammy and Randi, and nine grandchildren.
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We have lived in Smithtown, New York, on Long Island since 1965. I was a fashion buyer and worked in the retail world until I retired in 2009.
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After graduating from NYU, I received an MA in Spanish from Columbia in 1966. I met my husband through Operation TACT, one of the first computer-dating services. I taught Spanish on Staten Island while Ken completed his psychiatric training.
Ken served in the army at the Pentagon and Walter Reed, and opened a private practice in the Washington suburbs. He is a psychiatrist and scholar-collector, dealing with Indian history and art. We live in Potomac, Maryland. Since I earned a Masters in Social Work in 1983 from Catholic University, I have worked in private practice, specializing in behavior therapy of anxiety disorders, especially Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. |
We have two children, Peter (41) an attorney with the Department of Commerce, and professional writer about bass-fishing, married to Hanna; and Michael (37) a partner in Bain Consulting. . Michael recently moved to DC with his wife, Gretchen and three children (Madeline, 6; Tai, 3; and Isabel, 17 months), after five years in Tokyo.
I have shared my husband’s interest in India, and travel there yearly. I also love theater and music, and really LOVE my grandchildren. I so enjoyed the reunion and seeing and talking with people I knew over 50 years ago in a great place!!! |
After leaving Midwood, I went to Brooklyn College, and married Ron Reiner, a wonderful guy from the neighborhood. We have two married sons and two grand-children. Early in our marriage we moved abroad and lived in France, Germany and England. A wonderful experience. Returning to the United States., we moved to Boulder, Colorado where we raised our family. My travels led me down the path to become an international cross-cultural consultant. Business took us from Colorado to Dallas, Texas where we reside today.
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One of the things retirement has led to is our iding Harley motorcycles all over the country, visiting friends and family everywhere.
This has also led to my catching up with old Midwood friends, which has been wonderful. A handful of these once-Brooklyn friends are now living in Florida, which is a reason I visit there often. We have held mini-reunions to help connect many of us. YES, those Midwood years were the best and the friends from those times are still the best! |
After graduation from Midwood, I attended Howard University in Washington, DC. from which I received the B.S. and M.D. degrees. I completed my residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Child Development at the Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C. I reside in Potomac, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, with my husband of 44 years, DeLawrence Beard, recently retired, Chief Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, State of Maryland. DeLawrence and I enjoy travel, and have extensively covered the globe. We are still exploring new territories.
I am still in the active practice of pediatrics in Silver Spring, and am also Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the |
George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and a communications consultant to industries on issues relating to the care, health and safety of children and adolescents.
I'm the author of the book, “Salt In Your Sock and Other Tried-and-True Home Remedies; was a contributing editor for Good Housekeeping magazine, where I authored the monthly Ask Dr. Beard column (1989 – 1996); and have also authored articles for medical journals. I served as a national spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. I have worked as the medical–health correspondent for WUSA–TV (CBS) and WJLA-TV (ABC) in Washington, DC for many years, and now appear as a guest expert-contributor on children’s health issues on various national television programs. |
My husband, Bill and I have lived in Boulder, Colorado since 1969. Bill is also a Brooklyn boy, who grew up in Coney Island (I am a Nathan’s-hot-dog-eating vegetarian). Our children are Madeline (40) and Gideon (36). Madeline and her husband, Steve, live here in Boulder with their son, Milo, almost 4 years old. She is a Federal Public Defender in Denver (their death penalty point-person). Gideon and his wife, Jill, live in Alpharetta, GA, with their sons, Nathan, almost 8; and Ryan, 4 ½. Gideon produces on-line advertising. Our three little guys are the great joys of our lives; we see Milo several times a week, and the Atlantans about every six weeks.
After Midwood, I went to Vassar College, and then Georgetown Law School. I met Bill before my senior year in college, and we married in June 1966. After we moved to Boulder, I had my own law practice while he taught at the University of Colorado Law School. For several years, I was the |
only woman attorney in private practice in Boulder! When Bill decided he missed the action of private practice, he and I opened an office together and practiced until 1997 (me, divorce law; he, real estate, and then international human rights).
