Welcome to the Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 190,

Response to Los Angeles Conflagration Report

David Packer (1970) Writes - I am responding to Steven Starr's (1975) contribution to the latest Newsletter:

For anyone with the capacity for empathy and compassion, it is impossible not to be shaken by the fires in the LA area. I lived in San Diego for seven years in what now seems like the bucolic 1990s, and I had a former colleague in Escondido whose home was destroyed in a fire a few years later. He was insured. But the scope of the LA tragedy is as breathtaking as it was inevitable.

It is always tempting to find a villain to blame for such tragedies. However, I have to say that Steven Starr's (1975) heartfelt contribution to Newsletter # 189 oversimplifies the situation. Yes, climate change is a serious threat to lives and property, and big oil was at one time the chief anthropogenic climate change denier (no longer). But to place the full blame on oil companies is to ignore the reality of our own contribution. Petroleum fueled the tremendous economic and population growth of the past century. Human ingenuity and acquisitiveness was the engine. It's all we know, having grown up during the oil age, and what we have as well as what we lost are equally the fruits of the petroleum economy. Energy is the economy, as one person put it, and George W. Bush was right about one thing: Americans are addicted to fossil fuels. This one-time, multi-million year energy storage is unique in human history. Daily flows of solar energy as captured by the land and now by solar panels and wind turbines don't compete in energy density, portability, etc. with fossil fuels, even if they are our main hope as the oil age comes to an end (delayed, of course, by fracking).

The muscularity of fossil fuels has allowed us to solve most problems. We were toilet trained on the idea of finding solutions to everything from food to feed the growing billions to modern medicine, without even being aware, in most cases, that cheap, abundant energy from fossil fuels was essential to such ‘progress.’ Recovery and reconstruction after fires and hurricanes takes tremendous amounts of fossil fuels. It's a negative feedback loop and a conundrum without a single villain or a ready solution. How many of us will willingly give up our fossil-fueled lifestyles in which energy is the source of every luxury we take for granted and a fix for every kind of stupidity we practice?”

The Class of 1965 Reunion

Malcolm “Rusty” McNeill (1965) Writes - Our Reunion Committee has made some headway with planning and commitments. The reunion will be held the weekend of October 4/5th, 2025 at the Wyndham Viana Hotel & Spa in Westbury, New York. We’re planning a full day of activities on Saturday, beginning with a catered lunch at Wheatley, catching up with old friends, a tour of the school, and culminating with a buffet dinner with open seating at the Viana. There will be a cash bar at the Viana. In terms of cost, we’re looking at roughly $30 per person for the lunch and $100 per person for the buffet. Hotel expenses are going to be $345 per night per room (which includes taxes and fees). Breakfasts at the Viana will be free. You’ll need to make your own transportation arrangements. If you wish, you may stay at a nearby hotel without affecting the charge for dinner at the Viana. We are currently devising a payment scheme, as the dinner and lunch will be prepaid. More on that later. For now, please let us know if you are coming and the number of people in your party, by emailing us at:

WheatleyClassof1965@gmail.com

Let’s have a good turnout, folks. This could well be the last reunion we’ll have.”

Class of 1975 50th-Year Reunion

Wheatley Class of 1975 & Friends

50th-Year Reunion Weekend

October 10-12, 2025

For details contact:

Wheatleyclassof1975@gmail.com

The Wheatley School Alumni Public Directory Is Alive and Well

The. Wheatley Alumni Directory

‘Hood History - The North Side School

North Shore and North Side History

Wheatley’s Wikipedia Entry (just for fun)

Wheatley's Wikipedia Write-up

Graduates

Wheatley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Editor’s Note - Here are the Wheatley/MIT alumni of whom the Newsletter staff is currently aware (final iteration):

Corwin, John 1964

Lagin, Ned 1966

Wattel Arenson, Karen 1966

Kram, Kathy 1968

Whitehead, Roy 1970 (Deceased)

Fidelman, Miles 1971

Rosenberg, Neil 1971

Rothman, Greg 1971

Struhl, Gary 1972

Glickman, Todd 1973

Hack Katz, Jan 1975

Wiesenfeld, Kurt 1975

Struhl, Steven 1976

Smith, Douglas 1977

Valicenti, Richard 1977

Chin, David, 1979 [Amy Chin Lorenzen’s brother]

Chin Lorenzen, Amy 1984 (David Chin’s sister]

Fiorino, Anthony 1985

Riordan, John 1986

Barnett, Leslie 1988

Ueno, Kohta 1988

Yang, Chen 2000

Jia, Xiaoman 2002

1963 - Roy Nierenberg - Deceased

July 5, 1945 to January 24, 2025.

