Class Notes

For the past decade John Howe (MechEngr’56) has been an author and speaker on energy, population, environment and economics. He writes “We are entering the second half of the short oil age, and in that context, things don’t look very promising.” His studies are shared in his manuscript, The End of Fossil Energy, 4th ed.: What’s Next? It’s Up To You. John, the 1956 CU ski team captain, and his wife Debbie Mead Howe (Art’69) live in Waterford, Maine. They have fond memories of their time at the university and Boulder in the 1970s when John was vice president of engineering for the Head Ski Co. on 63rd Street and Debbie was a professional freestyle skier.

On March 26, 2011, Joyce Pierson Rumsfeld (A&S’54), wife of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, broke a bottle of champagne to christen the USS Arlington. Joyce is the ship sponsor of the Arlington, one of three vessels named in honor of the heroes and victims of 9/11. The vessel is named for Arlington County, Va., where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people. She lives in Chicago.

Longmont residents Jim Armitage (MEdu’54, EdD’67) and his wife Doris Armitage celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in November. The couple has four children and celebrated their milestone with family. Jim taught in the education school at CU, served as director of elementary education at Oregon State University and spent 11 years as principal of Foothill Elementary School. He retired in 1987. The couple spends winters in Arizona.

In the spring Robert Byrne (CivEngr’54) will publish his 24th book, The 2,548 Wittiest Things Anybody Ever Said (Simon & Schuster). While at CU he was editor of the humor magazine The Flatiron and played pool, snooker and billiards. One of his books, Byrne’s Standard Book of Pool and Billiards (Marnier Books), has sold more than 500,000 copies and helped him get inducted into the Billiards Congress of America’s Hall of Fame in 2001. He also became a full-time freelance writer after 20 years as editor of an engineering magazine based in San Francisco. Robert lives in Dubuque, Iowa.

Ken Johnson (Mktg) worked as a journalist at the Grand Junction Daily Sentinelbefore becoming the owner in 1970. He continued to put his degree to work, as owner of the Cleveland Press and Redstone Castle, a luxury hotel west of Aspen. Ken later moved to California to raise Arabian horses. Currently in Massachusetts, Ken has begun writing a biography of Walter and Preston Walker, the father and son duo who owned the Sentinel before he did.

Eighty-four-year-old Sue Humel Viders (Art) created an alter ego of herself named Meg, a character with a strong personality and the star of a series of mystery books available at dbhumel.com and Amazon. Sue also is author of numerous nonfiction books, articles and columns for artists and writers. A book she co-authored, The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes and Heroines, is used by writers worldwide.

In January Elaine Mullenax Long (Edu) of Buena Vista, Colo., turned 80. After graduating from CU, she taught in Portland, Ore., Denver and on a U.S. Strategic Air Command base near Oxford, England. She then began a writing career, and several of her short stories have been published in magazines and in anthologies. Her three novels were followed by a nonfiction book, The Caregiver’s Choice, which chronicled the 14 years she spent taking care of her husband, who died of cancer in 2003, and her mother, who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. She also produced three CDs of music. Her website is www.elainelong.com.

In January Elaine Mullenax Long (Edu) of Buena Vista, Colo., turned 80. After graduating from CU, she taught in Portland, Ore., Denver and on a U.S. Strategic Air Command base near Oxford, England. She then began a writing career, and several of her short stories have been published in magazines and in anthologies. Her three novels were followed by a nonfiction book, The Caregiver’s Choice, which chronicled the 14 years she spent taking care of her husband, who died of cancer in 2003, and her mother, who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. She also produced three CDs of music. Her website is www.elainelong.com.

Since retiring as a director and board-designated financial expert for Whiting Petroleum Corporation and Allied Motion Technologies, Dee Hubbard (Acct) is renewing his first love, creative writing. Charlie’s Pride, his debut novel, is the story of a modern-day Last Mohican and was published last May. His first book, Slim to None, was a Denver Post bestseller and Colorado Book of the Year nominee. Nearing completion, his second novel is At the Altars of Money. In old-age denial since turning 65, he and his wife, artist Bonnie McGee, have seen Colorado from 29 of its highest places, the 14ers. He claims to have one more left in him…Longs Peak, if Wayne Hutchins will short-rope him up the Homestretch.

This year Bob Jeangerard (Mgmt’55) was inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame. He averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds a game during his CU career and helped take his team to the national semifinals in 1955, when the team won a record 19 games. (CU fell to eventual champion San Francisco.) Bob was the NCAA Tournament’s Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Former pilot and photographer Charles Clark Jr. (A&S’55) was elected a Member National in the Explorer’s Club headquartered in New York City. As a pilot and photographer in the 1960s, Charles was one of the first foreigners to meet indigenous tribes in the Amazon River Basin. His photographic work is some of the best documentation of their traditions and cultures. He lives with his wife of 55 years, Jeanne Jones Clark (A&S’56), in Overgaard, Ariz.

In April, a documentary film about distinguished film and television composer Dave Grusin (Mus’56; HonDocMus’89) played at the Boedecker Theater in Boulder. The film, Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time, was created by Barbara Bentree (MusEdu’80) and has been screened at several film and music festivals. Dave — who has a filmography of nearly 100 titles — is co-founder of jazz record label GRP Records. He has won 10 Grammys out of 38 nominations and one Academy Award out of eight nominations. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

While studying at CU, Edward F. Altman Jr. (Fin; DistSt’86) was the business school student president and a member of the ROTC. When he graduated, he immediately served in he Korean War. Edward is searching for a former classmate who gave him a bracelet before graduation. If this was you, please email us at editor@colorado.edu so we can put you in touch.

Walter Kurtzman (PolSci) published his first novel, titled Diamonds in the Rough, in 2019. It is available from Amazon and other major bookstores. 

Grammy-winning composer Dave Grusin (Mus; HonDocMus’89) of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the subject of a recent documentary, Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time. Director Barbara Bentree (MusEdu’80) has been a fan of Dave’s for 40 years and conducted interviews with Quincy Jones and Tom Brokaw for the film. CU Boulder’s dean of the College of Music, Robert Shay, also makes an appearance in the film.

In addition to being a retired professor emeritus from San Jose State University, Cal Stevens (Geol; MA’58) is also a writer. He has self-published three novels, including On the Other Side of Brokeback Mountain, about the life of a Wyoming cowboy. 

Bill Cramer (Jour) lives in Bowie, Maryland, and turned 91 in November. Following graduation from CU Boulder, he had a career working as a Russian, German, French and Spanish military translator for the NSA and Naval Intelligence during the Cold War. He and his wife, Virginia, whom he met at a square dance on the patio of the then-new University Memorial Center, have six children and four grandchildren. 

Roseville, California, resident Audrey Nichols Gould (Math) was brought back to her college days after reading the Fall issue of the Coloradan. She wrote, “I loved looking at the scene which I saw on a daily basis from my room in Sewell Hall. I always felt lucky about that perk!” She is still in touch with her freshman roommate.