Class Notes
Send Us Your News
We welcome submissions for inclusion in Class Notes. Submit online, mail to UVA Lawyer, University of Virginia School of Law, 580 Massie Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903; or fax to 434-296-4838. Please send your submissions by April 15 for inclusion in the next issue.
1940
An interview with Mortimer Caplin in which he describes his role as a naval officer in the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, is a permanent part of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. His interview was highlighted in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-Day (see http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.68515/).
1957
Richard S. Porter died on August 24, 2014, at the age of 85. He lived in Topsham, Me. He served as lieutenant in the U.S. Army and worked for Alcan Inc. for 31 years.
1958
by Ted Torrance
Corresponding Secretary
1955 Windward Way
Vero Beach, FL 32963
Email: etorr@cox.net
In response to an often-raised question: in 1958 we numbered 161. As of this writing we number 74, so we have gradually aged into a minority status.
Various of our classmates kindly responded to my summertime plea for news, comments, or anything else appropriate for printing in these columns, as follows:
First, from Bill O’Connor: He sent along his much-appreciated (by me) thanks for these periodic alumni reports, commenting that, “they are the first pages of UVA Lawyer that we all read.”
The perennial nexus between our class and the Law School, Fred Goldstein, writes of his trying to learn to enjoy the benefits of retirement after an extended hiatus on the sidelines for medical reasons, and he has apparently taken up golf with a vengeance. His minimum standard is “one good stroke per hole,” but alas, the course he plays outside Boston has an inherent requirement of three per hole. But Fred obviously has other more consuming and probably more rewarding interests. He reports glowingly of his travels in England this past summer, exploring architecture and indulging his passion for collecting caricatures and illustrated books.
The ever-on-the-move Henry Williams recounts his having rendezvoused with the Great Lakes Cruising Club in Leamington, Ontario, and of his plans for cruising this past summer on Lake Ontario eastward to the Thousand Islands on his Niagara 35 sailboat, with a stop at the Wooden Boat Museum in Clayton, N.Y. (“not to be missed”).
Michael Kaplan writes that he has moved from an “expensive rental in New York City (everything in New York City is expensive) in the middle of four hospitals and attendant sirens” to a presumably quieter co-op on the edge of Sutton Place. By the way, Michael recalls that he was the second-youngest member of our class, having turned 80 this past June, with Bert Tauber taking the junior championship. On the other hand, Jesse Vogtle recently noted that he is only 80—so who knows? These three and perhaps others can duke it out to claim junior honors.
Stuart (Blue) Jay says that all is well in Louisville, Ky., although he bemoans the cost of maintaining not only a Labrador but also his wife’s riding horse in regal style. Blue clearly has never heeded the age-old admonition never to buy anything that floats or has four legs.
Ben Phipps is still practicing in Tallahassee “a little less than half-time.” He urges us all to remember the Class of 1958 Hardy Dillard Scholarship Fund, as well as the annual class contribution thereto. You will recall that Ben has been a most generous leader in the development of the Fund.
Marc Jacobson sent along a summary of his activities over the years, having served in various judicial capacities in Norfolk, including as Chief Judge of the Norfolk Circuit Court. Marc also participated in a broad spectrum of religious and civic activities, among them membership on the Board of Visitors of Old Dominion University.
If any of you have had housing woes in the past, consider this from a telephone conversation I had with Ferd Salomon: This past April the heavens let loose with some two feet (feet!) of rain over his Pensacola home, resulting in the destruction of the house and about everything in it. Ferd’s wife first sensed there was a problem when she felt cold water on her feet as she sat reading. Since then, while repairs are being made, Ferd has been living with assorted pets in an RV in the yard. At the time of our talk, in mid-summer, he had clearly had enough of all that.
Barbara Coppeto, having had a career capped by her service as a judge on the Connecticut Superior Court, says she is still spending one day a week doing pre-trial work. Her summers are spent on the shorefront in Milford, Conn., with the winters seeing her on Siesta Key, a barrier island adjoining Sarasota, Fla. She invites any classmates in the area to give her a call.
Aging Department: with I guess all of us now having reached age 80, and with many of us well past that age, it is my observation that very few of us, if any, get a free pass to that longevity, with some paying a considerably higher price than others. Witness: Louise, wife of Rod Sinclair reports that Rod is in an assisted living facility in Charlottesville, suffering with Parkinsonʼs Disease.
Lowell Weicker, probably the most politically prominent member of our class (U.S. Representative and eighteen-year Senator; Governor of Connecticut), sent me a note from which I excerpt: “Interest: politics; health: lousy legs; children: seven boys, six grandchildren, one great grandchild; wife: Claudia—beautiful!; age: 83—too old.”
The afore-mentioned Jesse Vogtle says in a note that he is residing in an assisted living facility in Birmingham while his wife holds down the fort at their long-time home.
A higher price is being paid by Charley Bradley, who wrote to say that he is suffering from a rare neurological condition called cortical basal ganglion degeneration, which leaves him confined to a wheelchair, without use of his left arm or hand. I Googled CBGD on the Internet and received an education in one of the many areas of medicine of which I am quite ignorant. Charley recommended I read Christopher Hitchensʼ book, Mortality, which I did, in two bites. I in turn enthusiastically recommend it to all, recognizing that none of us (so far as I know) has unlocked the secret to immortality. You will find the book difficult to put down. Charley signed off on his note with “Happy trails to all.”
As always, I am indebted to those who have taken the time and effort to send news of themselves along to me. It’s never too early to start work on the next issue of UVA Lawyer, so I urge all to contact me. My best to all.
Oscar A. Gottscho, 83, died on September 23 in Bernardsville, NJ. After clerking for Judge J. Gregory Bruce of the U.S. Tax Court, he embarked on a legal career focused on U.S. tax law, particularly its international aspects. He served for many years on the board of directors of the Tax Council; as vice chair of the Tax Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce; and on the tax committees of the American Bar Association and the National Foreign Trade Council.
