Class of 1933

From the March/April 2014 Issue

William H. James celebrated his 103rd birthday in July.

From the January/February 2012 Issue

Frank Brobson Lutz celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 4.

From the January/February 2008 Issue

William James writes: “I haven’t been at Brown for years; consequently, the Brown Alumni Magazine is always read with great interest. My 97th birthday was celebrated last summer while I was in Maine. I am listed in Who’s Who in the World. The years have gone rapidly. There is still much to try to do. My father graduated from Brown in 1907. My mother graduated from Brown in 1909.”

From the July/August 2007 Issue

William H. James writes: “Apparently there are not many of us alive from the class of ’33. That is sobering. At the same time I have many memories of other men in that class. Those memories are enjoyable. Recently I gave a talk about some of my activities in World War II with the 58^th Bomb Wing (B-29 bombers) in India, China, and on Tinian Island in the Pacific. I was a combat intelligence officer. Some of my special assignments were related to escape and evasion tactics throughout Asia and air-sea rescue procedures in the Pacific. I remember many good men with whom I worked. Now we need some more good men and women because the nation is getting more vulnerable—both overseas and at home.”

From the March/April 2004 Issue

Helen Herz Cohen ’33 was listed in the Who’s Who in the World, 20th edition, 2003.

From the March/April 2003 Issue

Plans are under way for the 70th reunion of Brown and Pembroke classes, to be held May 23–26. It will be a great weekend but won’t be the same without you. Join us for the Brown Bear Buffet, Campus Dance, and the Pops Concert. You should receive your registration packet by late April, but if you do not, please call reunion headquarters at (401) 863-1947.

Edgar Dannenberg writes: “I read the obituary of Alice Gindin Silver ’32, and since there appear to be no survivors I want to express my sorrow here. Rollo and Alice Silver were loyal friends of mine and were certainly loyal to Brown. University Librarian Merrily Taylor can vouch not only for the important books they donated but for the additional funds they provided to decorate and furnish her offices—all this besides paying for landscaping of the Pembroke campus.”

Muriel Kommel Portnow writes: “I celebrated my 93rd birthday in October. My son, Norman, who has been in the life- and health-insurance business, has opened a second office. My grandson, Jeffrey, has been named a partner in the same commercial real estate business he has worked in since graduating from college. My granddaughter, Lauren Schwartz, was married. My daughter, Aline Hoffman, who is a guidance counselor and an artist in Coventry, Conn., is preparing for an art show. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who still remembers me.”

From the May/June 2002 Issue

Doris Sahl Weinschenk writes: "We live so close to New York City that the effects of events of September 11 affected many in the area. We attended the memorial, wake, and funeral mass of the only son of a good friend, a policeman. My daughter-in-law attended the memorial for the brother of her brother-in-law. It will be years before the dust settles, if ever."

From the March/April 2002 Issue

Class co-vice presidents Francis Cary and Charles Swartz report: "In this final year of the 20th century, it is worth recalling the momentous events that battered the class of ’33 and led us to claim the dubious title the Depression Class. We entered Brown in September 1929. Wall Street crashed in October 1929. The economy skidded and hit bottom with the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the collapse of our banking system (the Bank Holiday) in March 1933. We graduated in June 1933 and went out into a bleak and jobless world. Yet the class of ’33, both survivors and in absentia, went on to ‘discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation.’ "

Margaret Milliken, of Yarmouthport, Mass., writes: "I turned 90 on Nov. 7. Although I walk with a walker as a result of two broken hips, I am in good health and am an active member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Barnstable, Mass. I still sing in their choir and each month I am a lector at least once."

From the March/April 2000 Issue

George C. Oliver writes: “I’m afraid that the reason you haven’t heard lately from our class is that we are getting too old to be doing anything interesting. However, when Hurricane Floyd reached Daytona Beach, Fla., things became very interesting. We live fairly close to the beach, and the authorities were doing their darndest to get everyone to evacuate. Jeanie and I weighed the pros and cons and decided to ride it out in our own home. That, of course, took a lot of preparation. We filled fifty milk jugs with water, got out my old camping gear, filled lamps with kerosene, brought in everything off the porch, and waited. We didn’t have to wait long. Even though Daytona didn’t get the full force, what we did get was quite impressive. Our main concern was that the large trees in our yard might blow down and damage the roof; we were lucky to get away with a yard full of branches. It sure relieved the monotony!”

From the July/August 1999 Issue

Albert Lewitt, Jamesville, N.Y., writes: "Rita and I are at a lovely retirement home in greater Syracuse, five miles from our daughter, Jean. Her three daughters, all Harvard graduates, are a great pleasure. The eldest, a Columbia Law graduate, is a clerk for the federal judge of appeals in Miami. The middle granddaughter is an executive at Starbucks in Seattle and a graduate of Harvard Business School. The youngest is a student at UC-Berkeley Law. They each call us at least once a week. You can understand our pleasure."

