Class Notes, May/June, 2006
Tuesday July 11, 2006 Category: Archives Permanent Link
Ciao from Torino, Italy–or more specifically, Sauze d’Oulx, the tiny mountain village where I’m based to cover the Olympics. I haven’t seen this much snow since the blizzard freshman year–and at least there most of it was cleared quickly. (If you don’t believe me, ask Dominique Lazanski, who’s come out to visit me from London, where she’s doing her master’s at the London School of Economics, and is staying for a PhD.)
Here I’m either literally walking on ice–you haven’t seen anything until you see a bunch of macho sports reporters creep down hills like little kids hugging the edge of the ice rink– or on the equivalent of a Slurpee.My flat is at the top of a Libe Slope-grade hill, and to add to the freshman-year nostalgia, the other day I decided that rather than fall down the icy hill, I’d tray down. People clapped when I got to the bottom. Just look for me on the US skeleton team for 2010 in Vancouver!
Call this the all-nostalgia all-the-time edition of Class Notes, because Alexandra Clinton wrote to tell me the Chariot is closed, thus dashing my plans for a corn nugget fest when I get back to Ithaca this summer. Alexi is currently living in Boston, completing a dietetic internship at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center. She reports that her best friend (and former roommate) Staci Nugent is now working at a Finger Lakes winery after earning her master’s in viticulture and enology from UC Davis last year.
Wedding Watch: Alicia Parlanti and Dennis “Rusty”Madison were married Oct. 8, ‘05 in New Jersey.Marguarite Carmody and Sheila DiGasper were bridesmaids, and Karen Szczepanski, Erica Gantner, Tim and Robyn Tuttle Burns, Darcy Peterka, Gina Saline Accordino, Geraldine Zikely, Chris and Denise Kothe Monti, and Dave Pospischil attended. “It poured on the day of the wedding, but we still had a great time,”Alicia e-mails. The couple are living in Jersey and both working in sales, Alicia for Myriad Genetic Labs and Dennis for US Foodservice.
Congrats to Brian and Jessica Dalewitz Zwerling on the birth of Jacob Seymour on Feb. 1, ‘06. Jessica recently completed her neurology residency at Montefiore Medical Center and is currently doing a fellowship in neuromuscular diseases. She says she’ll be staying at Montefiore as an attending next year. Brian is an ophthalmologist. Rachel Balaban—who first reported the Zwerlings’ news to me—has been made partner in her law firm, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. She works in the firm’s New York office. On July 27, ‘05 Scott and Stephanie Schwarz Sailor welcomed Jenna Lauren. “She is so amazing and growing so fast,” Stephanie writes. The Sailors have made the move from NYC to Atlanta. “The weather is great and the people are so nice.”
One person we will all miss at reunion this year is Daniel Rich. D.R., as he was better known, succumbed to his six-year battle with brain cancer on Nov. 16, 2005. While undergoing his treatment, D.R. persevered through law school, earning a JD from Emory Law School, and worked for a law firm in New York City. I remember commiserating with Dan over our history theses senior year—I can still see him standing on the steps of Uris Library–but I’m going to leave the real picture of Dan to someone who knew him much better than I did. To quote Jim Papa: “D.R. was known to his friends and family as a thoughtful, kindhearted, and intelligent person who never forgot to recognize a special occasion with a handwritten card or gift. His gifts were unique: always memorable and always tailored to the recipient. Dan’s life outlook and vocal opinions were among the personality traits that made him loved by those who knew him.”
Funeral services for Dan were held in Manhattan on Nov. 20, and 18 of his DKE brothers came from across the country. According to Jim Papa,Adam Hocherman ‘97,Matthew Mariani ‘97, Jeremy Mason ‘97, and Matthew Organ ‘97 delivered moving remarks at the request of the family, telling stories that made mourners alternately smile, laugh, and cry. Other brothers in attendance included Brent Benkovic,Michael Greenberg ‘97, Robert Halpin ‘97, Blair Jenness ‘97,Matthew Kirouac ‘97, John Konstant, Jason Lipman ‘95,Matthew Lusky ‘95, Eric Neumann, Dean Pourakis ‘97, Charles Spaziani ‘97, Andrew Yakoobian, and Greg Yenik ‘98.
Plans are under way to memorialize him at the DKE Lodge (13 South Ave.) during Reunion Weekend on June 10 at 5 p.m. All who knew Dan are invited to attend. – Courtney Rubin, cbr1@cornell.edu; Sheryl Magzamen, SLM1@cornell.edu.
