FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WILLIAMS

Being able to play team sports and to do so without academic conflicts.
Professor Compton, who influenced my choice of major and was my premedical advisor. His Hoosac Tunnel lecture was a classic.
Professor Winch’s physics demonstrations, entertaining enough to be attended by non-class participants.
The enthusiasm and sense of humor of Professor Fuqua.

WILLIAMS CLUBS / ACTIVITIES

Football – 4 years
Baseball – 4 years
Junior Advisor

CURRENT INTERESTS, PASSIONS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

American College of Physicians, member for over 40 years. Bassett Medical Center Alumni Association, board member. Bluegrass and old-time banjo music. I am a novice banjo player. Learning a new instrument in one’s 60s and 70s is no small task.
Outdoor activities, including hiking, especially in the mountains around Tucson, road and mountain biking, open-water swimming, kayaking, snowshoeing, and fly-fishing. We live on a 75-acre hop farm with hiking and snowshoeing out our back door.

LIFE SINCE GRADUATION

After graduating from Williams, I went on to medical school in Rochester. I met my wife during my third year. We were married just before graduation the following year. As I write this, we have been married almost 46 years. Our marriage is probably characterized best by a conversation we had on our 25th anniversary. I said, “You know, the years have just flown by.” She replied, “Maybe for you.”

In spite of her sentiments on our 25th anniversary, Joey has been a constant source of encouragement and support over the years. Soccer and swim-team mom, social-event organizer, she has been and continues to be the glue that holds our family together.

Following the completion of my internal medicine residency, we moved “home” to Lake George, N.Y., to be near family. I practiced general internal medicine in nearby Glens Falls, which at that time included a substantial amount of hospital and critical-care work. Fortunately, I was able to manipulate my schedule to be able to attend most of the kids’ school and sports activities. Aside from a five-year hiatus practicing in Tucson, the first half of my career was spent in Glens Falls.

With all of the children out of the house and family obligations completed, we moved to Cooperstown in 2002. I accepted a position at Bassett Medical Center, a sizable multi-specialty group practice. There was less inpatient work but new teaching responsibilities, which were challenging, having been away from academic medicine for so long. We have been in Cooperstown ever since. The last few years of practice were devoted exclusively to medical education, both as a teacher and administrator. This included medical students, some of whom were Williams graduates, and internal medicine residents.

During my career I was fortunate to have volunteered in a variety of settings. I made several trips to a small mountain village in Guatemala as part of the Glens Falls Medical Mission. While in Tucson, I belonged to the Flying Samaritans, a group that flew in small aircraft to a fishing village in western Mexico. I also spent time at the Saint Elizabeth’s Clinic, which served a diverse population of under- and un-insured patients from southern Arizona. A number of summers I served as a volunteer physician at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, a high-altitude ecological field station located in the back range of the Rockies north of Crested Butte, Colo. I met some interesting folks there from all over the country who were scrambling to collect data before the early snows closed the camp.

I retired in June of this year. Our 1840s farmhouse is and always will be a work in progress. There is plenty to do both in the house and on our property. I wish I had taken carpentry, plumbing, and wiring as an undergraduate. We had modest travel plans for retirement. Fortunately, two of our children and all of our grandchildren are within a two-hour drive. Our younger daughter, Brett, lives in Tucson. We usually spend time there every winter but missed this year. Because of Covid, all of our plans are on hold. We hope to get to the reunion next June.

I recently attended Homecoming as a member of the football team associated with The Walk. It was a beautiful day, a great game, and a unique opportunity to renew old acquaintances. The crowd was large and enthusiastic. The campus was busy and the mood lighthearted. It was a wonderful day.

I clearly remember driving into Williamstown in 1967 for my interview and tour. Arriving from the north, I turned east onto Main Street. Before I reached Hopkins Hall, I had decided that, if accepted, I would go to Williams. Given the opportunity, I would do it all over again.