1970–Spring ’18 Class Letter
Class Agent:
Susan Hecht Gebhardt ’70
815-464-5761 / [email protected]
Spring 2018
Hello from snowy Chicagoland. Life has been busy since the last newsletter. The holidays certainly take on a renewed charm with grandchildren. BILL GEBHARDT ’69 and I hosted my family, which meant there were two little girls, our granddaughters, running around. One little boy who was crawling around and another, due any day, were the grandsons of my sisters. They really make Christmas fun.
We are counting the days until we leave for Hawaii. After two weeks there, one on Kaua’i and one on the big island, we will tour Napa, California for a few days. Ten days later, we are off to Florida. In January, when we were experiencing subzero temperatures, and Bill was suffering from golf withdrawal, he investigated condos for sale in Fort Pierce, where his brother DAVID GEBHARDT ’66 and sister-in-law spend winters. We have visited several times and enjoy their golf community. As luck would have it, we found a place, and oddly enough it is the unit below the other Gebhardts. In less than a week we flew down and bought it. We will start some updating of the condo in March. Then it’s back home for a rest before it is warm enough to golf here.
Now for some news from our classmates:
JIM HARMAN ’70 and SARAH RANDAHL HARMAN ’71 of San Antonio, Texas, responded to my request for a possible venue for our 50th Reunion. They write, “A suggestion for cocktails and dinner would be Tuscumbia. Sarah and I have found the food to be consistently good there.”
CHRIS LYDON JONES ’70 of Scottsdale, Arizona, writes, “2017 was an interesting year. I’m adapting to life as a ‘widow,’ but finding continued joy and support from friends and family. The best of the year was watching my 7 and 5 year old grandchildren grow into awesome little people and a fabulous trip to Ireland with a fun group of friends. Plus, summer in Milwaukee is a lot better than in Arizona, and while there, I got to see some of my old Ripon buddies!”
MARK HENKEL ’70 and HILDE BORMANN HENKEL ’73 of Rudolph, Wisconsin, write, “Mark is still practicing law, but less so. Hilde is leaving the county board this spring after 18 years. They have taken over the operation of Stevens Taekwondo Academy in Stevens Point and continue to teach martial arts. Lots of visits to the grandkids and work on the hobby farm and woods are keeping them healthy, happy, and busy.”
JOHN ‘BEAUX’ LEONARD ’70 of Cornwall, Vermont, writes, “After graduation I spent a year in Denver, Colorado. I returned to Boston in the spring of 1971. I rented an apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts with JOHN ‘SHADOW’ THOMPSON ’71, Michael Peterson (would be class of ’72 who left school following his junior year), and M. Greely ‘Mike’ Summers, who attended Ripon for only the ’70-’71 year before transferring to Boston University. We took in JOHN ‘RALPH’ WOLFE ’69 when he returned from the army, and we have remained close friends since. 69 Magazine Street in Cambridge was a fun time for a couple of years; many stories. It was interesting answering the phone with 3 Johns and 2 Mikes in the house. The picture was taken in October last year in Deer Isle, Maine on the occasion of brother and trustee John Wolfe’s 70th birthday. The celebration was a three day event planned by his wife, Ruth Lamdan, and included many of their friends from Maine and Philadelphia, and of course the RC group representing 5 consecutive years. Included in the picture celebrating with John Wolfe are me, JIM DANKY ’70, JOHN THOMPSON ’71, Michael Peterson, and Mike Summers.
In Hoc, JOHN ‘BEAUX’ LEONARD ’70.”
Thank you for sharing your news with us,
SUSAN