In 1997, I retired and he started slowing down (he is now also retired). Over the years, our hobbies and interests have morphed, but included (and to some extent still include) skiing, cycling (five wonderful cycling trips in Europe), opera, singing (me), travel (esp. Israel). I also do a lot of volunteer work in our synagogue, and for various local non-profits that help the homeless. At Midwood, my best friends were the B-71 and Sing crowd (or at least that’s how I thought of us). I made it to the Reunion, figuring that if I could get there from Colorado, classmates who live in the NYC area certainly would! |
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16 years as a "lay" cantor in my Reform synagogue in Lakewood, NJ.
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After graduation I decided to go directly to Wall Street, and forsake the many full scholarships I was offered(ha ha). After spending more than three years in back-office positions, I was offered a job at a brokerage firm to trade stocks, and took it, then worked for numerous firms until 1972, I took a “time-out” to travel the country for six months, ending up in Los Angeles., in the Marina del Rey area, and had a great time, but decided it was time to get back to work. Back I went to Wall Street, this time to train as an options trader. With training and some experience, I accepted an invitation from a friend in Chicago to visit the board of options there. In a week’s time, not only did I move, but was able to secure a position on the floor of the exchange.
I spent 16 exciting years as a Chicago Board of Options trader, retiring from the floor in 1991. That’s when I moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where I was lucky enough to meet the love of my life, Christine (she told me to say that). We married in |
1993. Christine had two boys, and we had one more child together. Our boys are Ozzie, 32; William, 22; and Daniel, 15. I did not stay retired for long — after all, we had to feed all those boys. In the next chapter of my working life, I have owned a pool company for 18 years; Christine has a math and reading center here in Boca. I’m very involved in Boy Scouts, and can say, with great pride, so are my boys. I’ve been involved with the same Boy Scout troop for more than 12 years.
I was feeling very lucky and a little tired, and considering retiring about five years ago, until, due to a serious turn of events in our eldest son’s life, we were given custody of his two children, Annie, now six; and Ian, who is five, so I put off full retirement, but have recently managed semi-retirement, still running all day-to day-operations, while making my own schedule. I am enjoying spending more time with all my children. |
1961... Oh yes, I remember it well, and I miss my Midwood High School days. The Annex was fun, too. Looking back in the 1961 Epilog, (which I had to find on ebay because I lost it) I see so many faces of kids I met along the way. Jo Anne Traina...Pete Nieves... so many good memories. I remember Mrs. Tillis... she was such a happy, cheerful teacher. I had a crush on Miss Irgang; when I took typing, she would look at me and I'd want her to be so proud of me. After graduation, I went to a community college and majored in art. Then I enlisted in the United States Navy. I was the ship's artist. I loved being a sailor and I loved being on that destroyer, the William M. Wood, DD715. We did a Mediterranean cruise and Italy, Spain, France, Malta. I really enjoyed the service (of course, that was in peacetime). I loved that song, "I'm a Traveling Man." It was true about having a girl in every port.
After the military, I became an artist and designer, working with Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Clairol and such, and designed toy boxes for Tyco. I had my own studio and free-lanced with many art agencies for 28 years. With my first wife, in a marriage of 23 years, I had three children. I kind of ran away from home when I moved to Florida, in what was most likely some sort of mid-life crisis. Being a Gemini, my twin evidently wanted something so different, so I opened a comedy club, Haggerty's, in Boca Raton. That was a wild and crazy three years that I have a hard time remembering very clearly. I remember the drinking... I remember the beautiful young girls... and I remember laughing until one day everything I'd worked for was gone. It was nice to be the King... everyone was my friend until the party was over. I could have returned to New York and gone back into the art field, but decided to pursue another career, becoming a real estate agent in Fort Lauderdale. Within the next couple of years |
I went into selling vacation ownership packages. And, I married my second wife — which was exciting and good...for the first year. Then the honeymoon was over, and during those next four years I questioned why I was abusing myself with this person. A girl at work told me I needed a good woman in my life... someone who would be honest and true and loving to me, and suggested I go on the internet to search for this young woman. I took her advice and went to [email protected]. After meeting a couple of girls, I thought it would be exciting to meet some traditional girls from China. Finally, I met a young girl who I fell for. We wrote to each other for the next year without missing a day. I would write 4 or 5 pages, and when she wrote me back it was 2 or 3 sentences. Later, I learned that my sweetheart had to look up each word, for she did not know any English. I told my friends about her, that she lived 8,000 miles away, and that I was going to visit her in China — and if she was as beautiful on the inside as she appeared on the outside, I was going to marry her. I went to China. Yes, I met my sweetheart, and when I returned 6 months later, we got married. I really believe in love; hey, I'm Italian. It took me three wives to finally have the best of the best. We have been married 13-1/2 years now.
