Brandeis Magazine

David Bloomfield writes education commentary as a contributor to The Daily Beast. He is a professor of education leadership, law and policy at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, and an adjunct MAT professor at the American Museum of Natural History. In April, he and his wife, Vicky Vossen, traveled via Amtrak sleeper car (which they highly recommend) from their home in Brooklyn to New Orleans, to visit their son Caleb and attend Jazz Fest. Later, they took another train trip through the Rockies, then went to Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe and to visit son Jacob. Samuel J. Cohen died at age 65 on Aug. 21, 2018. A member of the diplomatic corps for the Israeli government, he is remembered as someone who always had a smile on his face and was a friend to everyone. He is survived by his wife, Beatriz; his sons, Amir, Daniel and Jonathan; and two grandsons. Robert Creo has worked as an attorney, arbitrator, mediator, educator and author. In January, he downsized, selling his townhouse and moving to Pittsburgh’s hip Lawrenceville neighborhood, which he loves. He lives in a small rental apartment in a new complex filled with millennials and their dogs, where he sometimes feels like an RA. Kenny Fried has had an eventful year: trekking to a Mount Everest base camp, canyoning in the Azores and skiing in Chile. He and his wife, Sharon, who have been married 38 years, have four daughters, Ariel (34), Ilana (32), Adina (28) and Nessa (26), and two granddaughters, Sadie (5 1/2) and Olivia (4 months). Kenny remains best friends with Neil Rosenberg. On June 2, Don Friedman and Ilene Miller, P’13, welcomed their grandson Jesse, courtesy of son Ira and daughter-in-law Kim. Jesse joins sister Cora (“Coco”) and brother Jack. Jane Goldman Ostrowsky and her husband, Mark, both P’06, P’13, have three children: David ’06, a sportswriter; Sharon, a teacher in New York City; and Jonathan ’13, who is in his last year at UCLA School of Law. Their granddaughter, Colby, is almost 5. Jane’s real estate practice at Coldwell Banker is thriving, and Jane and Mark are active tennis players. They enjoy taking beach and ski vacations with their family, including a trip to Hawaii last winter. Over the summer, Steve “Buddy” Greene; his wife, Ruth; and their dog, Kefi, embarked on their almost-annual drive from South Florida to Boston and back. They stopped in Greensboro, North Carolina, where they used to live, to visit dear friends, and New York, to visit their daughter Miryam. In Boston, they visited daughter Adinah and Steve’s brother Richard ’76. Sharon Hammer Rubin writes, “The biggest news in our family was the arrival of our granddaughter, Aurora Brynja (an Icelandic middle name), back in January. Aurora surprised our daughter Tracy and her husband, Jón, by arriving 12 weeks early and then having to spend 16 weeks in a NICU unit. Happily, she is now home, and they are all figuring out the parenting/baby routine. It was so wonderful seeing everyone who attended the reunion. I hope the turnout for our 50th will be even greater. Circle 2024 now!” This summer, Bob Jaffe performed “... and then you go on: An Anthology of the Works of Samuel Beckett” at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. He has done this solo show periodically since 2000, including a 2002 performance at Brandeis. Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill has recovered from a total knee replacement and plans to have the other knee replaced in October. She would love to hear from classmates. Ninon Kafka’s daughter, Kimberly Sarah Veklerov, started law school this fall at the University of Virginia. In May, Hal Karas traveled to Israel to meet his new granddaughter, Raine Maya, in Givatayim. Hal, son Steven, daughter-in-law Vicky and Raine then visited Vicky’s parents in the Eshkol region. Hal and his wife, Berri, look forward to making regular visits to Israel. Dan Kazzaz, MA’74, reports his son Zachary graduated in May from Columbia University with a master’s in international affairs. Dan Klein writes, “Reunion weekend was a hoot — renewing friendships and being with everyone was special. Three days after the reunion, I became the proud recipient of a new hip; my recovery is going better than expected. In May, Shelley and I visited our daughters and their families. Lauren and Gabby’s 8-month-old, Raea, is a happy, curious little girl. In Seattle, Ariel and Eric are setting up their new house. Ariel is making a name for herself as the head brewer at Outer Planet and has been asked to teach an intro course on brewing at the University of Washington.” Kathy Roberts writes, “After leaving Brandeis, I earned a degree in classics from San Francisco State in three semesters, thanks in part to having studied with David Wiesen and, of course, the Hum. 101 course taught by Allen Grossman, PhD’60, P’99. Then I moved to New York, studied modern dance with Erick Hawkins, and got two graduate degrees in Latin and Greek from Columbia. Returning to San Francisco, I found work as a classics professor and bought a beautiful 1904 Victorian duplex in Haight-Ashbury. I’ve been busily restoring it to its former glory and would love to show it off to anyone who’s in town. For those of you who remember, I’m still singing (the true love of my life).” Betsy Sarason Pfau writes a weekly essay for a baby-boomer website, MyRetrospect.com. She reports, “I have written about a dozen pieces about my time at Brandeis: for instance, about my first day on campus; my first job (nude modeling); the first time I got stoned; how I met my husband, Dan Pfau ’73; a first date (with someone else); the first Usdan Lives; and how I became ‘chair for life’ of our reunions.” Anne Shyavitz Foran reports her son Patrick will wed his girlfriend of three years in San Jose, California, this October. Anne visited Los Angeles over the Fourth of July to see her two very active toddler grandchildren; her daughter, Peggy; and her son-in-law, Mark. Judith Tolnick Champa is curating a large-scale contemporary exhibition, “ReWilding: Ethnobotany in the Urban,” at the Rhode Island State House. The exhibition runs from Oct. 25 through Nov. 27. A public forum on the same topic will be held on Oct. 26. George Winter reports he is loving life after dodging many potentially devastating health issues of late. In June, he and Patty, who are both still working, became grandparents for the first time. In September, they celebrated 42 years of wedded bliss. He writes, “If you remember me, hello! If you do not, hello! Remember how old people our age seemed when we were young? We were mistaken.”