FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WILLIAMS

While I have fond memories of Profs. Gates, Greene, Jacobsen, Marcus, and Dalzell, I have a special place in my heart for Prof. Irwin Shainman, who fostered in me a love of classical music, which endures today and brings a magical spirituality to my life.

WILLIAMS CLUBS / ACTIVITIES

Pause for Peace organizer, Bascom House treasurer

LIFE SINCE GRADUATION

I began law school at George Washington University in the fall of 1973, living in northern Virginia with classmates Bob Gordon and John Brewer and also Bruce Dunne ’71. In 1975, I moved to New York and began my legal career at a mid-sized law firm. I continued to practice in New York and environs until December 1985. At about that point, I realized that the corporate work (particularly mergers and acquisitions) I was doing in the legal profession was not congruent with my values, and so I decided to change careers and also location.

Realizing that I wanted to teach, that I wanted to live in a less stressful and more affordable location, and that I wanted to raise my newborn daughter, Rachel, in a more family-oriented locale, I thought immediately of the Berkshires. In late 1986 I was hired by Peter Buttenheim ’64 to teach American and European history to middle schoolers at Berkshire Country Day School in Lenox, Mass., effective September 1987. After a year, I was asked to assume a new role at BCD, that of business manager. I remained in that position through different administrations until late 1998. I became the business manager for the Lenox public school district in 1999, literally “just up the road.” During this period my son, Ben, was born. Both Rachel and Ben attended BCD and then moved on to the Lenox Memorial Middle and High School and, subsequently, to the University of Pennsylvania and McGill University, respectively. Rachel has since become a rabbi and is presently working at a congregation in Massachusetts, and Ben is a high-level administrator at an arts management firm, representing well-known classical musicians and dance ensembles. He and his husband, Brian, a life coach in private practice, live in Jersey City.

I met my current wife, Elizabeth Baer, in 2000, and we have been together since. Elizabeth had two sons from a previous marriage, Wilson and Daniel, and we integrated our families over the subsequent years. Wilson and Dan attended the Lenox schools, and then graduated from Brown and Hamilton, respectively. Wilson is now in his second year at Brooklyn Law School, and Dan and his wife, Greta, live in Grand Rapids, Mich., where they are both achieving great success in the business world.

Elizabeth continues to teach Latin in the Lenox schools, while I retired from my business manager position in 2020. She is also actively involved in her side gig of cookbook recipe tester, cookbook editor, and biweekly food and recipe columnist for our local newspaper, as well as making exceptional (daily, not biweekly) meals for us!