Deborah Walker Platt (Rucci)

FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WILLIAMS

Whitney Stoddard: Modern Architecture; Lane Faison; Mrs. Rinehart; Winter Study; the This-End-Up precursor to Monkey Carrels; concerts by Bing and Joe

CURRENT INTERESTS, PASSIONS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

New England Healing Sports Association; Adventures-in-Learning; St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church; Travel, skiing, scuba diving, reading and learning

LIFE SINCE GRADUATION

Where to start? I feel one of my recurring nightmares coming on tonight—that dream where you are in class and have not finished the paper, the lab or, more often, have not studied for the exam…

Almost 13 years ago my husband, Peter, and I moved from Bethesda, Md., to New London, N.H. Our Washington friends thought we were crazy moving north, especially to the somewhat rural north, but we love four seasons, skiing, and most importantly, our roots were in New England. Two children were already settled in N.H. and Boston, and the youngest was working at his first job in Boston.

Besides leaving behind friends and favorite ethnic restaurants in Washington, I left a 27-year “career” in docenting at the National Gallery of Art. It was not a profession, but was a very rewarding and intellectually challenging vocation, which had its seeds back in Art 100 at Smith and continued with Stoddard, Faison, and, probably forgotten by most, Sheila Rinehart, a visiting professor. Modern Architecture with Whitney was one of my all-time favorite courses. Probably my biggest life regret is that I did not pursue architecture as a career, but I did channel some of that energy into two houses and numerous home re-modelings. Most projects were done with a real architect, but included my basic plans and “improvements.”

My greatest joy is my family. I have three children and now six grandchildren, ages eight years to five months as I write this. As many of you are doing, we are spending a significant amount of time babysitting, which is great fun, most of the time. They are all within two hours of us, so we are very lucky that our move north worked out as intended. We love spending time with them on Block Island, where my dad built a house the year of our graduation: watching and joining the grandchildren boogie boarding, as our children did, and solo kayaking, something ours never did a generation ago. In the winter, we ski with them at Mount Sunapee. “Build it and they will come” was our mantra in moving near a ski mountain. Skiing with them has brought back great memories of our children learning to ski and then leaving us in their tracks—some of my very happiest memories. Oh, I do not want to forget our wonderful golden retrievers—Max is the fifth.

Skiing has also been the focus of our volunteer life in N.H., as we help the disabled ski through New England Healing Sports Association at Sunapee. We work with children and adults with autism or other disabilities, both physical and mental, and with veterans, primarily those with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Helping these students ski and seeing the incredible joy and sometimes the life-changing benefits it brings has been a source of great satisfaction and fun, for them and for us.

My other passion is travel—exploring the US and the world to experience different cultures and beautiful scenery and architecture, and to watch wildlife above and below the sea. We both took up scuba diving a few years ago, after I got certified in order to dive with our son off Naples on an archaeological dive. Diving has opened a new world of exploration, one where I especially feel the ticking clock of available years.

Now is when I should say something weighty and wise, not my strong suit, and given the current state of affairs, not that of many others. I really look forward to reading your yearbook stories and then joining many of you at reunion in June. Seeing old friends and making new ones is the lure and magic of Williams’ reunions.