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Dear Milne Alumni and Supporters,

WHY "SUPPORTERS"?

You may wonder why I have added "Supporters" to my salutation. There are many individuals who are very interested in Milne connections and history that have been supporting our alumni projects. These include not only Class Contacts and other alumni but also faculty members and alumni spouses and/or family members. I would like to highlight a particular supporter, Tom Winshurst, but first a little history if you don't mind:

My mother, Harriet RICHTER Koblintz (1920-2005) graduated from Milne in 1938. This past spring, Franklin J. STEINHARDT, '38, provided me with a recent class contact list that was maintained by two classmate sisters, Mary WINSHURST Goodwin and Damia WINSHURST Anderson. Their list had served for the Class of '38's 50th and 60th reunions and thoughts of a 70th reunion. My husband and I moved to Jacksonville in June, so I didn't have a chance to contact either sister immediately to help update the list.

Later in the summer, I tried calling Mary Goodwin several times, but there was no answer. Finally, I left a message, and that same day I received a voice-mail response from Mary's daughter telling me that Mary had recently passed away.

I was able to find Mary's obituary in her local paper and noticed that she had a brother Tom living in Jacksonville! Not knowing his age or condition, I hesitated to call him, but a week or so later, I received an email from . . . Mary's brother Tom!

Tom told me that his sister Damia had asked him to advise members of the class about Mary's death. Damia also told him that she had learned from Franklin Steinhardt about the Milne website, database, and what Mary Welch and I have been doing to improve communication among Milne alumni. Tom wrote to me . . . not knowing that I, too, live in Jacksonville or that I already knew of his sister's death.

As a result of that communication, Tom and I have been in close contact. In addition, Tom, his wife Fran, my husband, and I met for lunch at a local restaurant, which resulted in the sharing of many memories. But even more important, Tom's effort to contact members of the Class of 1938 has enabled us to update the website and database.

Tom attended Milne in 1934 and 1935 as a member of the Class of 1936 (which I did not know originally because his name didn't appear on any of the alumni lists) but moved on to graduate from Castleton High School. However, he remembers many of the members of the Class of '38 and has shared memories of Milne events, parties at his house, and his sisters' involvement in Class of '38 reunions.

Mary and I are so thankful for alumni and supporters like Tom who have helped us develop and maintain an accurate Milne Directory and database. Please continue to send updates!

REUNION PLANNING

Peter Bulger, Class of 1973, has announced that there will be a Class of '73 Reunion in 2008. "We have not set a date (weekend), but probably will schedule a few events to include an informal 'meet and greet' night in downtown Albany, a structured event (e.g., dinner or boat ride) on Saturday, with maybe a golf outing for those interested." Please contact Peter for further information and/or to help with the planning.

MILNE COMMONS ROOM

Having participated in the dedication of a Milne Commons Room at the University at Albany in 1984 (see Commons Room), I decided to ask Geoff Williams, the University Archivist, whether that room still exists. I provided information from the program of events, and he did some investigating: In the UAlbany Education Building Room 335 there is a plaque on the wall by the door to the room that says "Milne School Commons Room." So it appears that the dedication of the room has been permanently memorialized. I am going to find out whether any Milne memorabilia is stored in the Milne Commons Room as part of our attempt to gather trophies, etc., and have them displayed in one central location.

GOOD NEWS

Ralph J. Benko, '70, has announced his engagement to Laura Kuhn of Red Hook, NY/NYC/Phoenix/Rockville/the World! His www.pnosis.com website welcomes visitors. [Link no longer seems to be working.] Best wishes, Ralph!

Charlie Levitz, Milne '72, recently received a 2007 Sante magazine Spirits Hospitality Award for the Mid-Atlantic region. He is the chef/owner of both Charlie's Restaurant and T-Bar and Chair 6 Restaurant in Lake Placid, NY. Charlie runs the region's largest catering operation. Congratulations, Charlie!

If you have any good news to share, please let either Mary Welch or me know.

SAD NEWS

The following Milne alumni or attendees passed away in October and early November. Please note that I rely upon the Albany Times Union and input from other alumni for this information, so if you become aware of someone who has passed away, please let me know. If a name is underlined, it represents a link to the obituary. The Times Union links are available free for 365 days after the initial posting. Other newspapers may have different timetables.

Anthony SROKA, Jr., Class of '58 (October 2, 2007) - Times Union

Shirley JACKOFSKY, Class of (?)* (October 5, 2007) - Times Union

Alan TAMAROFF, Class of '54 (October 12, 2007) - Times Union

Thomas DAWES, Class of '61 (non-grad) (October 13, 2007) - New York Times; also see Tom for more comprehensive background information

Abbie GILKERSON Perrin, Class of '30 (October 14, 2007) - Times Union

Geraldine SILBERBERG Abrams, Class of '71 (November 5, 2007) - Times Union; there is a more complete obituary on the Post Star site, which will remain online for 30 days

*I do not have Shirley Jackofsky on any class lists, but according to her obituary, she was a Milne graduate. If you know in what year she graduated, please let me know.

Thanks to all of you for your interest in Milne Alumni activities.

Judy (Koblintz) Madnick, '61

For contact information, see the Milne Alumni homepage: www.albany.edu/~milne/