For the last eight years we’ve been living in Henderson, Nevada. Las Vegas is such an exciting place to work in and live. I retired four years ago after being a project director with one of the largest timeshare companies in the world. My wife, Sai, and I have traveled to so many beautiful places — Italy, Spain, Madrid, Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Hawaii, Mexico… As Mel Brooks would say, “It's good to be the king again,” and this time to share it all with my queen. It would be great to hear from some of my classmates. I am on Facebook and my Email address is [email protected] |
In my freshman year, Antioch College sent me to Guanajuato, Mexico for winter classes. I met and married a Mexican National. We had two beautiful daughters, Terry Elena and Tamara Gabriela. At 26, I was a divorced single mom, raising my girls by myself in a foreign country. I was a free-lance Production Manager and Decorating Consultant for television commercials and documentaries. Later, I got into industrial advertising, which I really enjoyed. I was Advertising and Promotions Manager for a transnational diesel manufacturer. I really turned that factory on its head. I loved my work; it was transformational. I made a lot of friends, and we sold a lot of diesel motors.
I have been living and working in Austin,Texas since 1982. I'm a residential real estate agent. I enjoy my work because I get to rehab and redecorate my client’s homes. I also like driving around and making new friends. I am not a mogul, just a simple neighborhood specialist. I fell into real estate because in 1982 there was nothing else for me to do. Turns out I love it and am good at it too. My family is bi-cultural and bi-lingual. I love to cook and |
am somewhat of a gourmet cook when I’m not on a diet. My daughter, Terry, is General Manager, and Sales Manager of Entravision in Laredo, Texas. My daughter, Tamara, received training as a glass artist after a 20-year career in Hispanic advertising. I have a delicious grand-daughter Sara, who is already bilingual. I feel I am truly blessed. Both girls are married, and my sons-in-law are the best!
My life has been one creative mish-mash experiment, never boring, always full of new adventures and new activities. I am getting ready for retirement (In two years). I am a volunteer storyteller for the Austin Public Library. They send me to schools to read to children. I have joined some movie and fine-dining clubs…life is good. I am an optimist, I think I am just the way I was in Midwood. You would think I'd have grown up by now, but it still hasn’t happened. My best friend in High School was Elizabeth Farber, and we are still the best of friends today. I attended the West Coast Reunion, and have since visited classmates in Manhattan. I look forward to hearing from other Midwoodites. [email protected]. |
I went to Barnard, travelled in Europe, then to grad school in the Midwest (to see if it was really there), studing history of ideas and lots of other stuff. My first husband was English, and my second Dutch with an English mother. I lived in North Wales, then Africa, then back to Britain, and am still in the northeast of England, living in an historic converted watermill, having worked on it for over 20 years.
