By Martin M. Snapp, Jr.
On January 22, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its opinion in League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a case dealing with partisan gerrymandering of the state’s congressional district plan. The court found that the district map “clearly, plainly, and palpably violates the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” and ordered state lawmakers to draw new district boundaries.
The court leaned heavily on an amicus brief submitted by Andy Beveridge, whom the New York Times calls “a nationally recognized research scholar in the area of redistricting and an expert on drawing district lines.” Actually, Andy is the premier scholar in this field, and it’s nice to know he’s helping to clean up the mess created by the politicians. He’s also not bad as a teacher, either, according to the rave reviews posted by his students on RateMyProfessors.com. Says one: “Professor Beveridge is a very kind, genuine individual. I took him for 381W for Neighborhood of NY and honestly there was always good vibes in the class. If you ever have questions and you e-mail him, he responds immediately. There are no exams, but there is a 15-page paper due in the end of the semester. TAKE HIM! HES AWESOME!”
In other news, Dave Hughes writes, “Sad to have had to miss our 50th reunion. Living in the UK since 1981 (taught for 22 years at the School of Oriental and African Studies, U. of London), and in Japan for four years before that, I’ve only managed two visits to Yale in the past 40 years. A bit of news: To my slight embarrassment, the Japanese government has conferred a ‘decoration’ on me: The Order of the Rising Sun. They wrote that this was to honor my ‘significant role in promoting understanding of traditional Japanese music, particularly folk music, in the UK. He has organized over 200 performances featuring visiting practitioners from Japan and has set up three groups in the UK that are at the forefront of teaching and performing Japanese music, alongside his significant academic achievements relating to increasing understanding of traditional Japanese music.’
“Truly, I do feel honored. Japan has been the main focus of my career, and that of my archaeologist wife Gina Barnes. I studied Japanese at Yale as part of my linguistics degrees, before discovering ethnomusicology and pursuing my folkie side. And I’ve enjoyed teaching about Japanese music in 16 countries. (In retirement, the ‘folkie side’ has also led Gina and me to play regularly in many Irish/British pub sessions in the UK.)”
Meanwhile, Dick Beeman reports, “On a kayak trip in the Indian River Lagoon, I learned a fellow paddler sang in a Russian chorus and confirmed he was an Eli, Class of ’67 Silliman, named Mark Hinkley. Small world, indeed. He joined our Yale Club of the Treasure Coast (so named for gold washed ashore from Spanish galleons shipwrecked off the nearby gulf stream). We host the Whiff alumni in March for a concert of traditional Yale music, and recently heard one of Yale’s star faculty: Dean Indy Burke of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. With 85 dues-paying members, here’s proof of life after Yale in the sunshine, and visitors are welcome.”
Al Weihl has retired for the second time from a distinguished medical career after ten winters in the emergency department at Vail Valley Medical Center in Colorado. Before that, he spent almost 20 years at Yale Medical School /Yale New Haven Hospital in the adult emergency department, where he founded the residency training program in emergency medicine. “I’m now dividing my time between Maui (now) and Vail (winters),” he says. Poor fellow!
Regretfully, we have to say goodbye to two more classmates: Ted Funk, who died last September 28, and Sam Manly, who died January 18 of this year.
Ted was one of only three chemical engineering majors in our class; the other two were Ed Palkot and Fred Sommer. Collectively, they were known as Ed, Ted, and Fred. They continued their friendship after graduation in Berkeley, where they all went to grad school. Fred died in 2008—David Coleman, David Spiegel, and I went to see him right before he passed away—and now Ed is the only one left.
“After Berkeley, Ted spent a couple of years consulting in Chile then pursued a mix of industrial and academic endeavors in the US before ultimately concentrating on serving as an expert witness as part of his own consultancy for a long list of clients,” says Ed. “Along the way, he authored or coauthored some 40 technical papers and six patents. Ted was especially proud of his son Alex, a Whiffenpoof of the Class of 1997.”
Ted is survived by Nancy, his wife of 50 years, as well as Alex, daughter-in-law Frederica Emiliani, and his three grandsons, Lorenzo, Marcello, and Tancredi. In our reunion class book he wrote that his only regret was because he was a transfer student, he didn’t make many friends at Yale. But I can assure you that the guys in Calhoun remember him fondly and will receive the news of his passing with deep sadness.
Sam was a legal legend in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was widely respected for his intellect and legal skills. Among his high-profile clients were the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the City of Louisville, and former Kentucky governor Louie Nunn. He was active in various bar associations, but the membership he was proudest of was his work with the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which he served as president in 2002, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
His wife Tacie predeceased him, but he is survived by his daughters Julie and Elizabeth, his grandchildren Jack, Sarah, Samuel, Rosemary, and Hazel, and his beloved golden retriever, Annie. His family describes Sam as “a gregarious, larger-than-life yet humble man who loved the Lord.”
Memorial contributions may be made to Golden Retriever Rescue, GRRAND, P.O. Box 6132, Louisville, KY 40206.