By Gregory A. Weiss
Our world-renowned sports reporter, Jim Kaplan, is now turning to English literature. He has written a pamphlet called “The Greatness of King Lear: Its Language Captivates Us. Its Matchless Tragedy Speaks to Our Times.” According to tongue-in-cheek Jim, “King Lear is the best Shakespeare play and the finest example of English literature. I know this to be true, because I have read 0.001 percent of all English literature.”
Gary Karshmer’s mother has just celebrated her 102nd birthday. “Still alert,” recounts Gary, “she made a presentation to our 10-year-old son Russell’s school last year about the Suffragettes, which her mother had been, and surprised me by telling the combined classes that her family had owned the first car in Bayonne, New Jersey!” Gary has been very involved in numerous charitable activities, including fund-raising for Russell’s school, supporting a charity that works with eye illnesses and problems in Africa, and another charity that runs summer camps for kids who have lost a parent or parents at a young age. Recently, he and his wife and son have “happily moved to Highlands, New Jersey—‘where the Jersey Shore begins,’ as the sign says—adjacent to Sandy Hook.”
Following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, Hunt Breed died on December 9, 2017, in Nantucket. What follows are the basics. For more details on Hunt’s extraordinary life and commitment to others, you will want to read the complete obituary published in the Concord Monitor and posted on the class website. Hunt graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1970 and completed his residency in general surgery at Columbia Presbyterian in NYC in 1975. He then served as a lieutenant commander for two years in the Navy, spending a year aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway as the chief surgeon for the 7th Fleet. In 1979, after completing a two-year fellowship in reconstructive and plastic surgery, he married Lucy Barker Fowlkes. They soon moved to New Hampshire where they lived for many years. While there he helped the Concord Hospital to expand into a regional medical center and ultimately served as its chief of surgery. He also served on the board of the Concord Community Music School for many years. The last years of his life were spent in Nantucket, where he and Lucy moved when Parkinson’s “took away the keys.”
As of this writing Winterfest 2018 is just a week away. Over 30 classmates, spouses, and guests will gather for a long weekend in Beaver Creek, Colorado, that is sure to be a ton of fun. Look for a full report in the next issue.