I have done varied work, including lecturing/ tutoring in history and then development work and fundraising for charities and a new regional history institute. Meanwhile, my three sons have all grown up. Leo has three children and lives in Chepstow near Bristol; Adam lives in Paris; he and his wife just had twins in June. Marric lives in Glasgow, Scotland. I may have left Brooklyn and New York, but they have not left me...sense of humor, strong points of view...laughing and complaining about things at the same time, sometimes getting into hot water. As well as walking, swimming (still clinging to it like a drowning woman) and doing volunteer work on committees for history, concerts and cinema, now on my own, I do Bed and |
Breakfast at the mill, which is in a lovely riverside location. I am about to develop reading/cultural retreat stays; there is a library indoors, and a beautiful riverside garden outside, with wonderful visiting birdlife. Visitors can just catch up with what they never had time for, or read on a theme with talks and visit/concerts to highlight them. There is also a very entertaining Book Festival each year, in Hexham, just two miles down the road. This area is very rich in history and heritage, has some great gastropubs, as well as being beautiful and uncrowded, but with first-rate culture nearby -- theaters, galleries and the world-class Sage Music centre. I also seem to have quite a few very jolly friends.
I am delighted that Irma Peck Gurman, whom I knew from early days at P.S. 99, tracked me down, although a bit too late to arrange to come to reunion.. I wish I could have joined you. I have always looked forward, but after 50 years, there are some great stories to look back on. I remember quite a few of those who have posted bios on the website, from Sing, student government, Mr. Grebanier's class, etc. I would love to catch up with them — my e-mail is [email protected]. Or if you are in England.... |
Having loved the sciences back then, I'm still insanely absorbed with my work as a science photographer at MIT, where I am called a research scientist. Visit www.felicefrankel.com for details, if you are interested, about my professional life as a science communicator and educator).
My two grown sons, Matthew and Michael (40 and 37), dearest Laura, my daughter-in-law, and my amazing grandchild, |
Yosi, now 4, adopted from Ethiopia, have all kept me joyful after losing my husband Ken four years ago to cancer, after 40 years of marriage.
Living in a wonderful and manageable city like Boston is a privilege. Music is still a critical part of my life. I so looked forward to seeing everyone at our 50th! It was grand. |
After graduation from Midwood and Brooklyn College, I married my husband, Sol, and began teaching music at Ditmas JHS. I left to have a family and moved out to Smithtown, Long Island, where I got my Masters Degree at Stony Brook University, substitute taught in Commack, and then worked for 28 years in the Half Hollow Hills School District. It was a wonderful job, doing what I love best. I had a chorus, a traveling jazz choir, and was director and music director of the plays and musicals.
My husband's great passion is travel, and, after several years of resisting, I finally retired in 2003. We've been to some pretty exciting and exotic places, including Antarctica, much of Asia, Africa, South America and lots more fun venues. I enjoy photographing our travels, and then making paintings of the best pictures. I have two beautiful daughters (Rebecca, 43 and Lisa, 41), |
who are both lucky to have great husbands, and who have given me the bestgrandchildren in the world — three girls and a boy, aged 11-14. (They were married four months apart. That was quite a summer! Then they had their first children four months apart!) I am very fortunate that they live on Long Island, enabling me to see a great deal of my family.
Since 2004, I have been volunteer-teaching at the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Stony Brook University. I've taught courses on Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, The Beatles, and am currently preparing a course on Mozart. I have also taught opera and I have a little chorus/show choir that performs in the area. I have a part-time business. PartyPoet, writing personalized poetry for candle lighting ceremonies and special occasions. My husband and I spend every Wednesday in New York City, attending shows, plays and concerts, and we deliver Meals on Wheels. I was so excited to see everybody at the reunion! |
I graduated from Brooklyn College in January of 1964, and married Ray Laser the next month. After teaching second grade for a year, I decided that was not the career for me. I worked as a personnel assistant for a year, and then as an auditor for the IRS.
In 1967, my son, Scott, was born, and I became a stay-at-home mom until my daughter, Laura, who was born two years later, was eleven. During that time, our family moved to southern California — which had been my dream since childhood. |
I have been employed in various capacities here. I sold real estate until 1993, and then worked in the healthcare field, first for Prudential, and later for Aetna, from which I retired in 2009.
