Class of 52 Home Page Class of 52
60th Reunion 2010 Mini Reunion Reunions Past Classmate Activities '52 Artists & Authors Class Officers Giving to Yale In Memoriam

Welcome to the Class of '52 Website!


Newly Posted Items
  • The lead article in the latest issue of the Alumni Magazine celebrates the Yale Hockey team's marvelous and improbable win of the national hockey championship this year. It also notes that "Yale hockey hadn't made it to the Frozen Four (the semifinal and final games of the NCAA tournament) since...(wait for it)...1952!"

  • Philip and Ruth Parham recently celebrated their 6oth wedding anniversary

  • Take a few moments to read a light-hearted tribute to our late classmate and Class Counselor, George Adams, written by his friend, Pete Coley, recounting some of the treasure-hunting escapades of a group of young Yalies and their wives in New York City.

  • Dan Callahan is now the editor of a new blog www.Over65.TheHastingscenter.org. It is written by those over 65 and aimed at those over 65 as well and he invites all of his classmates to check it out!. (Webmaster's note: This blog offers well-written and thought-provoking articles for those of our age.)

The Literary Corner

Although many of us may have "lost a step toward first" athletically, a number of our classmates are as active as ever in the writing and publishing of books. Our "literary corner" portion of this website seems to be expanding. Of particular note are the first two memoirs listed below by two of the four African-American members of our class.

  • Class Poet Laureate, Tom Greening, has frequently written poems pertinent to matters of current interest. Here is his poetic perspective on drone warfare:

    MY DRONE

    I know that I am not alone
    in wishing I had my own drone.
    I'd fly it here, I'd fly it there,
    I'd fly my drone most everywhere.
    Especially I'd like to scare
    small children who presume to dare
    to live their simple childish lives
    while I determine who survives.
    I'll be the ruler of the sky,
    and with my drone I'll sanctify
    the steady march toward victory
    by drone-empowered saints like me.

    Tom Greening



  • This website now contains an extensive collection of Tom Greening's poems written over a period of years including two poems specifically in honor of the recent 60th Reunion.

  • Dan Callahan has published not one, but two books this fall. One is a memoir, In Search of the Good: A Life in Bioethics (MIT Press) and the other is a collection of essays over the years, The Roots of Bioethics: Health, Progress, Technology, Death (Oxford University Press).

  • Rear Admiral Joe Callo has established an outstanding reputation as a naval historian. His most recent book entitled "The Sea Was Always There", has recently been published by Fireship Press. To read a foreword to the book written by John Lehman, click here.

  • Nathan Garrett's recently-published memoir, "A Palette Not a Portrait" is now available from Amazon. The flyleaf abstract notes:
    "This memoir starts with humorous but honest glimpses of this mostly middle class and mostly African American North Carolina family. It contains revealing stories about the author's life at Yale from 1948 to 1952 and his unusual experiences in the military. The setting then shifts to Detroit and descriptions of involvement in the "numbers racket", fighting off rivals for the hand of his wife of now 52 years and becoming the 65th African American CPA in the nation. The sections that recount his return to North Carolina in 1962 are filled with insights on black business, the civil rights and antipoverty struggles, Historically Black Colleges, social and civic organizations and his pioneering work in public practice and in the regulation of public accountancy nationally. The concluding sections are an essay on his quest to understand God and religion and a thoughtful dialogue on love and marriage."
  • John Richard (Dick) Cooper's memoir "My Life — One Stone in the Great Wall," not yet in print, deals with the significant changes and progress made regarding race and gender issues during his lifetime and the problems that still remain. To read the entire prologue of Dick's book click here.

  • The two remarkable memoirs above seem to demand a reprise of an essay by their roommate, Dr. Charles Payne, entitled "Retribution, A Remembrance" that appeared on this website shortly after Charlie's untimely death in 2007.

  • Dick Thompson announces that his third book, "Destiny's Journey - Homeward Bound," is now published and is available for purchase. Purchase details are given on Dick's Classmate Activities page.


The 1952 Whiffs Jukebox — Brought back by popular demand!

(Well okay, most of the demanding was done by Alan Stamm.) The magic jukebox that will play all your favorite Whiff songs is now back in operation, and it won't even require you to put in a nickel. Just click here to see the Whiffs as they were in 1952 and at the 55th reunion, then click the song title you want to hear on the jukebox.


Classmate Activities

Dr. Richard Rifkind and his wife Carole co-produced and co-directed “Naturally Obsessed: the making of a scientist,” a one hour documentary film showing the training of young scientists and their role in the process of discovery. Their film was given an award from the National Academy of Science for excellence in the communication of science. To read more about the film, click here.

Clovis Heimsath, architect, artist and author has been busy. His architectural firm's classroom addition to the Austin Independent School District's Langford Elementary School features some interesting "green building" components; click here for more detail.

To see what some of your other classmates are doing, click on "Classmate Activities."


Recently Deceased Classmates

One of the webmaster's saddest tasks is posting the names of recently deceased classmates on the necrology pages which list their names in alphabetically and by date of death. To date, 502 of our classmates have perished. Here are the names of those who have left us in the past year.

502. John N. HeftiMay 9, 2013
501. Bradford P. ColcordApril 9, 2013
500. Eugene R. MonsonApril 7, 2013
499. John W. HambrightApril 2, 2013
498. Archibald Douglas, IIIMarch 19, 2013
497. Sydney W. FinerMarch 10, 2013
496. Austin B. GraffMarch 3, 2013
495. John E. PetersonFebruary 11, 2013
494. Karl J. Heilman, Jr.February 2, 2013
493. John W. PoulosJanuary 30, 2013
492. Morton J. WeylerJanuary 5, 2013
491. Edward A. Chittenden, IIIDecember 22, 2012
490. Robert H. Smith, Jr.December 18, 2012
489. Ross A. KipkaDecember 3, 2012
488. William E. KenersonNovember 16, 2012
487. Theodore E. B. WoodNovember 13, 2012
486. Joseph D. SargentNovember 7, 2012
485. William C. BradleyOctober 19, 2012
484. Michael L. StrongOctober 14, 2012
483. Robert G. MossmanOctober 10, 2012
482. John A. BurwellOctober 2, 2012
481. John L. BauerSeptember 18, 2012
480. Kurt MarschallSeptember 13, 2012
479. Charles N. HammondSeptember 3, 2012
478. Raymond J. FreedmanAugust 15, 2012
477. H. Templeton Brown, Jr.August 13, 2012
476. Donald H. ParsonsJuly 22, 2012
475. Richard C. LemonJune 29, 2012
474. Peter C. SutroJune 14, 2012
473. William A. FlutyJune 13, 2012
472. Robert A. BelmonteJune 13, 2012
471. Hugh R. TaylorJune 11, 2012
470. Edmund J. Glenny, IIJune 6, 2012
469. Robert P. FreedmanMay 18, 2012
468. James H. Small, IIIMay 17, 2012
467. Clifford E. EliasMay 12, 2012

Website contact:
Don McCoy