Notes from the Class of 1952

For the last six years, Roger C. Allen (A&S’52) developed and organized the Tucson, Ariz.,-based group The Desert Readers. The volunteer performers tell humorous jokes, inspirational short stories and memorable poetry to seniors in nursing homes, assisted-living and independent-living residences. The group has performed more than 365 times since July 2005. Roger lives in Tucson.

Esther Paper Gelman* (Engl’52) was elected to the Montgomery County Council from 1974-86. She served as president of the council from 1983-84 and simultaneously was president of the Maryland Association of Counties. Her husband Norm Gelman*(Jour’51, MA’53) is chair of the Maryland Human Relations Commission. The couple lives in Potomac, Md.

*Lifetime member

During the decades, the Anderson family has grown to become its own small herd of Buffaloes. Jack Kent Anderson (PolSci’52, Law’54) is a retired attorney. His grandson, Kyle Anderson Slavin (Comm’13) is working on another degree while playing his final year as a tight end for the Buffs’ football team. Other Forever Buffs includes his mother,Amy Anderson Slavin (Bus’82), and three aunts, Jennifer Anderson (PE’85), Susan Anderson Heap (Jour’85) andKrista Anderson Gordon (Jour’79).

Since founding a community service program in 2005 in Tucson, Ariz., “The Desert Readers,” Roger Allen (A&S’52) has enriched the lives of people living in assisted living residences and senior health care centers. The program entertains seniors with jokes, short stories, poetry, a sing-a-long and trivia. All of the participants are senior citizens. While at CU, Roger was the president of the Ballad Club and remembers when Burl Ives came to a club meeting after performing at Macky Auditorium. Roger still sings folk songs and ballads and takes guitar lessons. “It is never too late to enrich our lives,” he writes.

Robert McKenzie (A&S) was recognized by the Session of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, Calif., on the 50th anniversary of his installation as pastor and designated Pastor Emeritus. He served the congregation from 1966 to 1983, a period of intense turmoil in Berkeley, and steered the congregation to embrace a ministry of social justice that has been its hallmark ever since.

Illinois native Ralph Abelt (Acct) is a retired banking executive who worked as CEO of Bank One in Cleveland in the 1980s and ’90s. Earlier in life, he served in the U.S. Marines and was an active leader in the Boy Scouts of America in Northeast Ohio. He and wife Patricia are the proud parents of three children: Susan, Christopher and Leslie.

John R. Thompson (A&S; PhD’60), emeritus professor at Oberlin College, writes that he has been retired for 28 years. Oberlin’s first clinical psychologist, he taught abnormal psychology and systems of therapy. There he also founded the student counseling and psychological services center. Later, John and his wife, Wynona Tank Thompson (A&S’51), led a group that advocated for the Episcopal Church to ordain women priests, and another group that pushed the U.S. Presbyterian Church to ordain and marry same sex-couples. John recently published the book Me, Now and Then: a Memoir. He and Wynona have fond memories of CU, where they married as undergraduates. “That campus is so beautiful and the education we got there was wonderful,” he wrote.

For the past 25 years, Maynard Skinner (PE; MEdu’54; PhDEdu’63) ran the Department of State exchange program for the University of California, Davis, helping foreign nationals visit for a three-week period. Maynard paired the guests with hosts of similar interests. Maynard, now 91, was vice chancellor of student affairs for UC Davis before retiring in 1992. A successful local politician, Maynard was on the Davis City Council for 16 years and elected mayor twice. He wrote, “When I was mayor, I brought Boulder’s open-space coordinator to visit, [whose programs] we copied], and Boulder in turn copied our no smoking in public places ordinance.”

Albuquerque resident Roscoe Champion (MechEngr) spent his engineering career in advanced R&D, interrupted by a stint as a Navy air intelligence officer. Then, he had a career with his own business. In the past two years, he’s published four books of poetry: Flakes of Time; And Then. . . (which covers 33 poems from the first year following his wife’s death in December 2018); Wandering and Wondering; and Celebrations! He collaborated with an artist for a children’s book of poetry titled Chrys Caterpillar’s Dream. Next up is his book My Lifelong Adventure with the Grand Canyon. Roscoe swam four freestyle events in the Senior Olympics over the course of 12 years and, in four age groups, set 15 New Mexico state records. He won two gold and three silver medals in the Senior Olympic Nationals in Tucson, Arizona, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He writes, “Dear Old CU gave me a broad vision and a great start.”