Tom Speers,

Your secretary, I (Tom Speers) continue in Simsbury, CT, living on the campus of the Ethel Walker School, where my wife, Bessie, is head of school. Last year, I served as interim director of development for the school and now continue with a small portfolio focusing on planned giving. I am also serving as presbyter for Discerning the Way in the Presbytery of Southern New England and preaching on an “as needed” basis for a number of local churches. I enjoyed catching up with David Maxwell at the Presbyterian Church General Assembly in Minneapolis in July and also Tom Taylor, who was elected president and chief executive officer for the Presbyterian Foundation.

I was saddened to learn of the death of Louis Civitello, whom we welcomed as an honorary member of our class and who worked as head of the grounds crew at YDS. Some of us will remember enjoying meals cooked by Louie and the Spectrum article about him that left out the “saltiness” of his language. Louie was 88, and we send his wife our condolences.