I've been enjoying my retirement and the good life California has to offer. I also enjoy spending time with my six grandchildren (all living in California.) Recently I have been spending time painting with watercolors; enjoying many physical activities, including water aerobics, dancing and walking; reading and traveling. Ray and I were disappointed that we were on a trip and had to miss the reunion. |
I have been so blessed that it’s hard to know where to start. My parents are still a force in my life. At 92 and 94, they are well, and live in Florida in the winter and the Berkshires in the summer. My wonderful husband of 46 years, Martin, and I have lived in New Jersey since he finished law school in 1967, and we recently bought a little house near my folks. We have delightful family summers, enjoying my parents, and watching them delight in their nine great-grandchildren, including our six grandchildren…four boys and two girls! We have three sons: Todd and Drew are 43, and Jim is 40; that in itself is amazing, since I think I’m still 43! And, as if that weren’t enough, it’s been thirteen years since my bout with breast cancer, and I feel great.
While I started out as an English teacher after graduating from Vassar, I have had my own business for decades. I’m a writing specialist, developing and conducting effective |
effective writing courses for engineers and lawyers, as well as doing lots of marketing and technical writing. I can call my own shots, make my own schedule, work as hard – or not – as I want. Of course, the recession has affected my business, as what I do is overhead, and many of my clients can no longer afford overhead. That has given me a kind of smooth slide into semi-retirement, with enough work to keep me out of trouble, but more free time to enjoy my "nook."
Martin and I do lots of traveling, particularly to visit our two sons and four grandkids in northern California. We had a good laugh last month when, after years of being afraid of California earthquakes and never experiencing one, our house in New Jersey shook like crazy from, yes, an earthquake! Recent travel highlights include India and Turkey, and we are planning a trip to Argentina and Chile this February. |
I started in the annex in 1957 and cut loose a little early from Midwood, in winter '61, to go to college at Penn. A passel of other Midwoodites arrived there the next fall, including Paul Kronenberg, George May and Richard Halperin. George and I shared an apartment with a couple of other guys one year, and Paul and I were fraternity brothers for a minute.
After Penn, with no direction known, and the draft looming large, I got into teaching school in underprivileged areas of Philadelphia and New York. Dan Green and I remained good friends and shared a loft in New York for a bit, went to California together in the summer of love, and taught in Ocean-Hill Brownsville before, during, and after the community-control upheaval. While in San Francisco, Dan and I ran into Howie Forman, in a very unlikely way, and the way things unfolded was Howie drove back to New York with Dan and generously let me and a third guy from the summer-of love-trip stay in his Haight-Ashbury apartment for a couple of weeks. Eventually I found my calling. I went to University of Michigan for a Ph.D. in psychology, married someone I met there, had two daughters, got divorced, and continued living in Ann Arbor for a long time while practicing psychology and |
doing joint custody. Then, in another of many unlikely and fortuitous events in my life, I reconnected with a woman I had met on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 1972, and hadn’t seen for 31 years. She had been living in Los Angeles for many years, working for Wolfgang Puck. We married a short time after the reconnection, and I moved to L.A. about seven years ago.
Now, I’m practicing psychology here, enjoying being married to Jannis, leading an active social and professional life, trying to finish a personal/professional memoir I’ve been working on for a few years (including several experiences and impressions from Midwood days) and living one version of the southern-California lifestyle. My lovely older daughter, Tara, lives in Philadelphia, and my lovely younger daughter, Alexa, lives in Austin, Texas. Neither have children, and both are happy. I have remained close friends with Dan Green and Carole Newman from Midwood, and have seen George May several times over the years at Penn reunions and visited him in Florida and upstate New York. Once this reunion initiative started I hunted down and talked with Peter Feldman, another very good friend from Midwood, whom I hadn’t seen since 1969. |
After graduating from Dartmouth, I entered Duke Medical School in 1965. Although fun might not be the right word for medical school, it was very satisfying. Part of the satisfaction was meeting my wife Judy, who was an undergraduate at the time. We married in 1969, as I was starting internal medicine residency at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. After three years of training, I entered the Public Health Service for three years, studying the health effects of air pollution. Judy completed her PhD program in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina.
I joined the Mount Kisco Medical Group in 1976, and we soon moved to Chappaqua, New York, where we lived until 2008. For 23 years I had a very busy practice in internal medicine and lung disease. The pulmonary part required a great deal of work in intensive-care. The internal medicine part allowed me to be a family physician. I became medical director of the medical group, and helped inaugurate a very large and |
continuing expansion of the practice that now includes over 200 physicians.
