1980s

New submissions for Spring 2026:Beverly Mellen Snively retired in December 2025 as a biostatistics professor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She now devotes more of her time and energy toward organized land stewardship in NC and the state of New York.

New submissions for Fall 2025: Brian Neligan reports a big graduation year for his family. Daughter Margot graduated Cum Laude from the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame and now works as an investment banking analyst for Citi in New York. Daughter Laura graduated from Charlotte Latin School and recently began her freshman year at Colgate University, majoring in computer science. The family celebrated the girls’ accomplishments by going on vacation to Barcelona, Majorca, and San Tropez.

New submissions for Spring 2026: Pam Ellis ’81 has reached a milestone this year: she has now been teaching dance long enough to have a second generation student graduate from her Lakeside Dance Academy in Rangeley, Maine. Pam has been teaching ballet, tap and jazz to local students and putting on Annual Dance Concerts since 1989. In a town where there are only 200 students in grades K-12, she has averaged over 40 students enrolled in her academy, sharing her love of dance. This year, the senior graduating is the daughter of a graduate!

New submissions for Fall 2025: Dale Oak and his wife, Janet, celebrated the birth of their third grandchild, Wesley, on Nov. 11, 2025. In May 2025, Dale wrote an article published by the media outlet The Bulwark commemorating the 75th anniversary of Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” speech. ✹ In 1981, Mark Bloom applied for a Watson Fellowship to travel to places, learn about them, and write a story capturing it. It was, at the time, a stupid idea that was quickly shot down. He finally made it come true by self-publishing Don’t Even Go There, a witty collection of bad experiences. Look for it on Amazon. ✹ Beth Pniewski Wilson writes that she and her husband Phil finally moved into their newly build home on Cape Cod. Beth says from the time they decided to build until move in date was five years! A long journey but well worth it. Their last house was built in 1782, so going from an 18th century house to a 21st century house is quite a change. They are enjoying all of the benefits of a new home, especially the energy efficiency.

Coming Soon—submit your own Class Note!

New submissions for Spring 2026: Edward McCartin III became CEO of Energy World Corporation in July 2025 after 10 years working in Vietnam and Myanmar. 

Coming Soon—submit your own Class Note!

From Mary Lou Kopas ’86 for Spring 2026:  “Lots of changes, mostly positive: After 23 years in Seattle, I am back in New England, separated from my husband of 30 years, and loving my new rural Vermont home. I am still practicing midwifery. I joined a wonderful small community hospital practice, but unfortunately they recently closed down our labor and delivery service. Now we are fighting to keep providing this crucial service to our community, raising funds to open Vermont’s first freestanding birth center.”

New submissions for Fall 2025: Beth Harrison Cutliffe is currently cruising America’s Great Loop with her husband Larry aboard their 58’ Ocean Alexander. They started on Sturgeon Bay, Wis., on Aug. 11 and are currently in Camden, Tenn., after cruising the inland rivers. They’re loving life on the water!

New submissions for Spring 2026: After 20 years in California, Christopher Patterson and his wife Lizzie Hutter moved back to Massachusetts where they still have two daughters in school. ✹ From John Seidl: “Courtesy of the amazing Dean Schwartz, he perfectly captured our mood at Fenway for Mike Paquin‘s 60th! He clearly has wandered through the Colby Museum’s Katz collection.”

New submissions for Spring 2026: David Fernandez ’89 and Cindy Cohen Fernandez ’89, now long time empty nesters, continue to live in Mansfield, Mass. Dave continues to work in the insurance business and, like Matt Sotir, extols the virtue of insurance at every opportunity. Cindy has been a busy woman recently helping plan the wedding of oldest daughter Sarah Fernandez ’19 to classmate and wonderful guy, Matthew Mitchell ’19, in the summer of 2027. Sharing reunion years will be most helpful when we are Golden Mules and need assistance!

New submissions for Fall 2025: In 2024, Joel Tickner and his spouse finished a new home outside of Middlebury, Vt., where they now live full time and enjoy skiing, hiking, and gravel biking and engaging in state and local government service. He took a leave of absence from his role of Professor of Public Health at UMass Lowell, as well as from the business organization he founded, Change Chemistry, to focus his full attention on chemical industry transformation strategy. ✹ Scott Jablonski, a multiple-award-winning children’s book author, continues to create “edutainment” materials for parents, grandparents, caregivers, and teachers seeking material to build confidence, kindness, and positive habits in kids ages 4–10 to inspire them to be their best selves. His Stand Out! Stand Out! framework is being adopted by schools, organizations, and homeschooling families to accomplish these goals.

