Class Correspondent

60th Reunion
June 9-11

We are all abuzz over our upcoming Reunion, which is again in the capable hands of our planners, Dick and Mimi Bergel, and Jules Bernstein. Special attention will be given to the things we need at this stage of our lives: time to visit leisurely with old friends, stimulating programs and conversations, a talk with President Ron Liebowitz to hear the latest news about Brandeis, plenty of time to recharge, and fun. I look forward to seeing you there. Like many of you, I marked my 80th birthday this year, in honor of which my two sons pulled together a three-generation family reunion. A total of 25 of us, ages 4 to 87, gathered in two houses in Scottsdale, Arizona, for three glorious sun-filled, relaxing days of food, laughter, games and s’mores. Special greetings to all my classmates celebrating this landmark birthday.

Dick Cooper is still president of Sentry Property Management. “Judy and I are enjoying life with our four kids, their spouses and our four grandchildren,” he writes. “Looking forward to our 60th Reunion.” Janet (Hentoff) Krauss retired in May after 39 years of teaching English at Fairfield University. “I will miss the students and the exchange of ideas we had in the classroom,” she writes. She will continue to volunteer with Bridgeport, Connecticut, schoolchildren. Janet serves as the poetry director of the Black Rock Art Guild, and attends poetry workshops and poetry discussion groups. Diane Colb Lindner, G’15, has been a clinical social worker since 1966. She ran a social-service agency, then served as an associate professor of social work at Barry University, in Miami, for a dozen years. She maintains a private practice focused on survivors of early childhood abuse. Diane is on the board of the Florida Society of Clinical Hypnosis, which she headed for 10 years, and is a volunteer at the Arsht Center and Temple Israel of Miami. Joel Mandelbaum reports that his science-fiction opera, “The Man in the Man-Made Moon” — which premiered at Brandeis in 1956 — was recently staged. He says the performers found the opera’s nod to artificial satellites and transgender operations surprisingly contemporary. Earlier this year, Joel released a CD with fellow composer Leonard Lehrman, featuring pieces they wrote in 1950, 1959, 1976 and 2002. Deena Metzger, who is passionately interested in helping to ensure elephant survival, spent three weeks on safari in Southern Africa. “This time we added private game reserve Thula Thula to our list,” she writes, “and were able to be with the elephant herd that Lawrence Anthony (‘The Elephant Whisperer’) saved.” Deena’s latest novel, “A Rain of Night Birds,” was published on Earth Day, April 22. She still works with ReVisioning Medicine, a council of physicians and healers who strive to create and restore medical ways that do no harm to individuals and the earth. Harry Morrison retired from Purdue University in 2012. He taught chemistry there for 49 years, with stints as department head and dean of the College of Science. His research was in photo­chemistry and photobiology; at one time he had a 16-member research group. He and his wife of nearly 59 years, Harriet ’58, winter in Boynton Beach, Florida, and he serves as a visiting professor at Florida Atlantic University. He and Harriet have three sons and eight grandchildren. Rhode Island resident Glenda Sakala is enjoying retirement. She keeps busy traveling, reading, exercising, playing mah-jongg, and visiting with family and friends. Helene Spielman-Torker is enjoying a full and satisfying family life with her husband, Marvin Torker; three children; and three grown grandsons. She maintains her private practice in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in New York City. Reflecting on her time as a student, she writes, “Although I hardly realized it then, Brandeis shaped much of my thinking and intellectual curiosity. I was a bit distracted at the time — having fun — but a lot seeped in along the way and shaped much of how my life evolved and who I am today.”

Submit a Class Note