In 1999, I left practice to work full-time at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. I became certified in the specialty of Sleep Medicine, and started the sleep laboratory at the hospital, where we treat sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. I'm also director of the pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation programs at the hospital. Judy and I have two wonderful daughters, both married. Carla works for TPG, a private equity company in San Francisco, and Emily is administrator for Kipp Charter Schools in the Bay Area. We also have a beautiful one-year- old granddaughter. We wish she and her parents were not 3,000 miles away. Judy retired three years ago. I think a lot about retiring. On the other hand, I think a lot about working. We have a vacation house in South Carolina, children in San Francisco, and work here. We have some decisions to make. |
Moved to Rockaway right after graduation. Kicked around for a few years. Did a year in the Coast Guard in 1965. Got a commercial pilot's license, but never did anything with it. Married (1968) Elaine Calder, a Belle Harbor girl and kindergarten teacher, now retired. We lived in Rockaway Park for three years, and had baby girl Michelle, now 41, who lives in Boston, with her husband, Diego. We moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1972,
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and had our second child, Scott, in 1974. He lives close by, with his wife, Amber. Their son, Jonah, who is now eight, is our pride and joy!
After moving to Phoenix, I did some route sales for ten years, and then started my own photography business, which is still going strong. I've long been, and still am, an active SCUBA diver; I've done 1500 dives, all over the world. |
So many P.S. 99-ers who were friends of mine graduated from Midwood H.S. It was for that reason I chose to attend the West Coast reunion, even though I left Midwood after my sophomore year. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see all those wonderful "kids" and finally hug my 7th grade flame, Carolyn Laffman, after over 55 years. I was too shy to approach her as a kid. She hasn't changed that much and I can say I'd have recognized her had I met her on the street today. It was great to meet new friends also. I loved spending the day with Felicia Morrison and Carol Newman at the Getty Museum. Great folks. Mike Fisher and his wife were a joy to be with. That's only a few of the great times I had in the course of three days with the group.
After attending Midwood for my first two years of high school I transferred to The Birch Wathen School, from which I graduated and went on to Ithaca College where I earned a BS in Physical Therapy. It was then off to Fairleigh Dickenson University in Teaneck N. J. to get enough credits to apply to medical school. In 1966, the Selective Service decided to make all grad students not in medical or dental school draft eligible. When I was called for a physical I quickly applied and was accepted to the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Never thought I could do it, but the alternative of going to Viet Nam didn’t suit me. The decision to go abroad then significantly affected the rest of my life. Since then I’ve led a really great life. I owe it all to the great gal I met in Lausanne, Switzerland while she was studying French abroad for her senior year at the University of California, Berkeley (Cal, Go Bears). Barbara (Zipser) hailed from San Francisco. We were married on my 24th b’day 9-9-67, after my first year of medical school. We lived in Switzerland for four years. After passing part one of the Medical National Boards, I |
transferred back to the States to complete my last two years of med school at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. I graduated in 1972, and returned to my hometown of Brooklyn to do my residency in orthopedic surgery at the Jewish Hospital and Medical Center of Brooklyn from 1972-1976.