From the January/February 1999 Issue

Ken Eaton and Mary Manley Eaton have moved into an assisted-living home in Westborough, Mass. Their daughter, Judy '60, continues to practice psychiatry in Worcester, Mass. Their son, Gerald '72, is practicing law in Manchester, N.H., and recently bought a new home. Their other son, J. Roderick '66, is now a placement counselor at Pomfret Academy, and his wife, Florence Castelle Eaton '69 M.A.T., is an admissions counselor; their daughter, Louisa, is still at a girls' prep school in New Orleans.

From the September/October 1998 Issue

The office of president of the class of 1933 has been vacant since Bill Gilbane died two years ago. For sixty-three years, this office had alternated between brothers and classmates Bill and Tom Gilbane. At our 65th reunion, it was unanimously decided to leave that office unfilled. We will carry on with vice presidents Fran Cary and Charlie Swartz, secretary Frank Hurd, treasurer Ted Quillan, and Bill Bojar, the reliable reunion coordinator. Our class is remarkable historically for encompassing the period of the Great Depression: the Wall Street Crash in October 1929 to the emergence of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in March 1933. The best of our reminiscing, however, concentrated on the 1932 football team captained by Bill Gilbane, which almost made it to the Rose Bowl, losing only to Colgate in the last game of the season. This year's 1933 class banner was proudly carried down the hill in the Commencement procession by Frank Hurd, Bill Bojar, Zeke Limmer, Norm Pierce, Corky Matlock, and Earle Hochwald. Earle, who honored our class with his courage, came all the way from Arizona with his oxygen tank and was pushed in a wheelchair guided by his daughter, Susan Mulkem. It was a great reunion. - Charles Swartz

• 65th reunion attendees included: Jessie Barker, Bill Bojar, Francis Cary, Marjorie Huse Coffin, Vivienne Cote, Sylvia Kazin Cowett, Elizabeth Partridge Green, Earle Hochwald, Frank Hurd, Z. Gladys Burt Jordan, Ezekiel Limmer, Corwin Matlock, Barbara Anthony Memmott, Helen Mulvey, Paul Palten, Norman Pierce, Ethel Lalonde Savoie, Lucia Steere Stich, William Sutcliffe, Charles Swartz, Mortimer Taylor, Lorraine Sahl Weinschenk, and Marion Warren Westberg.

   

From the July/August 1998 Issue

Harold I. Boynton, Hope, R.I., writes: "Health problems over the past year told us we should not attend the reunion. We wear down too easily. We are quite well and active and enjoy our four children, fourteen grandkids, and nine great-grandkids."

Vivienne F. Coté, Pawtucket, R.I., was a teacher from 1937 until her retirement in 1976. After 1940, she worked at Pawtucket's West High School, where she primarily taught French, but also Latin, ancient history, English, and public speaking. She was head of the foreign language department for ten years, coached the debating society for twenty years, and served as an adviser to the Model Congress, Model Legislature, and French Club. She has received numerous awards and in 1992 was honored by the Rhode Island chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa as Woman of the Year.

Mary Manley Eaton and her husband, Kenneth, moved to a retirement home in Westboro, Mass.

Harold Gelfman, Jacksonville, Fla., is a retired rabbi and has a son, a daughter, and six grandchildren.

Lillian Kelman Potter Goldstein, Providence, moved into the new senior residence where many Brown alumni and retired faculty live.

Helen Hazard Harpin's husband, Charles, passed away on Nov. 29, 1997. In addition to Helen, he is survived by two sons, Paul and William. Helen lives in Newport, R.I.

Johanna Magyar Kurz, San Jose, Calif., writes: "The death of my husband, Col. Albert A. Kurz (Ret.), a victim of Alzheimer's, on March 11, 1997, has been a devastating event. My eyesight is failing, too."

Margaret B. Milliken, Yarmouth Port, Mass., has published a poem, "Night-Blooming Cereus," in Massachusetts Audubon's Sanctuary magazine.

Muriel Kommel Portnow, Great Neck, N.Y., received the Myrtle Wreath award from Hadassah. Her daughter and son-in-law, Aline and Bill Hoffman, were elected to public office in Coventry, Conn., Aline to the board of assessment appeals and Bill to the town council. Muriel's granddaughter, Lauren Schwartz, has been married for four years and is a podiatrist. Her grandson, Jeffrey Portnow, is in commercial real estate.

Marion Warren Westberg, Providence, attended a reunion dinner on Aug. 17, 1997, for 1941 to 1955 graduates of Samuel Gorton High School. Marion taught at Gorton for five years. In attendance were ten other former faculty members, two former mayors of Warwick, R.I., and hundreds of former graduates. Marion's daughter accompanied her to the "fine dinner and evening" held at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet.

From the May/June 1998 Issue

Plans are under way for the 65th reunion of both the Pembroke and Brown '33 classes, to be held May 22-25. Join us as we welcome President Gee and enjoy the company of old friends. You should receive your registration packet by late April. Be sure to return the registration forms immediately. If you do not receive your packet, call reunion headquarters at (401) 863-1947.

Ed Dannenberg, New York City, writes: "The company for which I do some work invited me to observe filming on location in Provo, Utah. The film is a futuristic version of Rod Serling's A Town Has Turned to Dust. Just for kicks I was an extra in two scenes with the stars. An early snowfall in Provo made the Rockies a magnificent sight."