Class of ’59 – July/August
2011
Under the pen name of Lawrence Grey, Grey Perry has written a book titled Letters from Grampy,
Advice to Make the Most of Your Teen Years. The book, published by CreateSpace, is a series of essays on subjects that will
give a heads-up to any teen: sex, dating, study habits, specializing, smoking,
drugs, responsibility, privacy and their reputation,
dancing, dads and moms, religion, cars, homework, sports and many other
pertinent subjects. For more information, check out www.lettersfromgrampy.com. Grey originally wrote the book for his own six
grandchildren, and discovered other teens liked it, as did their parents and
grandparents, so he expanded the original scope of the book. “It’s a book for
teens” he says, “not for their parents or grandparents, although the latter
will be the ones who most likely will buy the book for their teen as a birthday
gift or stocking stuffer.”
Grey is a third generation Cornellian;
his great-grandfather James H. Owen graduated in 1873; his father, Rollin L. Perry was a dean in
the Arts College. Other Cornellians in the family include Grey’s brother Owen
’55, Grey’s son Geoff ’85, Geoff’s wife Christine Stefanou
’85, and granddaughter Demi, a
chemistry major in the class of 2013. Grey’s
business career included being an officer with a Japanese joint venture
company, Sekisui Chemical and High Voltage Engineering, in Massachusetts,
and a small plastics company in Connecticut.
He also owned a travel agency specializing in golf vacations to Scotland and Ireland. After retiring in 1997, he
and his wife Nancy moved to eastern Tennessee.
Grey has long been active in his fraternity,
Sigma Phi; he was national chairman for three years from 2000 to 2003, and is
now Chairman Emeritus. His son Geoff is currently an alumni director of the
Cornell chapter.
Len Rubin
continues to practice psychiatry in NYC and “still lives downtown in a rapidly
changing Greenwich Village.” He writes that he
“really enjoys this phase of his working life, independent of any external
corporate or academic structure. Most of my patients are in their 20s, 30s and
40s (they keep me up to date on cultural references). I hope to continue this
way until I no longer can—I figure I’ve easily got another 10 to 15 years!” Len visited Barcelona
early in the year—“a beautiful, interesting city, with great food and
architecture.” And last October, he attended a lunch in Washington, D.C.
recognizing recipients of NEA Opera Honors. The lunch, held at the Supreme
Court, was hosted by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg ‘54, an avid opera fan. “I was
rewarded with a delighted grin when I identified myself to Justice Ginsberg as a fellow alum not only of Cornell but also of James Madison
High School.”
Even though it was doing extremely
well, the millwork company that Bruce Pfann, MBA ‘65 of New London, NH
worked for abruptly shut down last year. Bruce
then joined a small local healthcare software/hardware company. “I knew next to
nothing about the operational side of the healthcare business but I charmed the
CEO and was hired. Since then I have become the marketing manager (although not
by title) and am beginning to learn the ins and outs
of the medical office business, which at times (okay, all the time) is
overwhelming. I’m discovering the ‘pain’ that physicians and office managers
experience day-by-day, and feel real empathy for those who are in private practices.
With all the new regulations, it’s a brutal world. But I’m enjoying the
challenges—which change day by day. With all the electronic gadgets, software
changes and hundreds of competitors, it keeps me alert and interested.” Bruce and his wife Kathy try to travel to some
out-of-the-country place each year (Italy and England being favorites). And
every September there’s a reunion of Chi Psi ‘59ers, sponsored by Phil McCarthy in Sedgwick,
ME. “Phil
is a fabulous host, although his boat navigational skills (he was in the Navy,
if I can believe that) come into question occasionally. Fifteen to 20 guys show
up for the 3-day event of sailing, eating, jerking each other’s chains,
etc.—almost exactly what we were doing at Cornell. Phil
also brings in local celebrities, who give terrific talks about their
experiences. It’s really interesting every year.”
Appreciation of the Romp ‘n Stomp video
produced during our 50th reunion continues to spread. The Class of
’43 is sending the video to all of its 416 living classmates. The class
president, Miller Harris, took the course and was very close to its creator,
Prof. Harold Thompson . Harry Petchesky had asked Miller to attend our reunion and
play Prof. Thompson’s role in the Romp ‘n Stomp revival, but Miller declined.
Afterwards, says Harry, “he was sorry he didn’t
come.”
Our class news form (you have
renewed your class membership, right?) asked about Cornell friends you would
like to hear from. Here’s a suggestion: update your info on the Cornell Alumni
website—and look for friends and old acquaintances there.
* Jenny Tesar, 97A Chestnut Hill
Village, Bethel, CT 06801; tel., (203) 792-8237; e-mail, jet24@cornell.edu.