Notes from the Class of 1963

Paula Dáil (Edu) published Mother Nature’s Daughters: 21st Century Women Farmers in November. It tells the stories of eight women farmers changing the face of American agriculture in remarkable and enduring ways. Paula taught at both Virginia Tech and Iowa State universities. She and her husband, Bill Ladewig, live in the lower Wisconsin River valley in southwest Wisconsin.

In February, Irv Bailey (Fren) was elected to Save the Children’s board of trustees. Irv has 40 years of business management experience and currently serves as a senior advisor for Chrysalis Ventures, a private equity and venture capital firm. He and wife Cathy, the former U.S. Ambassador to Latvia, live in Louisville, Ky.

Larry Kilham (EngrPhys) launched a tour for his book The Digital Rabbit Hole. During his career, Larry traveled extensively overseas for 20 years and worked for several large international companies. He and wife Betsy live in Santa Fe, N.M.

In addition to hosting “Wonderful Words of Life” on KAAM-AM radio 770 in Dallas, Nella Phillips (A&S) hosts “Moments with Nella” on YouTube. The one-minute videos provide a moment of inspiration for viewers.

In June, Richard Wilson (Hist) retired from the University of Virginia, where he taught architectural history for 43 years. He will continue teaching a summer course in Newport, R.I., and on the lecture circuit. Richard also is writing a book on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. He writes, “There is still plenty to do!”

Dorothy Chen Yuan (Zool’63), a professor in the pathology department at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, remembers her genetics professor Edwin Helwig and entomology professor Gordon Alexander fondly. “These were the inspiring teachers who started me on a path to a career in biology,” she wrote. At CU, she and her husband helped establish a scholarship fund in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. This scholarship is in honor of three members of the Chen family who are CU alumni. Dorothy And her husband live in Bowie, Maryland.

Paula Dáil’s (A&S’63) tenth book, Fearless, was released in June. Inspired by a true story, the novel chronicles a Catholic nun’s fight for women’s reproductive rights within the largest, most-powerful patriarchy in the world. Paula is an award-winning non-fiction writer and emerita research professor of social welfare and public policy at Iowa State University. She lives in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest with her award-winning writer husband, their dog and other wildlife. Fearless is under consideration for five book awards, including the May Sarton award for women’s fiction.

Rebecca Valette (PhDFren’63) is a professor emerita of romance languages at Boston College and an internationally recognized expert in language methodology, testing and applied linguistics. She and her husband, Jean-Paul Valette, have curated several exhibitions of Navajo textiles and are co-authors of Weaving the Dance: Navajo Yeibichai Textiles (1910–1950) and Navajo Weavings with Ceremonial Themes: A Historical Overview of a Secular Art Form. In December Rebecca’s book Clitso Dedman, Navajo Carver: His Art and His World was published. It is the first biography of artist and master wood carver Clitso Dedman, one of the most important but overlooked Diné (Navajo) artists of his generation. Rebecca lives in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Gerald “Jerry” Miller (Mgmt’63) is an amateur historian and writer. After retiring, he returned to his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado. He has contributed over 100 stories to the Pueblo Lore, a monthly journal, published by the Pueblo County Historical Society.