For the next 23 years, I practiced orthopedic surgery in Burlingame and San Bruno, Ca. a suburb of San Francisco. We lived in Hillsborough, Ca. In 1999, I had to retire due to back problems requiring spinal surgery. I then began a career volunteering as an assistant basketball coach of the JV team at Burlingame H.S. — where, for 20 years, I had been the team doctor for the football team — and as a teacher's aide for my daughter Dena's third-grade class. Did that for six years, and six years ago went on to volunteer as a mentor at a KIPP grade school. I also taught a life skills class (ethics) at the Delancey Street Foundation, a drug rehab center near where I live in S.F. As of 5 years ago, I have been a volunteer tutor and mentor at the high school (Life Learning Academy) run by the Delancey Street Foundation. This is a school for kids 14-18 who have been in the juvenile justice system, involved with alcohol and/or drugs, truants or all of the above. If you look at my photos on Facebook you can see Dena, 40, my daughter who teaches in Mill Valley (where the grandkids of my friend from Midwood days, Irving Bernstein, attend); as well as our daughter Beth, 37, a banking-and-retail analyst for the American Mutual Funds; and our son Ben, 32, who was in business development while working for eBay, but who recently began his own online business strum school.com. One grand kid for now, courtesy of our married daughter, Beth. Barbara, who is a textile artist (www.barbara-shapiro.com), and I celebrated 45 happily married years on 9-9-12. I am indeed blessed. Hope this finds all my HS buddies both happy and in excellent health. |
After graduating from Midwood, I crossed the street to Brooklyn College, where I earned a degree in accounting. After taking the summer off and driving across the country with friends, I accepted a job at IBM in Poughkeepsie, as a programmer trainee. I worked for IBM for almost two years, at which time I enlisted in the Navy. After two years of working on Navy computers, I was released from active duty and went back to IBM. Prior to my release, I requested a transfer to San Jose, CA where I continued working for IBM for the next 23 years.
In 1992, I accepted a gracious package from IBM, which was encouraging attrition. My official retirement from IBM came in 1995. Since 1992, I have worked for several software companies in the Bay area, finally retiring in 2009. In 1985 I married Harriet Easton (Berkowitz) who had two young sons whom I helped raise. She was my soul-mate and I had never been happier than when I was with her. Sadly, she passed away from cancer a scant 10 years later. In 1998 I married Myra Blotcher (Schurr), (Midwood ’60, Brooklyn College ’64). It is not often that one finds two soul- mates in one lifetime, but I have been so blessed. With an eye towards retirement, Myra and I purchased a home in Santa Rosa in 2006, in the beautiful California wine country, and moved |
here in the summer of 2008.
I have four stepchildren — Alex 34, Shawn 34, Holly 32, Eric 31) — and three grandchildren — Chaya Baila 4, Avery 3 ½, and Aurora 8 months. My children are scattered, in Jerusalem, Miami, Boston, and Berkeley. I have not done much world travelling. However, I have done a lot of backpacking, including the Napoli coast on Kauai, the top of Haleakula to the Hana coast on Maui, and the Pacific Crest Trail from Tahoe to Yosemite. I’ve hiked up Mount Whitney (where I suffered through elevation sickness) and, from there, backpacked through Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. I’ve camped in Denali National Park in Alaska and the Anza-Borrego desert in southern California. I slept in a tent (unknowingly, 100 yards from a grizzly bear!) in Katmai National Park and Preserve on the Alaskan peninsula. I've hiked and camped in most of the National Parks in the western part of the country. I have walked on a glacier and, to celebrate my 40th birthday, I ran and completed a marathon. Currently I am on the steering committee of a local food pantry that gives out bags of food to the needy in our area one day a week. I help shop for the pantry and often run it on days when we give out food. I also do volunteer work for our temple. |
As an electrical engineer, I worked for Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida until my retirement. I live in Satellite Beach, Florida most of the year, and spend the summer in Lake Tahoe. My wife, Judy, and I will celebrate our 43rd anniversary
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December 11. We have two sons, both married, with three grandchildren from each.
I love to to play tennis and golf, as well as bridge. Running an investment club for Harris Corporation also keeps me busy. |
I am retired after having spent over 30 years working in Florida's Dade and Monroe Counties, in charge of licensing group homes, adult-training programs, and supported-
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employment facilities for the mentally-disabled. My son Alfred, age 33, is a producer of documentaries, including "Cocaine Cowboys," "Limelight," and, for ESPN, "The U."
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When I was seven, still dreaming of playing centerfield for the Dodgers, I saw a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge and somehow knew that I'd be living near it for most of my life. As a nice Jewish boy, though, I was certainly going to become a
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lawyer, doctor, dentist, accountant or Indian chief (the last of the Mokicohens). Who could have predicted that after becoming a lawyer, I’d wind up as a cameraman, sometimes on feature films, and now a painter and photographer? Who knew? Whew!
