January 2009 Class Notes

On behalf of all your Class of 1950 officers, we hope that 2008 was good to you, and that the coming year will be a happy one.
This might be a good time to review your profile at https://alum.mit.edu/user/profile/YourInfo.dyn and revise it, if necessary, to bring your information up-to-date. If you do not have one, this same link will offer you an opportunity to set up an account with Infinite Connection, the official website of the MIT Alumni Association. There are several benefits for alumni, including the opportunity to have a lifetime Email address at MIT. If you have any difficulty in setting up an account, there is a very good help link at https://alum.mit.edu/help/RegistrationFAQ/ . Your assistant secretary, Tom Keane, will be happy to be of service if there are any remaining questions.

Sylvia Cyphers Day died on September 29, 2008. Her last known address is P.O. Box 446, St. Peters, PA 19470-0446. A great lover of animals, she rode horses in competition and raised champion Siamese cats and German shepherd dogs. Sylvia was also an avid gardener, working with both vegetables and flowers. She read voraciously and was especially interested in history and the Catholic Church. A lifelong Republican, she spent many an election helping to get out the vote and promoting conservatism. But her most passionate interest was her family, raising her three children and then helping to raise her grandchildren. Of all her possessions, her pictures of her family were her most prized and were always on display throughout the home. Sylvia is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Robert E. Day '48, three children and nine grandchildren.

Dr Fred I Diamond passed away on November 10, 2008. His last known address is 1300 Bower Hill Rd Apt #1414, Pittsburgh, PA 15243-1393. Fred had a distinguished career in electronics and computer applications, working for the U.S, Air Force at Red Bank, NJ and Rome, NY. The Fred I Diamond Award is given annually for the best technical paper in a refereed journal by the Air Force Rome Laboratory. Fred is survived by his wife Edna, three children and five grandchildren.

We hear from Don Brah:
I just learned of Bob Mann's death through the Class of 50 Web Page. I have not been as faithful reader as I should have been due to a number of personal issues.
Bob was one of my roommates in Building. 22. I must admit that he was a far better scholar than I. He was well respected even as a fellow student.
I went to the site hoping that I could find information about another close friend, Richard (Dick) Butterworth - Class of 1950 Degree in Naval Architecture. Dick and his wife Jean live in Marblehead, MA. Dick retired from GE at West Lynn. We shared a love of sailing and drinking beer and listening to Dixieland music at various bars on lower Mass. Ave. Dick was a computer programmer at GE his entire career, but he never owned a personal computer - his letters were typed on a manual typewriter. If you have any information about Dick, I would appreciate it.
Donald B. Brah - BSME – '50
DonBrah@aol.com

Joe D’Annunzio writes:
Am writing this just after I got a call from Edna Diamond, wife of Fred Diamond to tell me that her husband had passed away in November. He was from Course 6 and after reading last month's notes, she wanted information on Warren Fenster who, she said, was the last of the group working for the Air Force to Leave Red Bank, NJ, and move to Rome, NY. I don’t have Warren's address but if someone has it, tell him to call Edna or to write her. (Joe, we got in contact with Warren and passed the information along). I wrote this right away as I left Florida last week to go see my granddaughter graduate from Arizona State University and returned to NJ for the Holidays and left all my material in FL. With the mail piled up and the Christmas only two days away, I would have forgotten to put the information in the notes.
It seems like I am forgetting things too much lately and as a result I informed the AAA that I would no longer do arbitration work as I turn 80 in February but still playing golf, tennis and fish once a week.
Joe

Mal Green sent the following:

Classmates,
I'll be out of the country, in Israel, from Dec.18 until Dec. 30. Fortunately the trip was paid for back in February. I hope to come back and find you all well and the Dow at 12,000.
I don't know how easy it will be to access email there (I don't have a laptop) but I don't think you'll have to contact me. However don't hesitate to email me in the event I get access to the internet- just don't expect a prompt reply.
Best wishhes to you all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Mal

Mal, As this is written, the Dow is at 9055.24. Oh, well.

Forty-one classmates and guests (one short of last year’s record) attended the ninth annual holiday brunch at MIT’s Endicott House on December 14. The 20th century mansion was decorated even more lavishly this year and set the mood for a happy afternoon.
The party opened with cocktails and hors d’ouevres and then adjourned to an adjacent private dining room. Mal made a few remarks and noted the absence of deceased reunion committee members Bob Mann, Nate Cook, Jon Ganger, and Bob Cesari. Widows of the latter three attended the party and maintain an active association with the class and reunion committee. An 8-minute video showing footage of past reunions, construction of the 1916 campus, and new buildings was shown. Karl Ahlstrand gave an outline of our 60th reunion now in active planning mode and showed pictures of MIT venues which will house some of our activities. Watch this web page for more information on reunion plans.

Here is a photo of classmates in red jackets and mufti who enjoyed the day.

Kneeling , L to R are Bob Snedeker, Jake Shapiro, Hollis Gray, Mal Green, Bill Murphy, Jack Mohr, and Dave Wellington

Standing are Ed Field, Stan Marshall, Harry Foden, Karl Ahlstrand, Phil Byrne, Paul Zorn, Ed Sheldon, Jack McKenna, Hans Stern, Paul Berger, Rey Graunas, Carroll Johnson, Pete Palmer, Jim Lydon, and Ed Chatterton.

Mal Green, who contributed this article, is happy to report that he and his family returned safely from Israel on December 30th and had a wonderful trip in spite of the hostilities which began three days earlier.

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