• James W. Bourne ’81, May 6, 2024, in Littleton, Mass., at 65. He earned a master’s in environmental management from Duke University School of the Environment in 1987 and then embarked on a 36-year career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A national leader in water policy working at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., for 20 years, he helped establish the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and supported states’ efforts to increase state drinking water program funding. He was a key player in the establishment of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and he set up and managed the national Drinking Water Academy. For the second half of his career, he worked in EPA Region 1 (Boston) as the regional CWSRF coordinator. An enthusiastic Colby supporter, he served as president of his class, treasurer of the Colby Club of Washington, D.C., and co-chair of the Alumni Council Clubs Committee. At his 25th Reunion in 2006, he was awarded a Colby Brick Award. He enjoyed fly fishing, hiking, skiing, and camping, and he loved to travel. He held a vast knowledge of history, forestry, and architecture and was an excellent tour guide for friends and family. He leaves his wife, Elizabeth, two children, two step-children, and a brother, Robert Bourne Jr. ’76.
• John J. Masiz ’81, May 11, 2024, in Topsfield, Mass., at 65. He earned a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 1985 and became a pioneer in the pharmaceutical research and development field. He spent many years as CEO, president, and chair of the board of directors of Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, a spinoff division from its parent company, BioChemics, where he also worked. An avid outdoorsman, he cherished time hunting and fishing; a boating enthusiast, he was happiest on the open waters. Survivors include his longtime partner and fiancée, Laura Stephens, his parents, and two brothers, including Mark Mscisz ’83.
• Chappell F. “Chappy” Nelson ’82, June 19, 2024, in Levant, Maine, at 64. He earned a master’s in athletic administration from The Ohio State University in 1984 and returned to Colby the next year, beginning a 30-year career as athletic equipment manager for the Mules. In 2016 he began working for Bowdoin College as manager of equipment services. He was a longtime member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association. Additionally, he umpired high school baseball for more than 40 years, serving on the executive committee of the Umpires Association for many of those years and earning a reputation statewide for his umpire skills. He also coached, as assistant baseball coach at Colby from 1989 to 2017, as the American Legion baseball coach, and for three summers as coach of the highly successful Mid-Maine Marlins of the Eastern Maine Amateur Baseball League. Survivors include his mother, S. Carleen Nelson, a sister, and extended family.
• Lisa Murray MacLean ’83, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Yarmouth, Mass., at 63. She earned a master’s in education from Northeastern in 1986 and a CAGS degree from Anna Maria College, focusing on school counseling and counseling psychology, respectively. She pursued these degrees while working as a guidance counselor at Maynard High School, where she worked for 35 years, changing the lives of students and colleagues. She had a passion for water and sailing, which she learned at an early age, and a great love for teaching and one design racing. She was the program director at her beloved Lewis Bay Yacht Club and, for the past 25 years, was the chair of the One Design Race Committee at Hyannis Yacht Club. She helped to build a strong, vibrant community on the water. Survivors include her husband, Norman MacLean, two children, her father, and two brothers.
• Stephen T. Garrity ’84, July 26, 2023, in Boston, Mass., at 60. He carried his love of and talent for singing and stage performance beyond Colby, nurturing a passion for music, theater, and the arts by sharing it with his nieces and nephews. His lifelong career was as a clinical trial manager for several pharmaceutical companies—namely Dupont, Wyeth, Organon, and Millennium—running clinical drug studies in hospitals throughout New England. Diagnosed with AIDS 30 years ago, he was an advocate and friend to others with the disease. He donated to charities through fundraisers and events, and he mentored unhoused individuals, often taking them in to help them rehabilitate. He leaves his parents, two siblings, and five niblings.
• Steven P. Montebello ’84, Jan. 10, 2025, in Monson, Mass., at 63. He worked for the Hartford Insurance Group, retiring as a manager. He enjoyed music, movies, reading, nature, and travel. His greatest happiness was found in spending time with his family and friends. He leaves his wife, Susanne “Susie” Montebello, a son, and a brother.
• Karen G. Hess ’85, Feb. 4, 2026.
• Robert L. Casey ’86, Feb. 2, 2026.
• Dana Friedman ’87, Dec. 11, 2024, in Mission Viejo, Calif., at 59. After attending Colby and the American University in Paris, he settled in Southern California and launched a career in advertising and public relations before pivoting to various entrepreneurial pursuits, including a business—Seal Guard—focused on sea lion abatement strategies in Newport Harbor. For many years, he and his wife volunteered every Sunday at Friends of the Sea Lion (later Pacific Marine Mammal Center) in Laguna Beach, where they rescued, rehabilitated, and released sea lions, harbor seals, and elephant seals. The terrorist attacks of September 11 encouraged Dana to re-evaluate his career. He sought out the training and certifications necessary to become an animal control officer and was hired in 2009 by Coastal Animal Services Authority, serving San Clemente and Dana Point. Being an animal control officer was the perfect match for his gifts. Underneath his bravado was a deeply caring soul with an amazing, hilarious wit. He died after a fierce battle with stage 4 cancer and is survived by his wife, Lynn, two sisters, many cherished cousins, and a boisterous community of chosen family.
• David E. Philbrick ’87, Nov. 19, 2024, in Duxbury, Mass., at 59. After graduating from Colby, he joined the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant in the Supply Corp., where he served in the Red Sea during the entirety of the First Gulf War. He received his M.B.A. from Babson College and went on to work at EY as an executive director in the Corporate Finance Division, specializing in business valuation. But his favorite job was after he retired, working for Duxbury Conservation, creating and maintaining the town trails. For him, his life had come full circle, as he and his father had spent many hours in the woods of his home state of Maine chopping 20 cords of wood each summer. Intelligent, curious, honest, and hard-working, he was above all a family man who coached his children in baseball and softball. He loved to travel, ski, and dine at restaurants. He was an avid Star Trek fan and had an encyclopedic knowledge of classic television shows. Survivors include his wife, Elaine Mullen Philbrick ’87, two children, and three sisters.
• Maura A. Smith ’98, April 1, 2026.