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I married Steve Buckser, in March of 1964. After living in Smithtown, Long Island for 27 years, we relocated to San Ramon, in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have two children. Lisa is 46, and lives in Scarsdale, NY. She has three children, Will, 10; and Dylan and Tyler, 6. She is a lawyer/CPA handling financial class-action suits. Our son, Craig, is living in Davis, California. He has two children, Alan, 7; and Lilac, 2 1/2. He is also an attorney, working as a Public Defender for the State of California, handling Death Penalty Appeals.
After graduating from Brooklyn College, I taught for three years. Later, when I was ready to go back to work, I decided it was time for a career change, and became a computer programmer. I had a successful career as a software Project |
Manager for a telecom company, until I retired in December of 2009. My husband retired two months later, and we are fully enjoying retirement.
Aside from the numerous things to do in the Bay Area, I have a passion for travel. We have travelled through most of Europe, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and safe countries in the Middle East. Now that we have more time, we are including driving vacations to National Parks in the West. I am active in the San Ramon branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women), and have been on the board for several years. I also enjoy reading, travel photography, and theater. My best friend at Midwood was Ellen (Chelmow) Berger, who unfortunately passed away about 20 years ago. |
After Midwood, I went to Brooklyn College, tried out a few careers, and settled on computer programming. That lasted through an MBA (longer than my first marriage). Finally, I went to Boston College Law School, getting my JD in 1983. I did some public utility and environmental law, and eventually retired from my last (and best) job as the clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the district of Maine, having lived in Brooklyn; Denver; Adana, Turkey; Boston; and Peaks Island, Maine.
My husband of 25 years, Dick Norris, is also retired. When I married Dick, I inherited four lovely daughters, who all live in New England with their respective husbands and children (eight!). Our first great-grandchild is expected just before the reunion. |
We now live in Bradenton, Florida, where I do volunteer mediation, and have parlayed my long-term love of crafts and needlework into yet another career — making and selling crocheted wire jewelry. I sell through several galleries and at craft fairs, and work at one of the galleries a couple of days a month. Even though I'm retired, I still keep my hand in with the bankruptcy courts by working (volunteer) as business manager for the bankruptcy clerks professional association. I'm also a poll- worker on election days, and I knit and crochet for charity through the Manatee County Knitters and Crocheters Guild.
We've done lots of traveling over the years, and love anyplace with a beach. My best friend in Midwood was Tema Greenleaf, now Harnik. We're still the best of friends, and went to the reunion together! |
I'm a retired attorney now living in Roxbury, Connecti-cut, with my wife of 21 years, Kathryn (Meyer), also a retired attorney. We have five children, three of whom are mine (Daniel, a physics professor; Peter, a New York City fire-fighter; and Rachel, a pre-school teacher and occasional rock singer), and two of whom are Kathy's (Daniel, a physician; and David, a writer, world-traveler, and farmer-to-be). Kathy and I are expecting our fourth grandchild in October.
After graduating from Amherst College and Columbia Law School, I joined a then medium-sized, now large, midtown New York law firm, where I became a partner in the real estate department. I stayed for 17 years, and returned for 11 more after having served as the general counsel for a developer/lender and commuting to Washington, D.C. to work at the Resolution Trust Corporation during the Bush I and Clinton administrations. |
Starting in 1996, I also served as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School, where, for 14 years, I did stand-up comedy for students who, for reasons that I can't quite fathom, were interested in "real-estate finance." Since retiring from active practice, I have been involved in the arbitration and mediation of commercial real-estate disputes in Manhattan.
Current interests, other than family and friends, include photography, travel, opera-going, bridge-playing, building an overwhelmingly unmanageable model railroad for the grandchildren (or so I say), reading books that I should have paid more attention to earlier in life, fighting losing battles with electronic equipment, and searching for my glasses. My greatest accomplishment, or at least the one that I am most pleased by, was taking my then 57-year-old non-runner's body and forcing it to train enough to enable me to complete the Pittsburgh Marathon alongside my eldest son. (My right knee replacement followed in less than a year.) |