Roy with Louise Sobin (1963)

ALL ARE INVITED TO ROY’S MEMORIAL SERVICE TOMORROW - 2/2/25

The memorial service will be held at 11 am, Sunday, February 2, at Fernwood Cemetery, 301 Tennessee Valley Rd, Mill Valley, CA 94941, followed by a graveside inurnment and refreshments. Those joining us graveside, for the inurnment after the service, are advised to wear walking shoes—not dress shoes— and to check the weather forecast before setting out for the day and to dress in warm layers. Mill Valley can be foggy, and much of the cemetery is in the shade.

The walk to the grave site is short but uphill. Walking sticks are advised for those who use them, particularly on the trail to the site. There will be valet parking, a golf cart available, and handicap access along a paved viewing path above the grave site.

In accordance with his wishes, Roy’s brain has been donated to Huntington’s disease research.

Mimi, Roy's wife, has shared with us a website - Here is a website, remembering-roy  [roynierenberg.com], created by our children, Jovia and Zeke. Once you click on the link, please enter the password "gaston" [the French nickname by which Roy liked to be called]. 

Leslie Schiller Fisher (1963) Writes - “Such a kind, gentle, thoughtful human being, with whom so many of us grew up...since kindergarten! So incredibly much to say about his brightness, kindness, compassion, positivity and what I will hold onto was his 'forever smile!'

Fretta Fields Reitzes (1963) Writes - “I took out our yearbooks and looked at pics with Roy in them going back to 1960, and there is Roy in our school lives - always engaged, kind, gentle and thoughtful.”

Allyn Mills Kandel (1963) Writes - “Roy was my first Wheatley crush... so handsome, so smart and such a great dancer. So sorry to hear this sad news.

Keith Aufhauser (1963) Writes - Roy introduced me to many things: linguistics (with acknowledgements to Mr. Ouchi), Shostakovitch, Claude Shannon's information theory, Heath Kits, Popular Science Magazine. His curiosity was enlivening. His generous character encouraged all who worked and played with him. We (Roy, Michael Horowitz, Kit Ryan) read Plato's "Apology" together. We discussed the NY Times every day in the cafeteria. We had a gourmet club (he prepared Baked Alaska, I think, which was new to me). I really missed him when he went to private prep school (Exeter, I think) in Junior year. He went on to major in physics, then law school; he worked in the Federal Government in Nixon's Price Control unit. He then started a software company, focussing on project management and later on negotiating strategies, which he ran from his Berkeley home. With every conversation of his adult life, he spoke with love, pride and joy of his wife, Mimi, and their two children, Jovia and Zeke. He was quick to broadcast their latest projects and achievements. He loved singing with Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra. He met his health challenges with resignation and good humor.
"He was a man, take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again."

Mary Lee Holley Cerillo (1963) Writes - “Roy was amazing and such an inspiration!”

Marilyn Nadel (1963) Writes - “I always thought of him as a kind and caring person... and so smart!’

Marcia Kramer Mayer: “I’m crying for him and for us all. The world has lost such an outstanding man.”

Louise Sobin (1963) - “I miss him already. An amazing wonderful man.”

Elizabeth Stone Matho (1963) - “Roy was and always will be the best of the best in us— his goodness, grace and humanity always shone through.”

Joan Mahoney 1961) - “I saw Roy when he was in England a few years ago. Traveling to see him, there was a problem with the trains, and it took me hours to get to him in London. I wondered if it was worth it, but the couple of hours I spent with Roy were worth every minute of the journey.”

Maida Holzman Ingalls (1963) - “Roy was a very special person and will be missed by all his friends and family.”

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Lynn (1964) - “Good night, old friend.”

Michael Horowitz (1963) - “In 1959, Roy was the president of the Wheatley Junior High School student government, and I was the treasurer. I’ve never been led so well.”

Anonymous - “I always thought of him as a peaceful, highly intelligent, and kind person.”

Brothers Roger “Roddy” (1965) and George (1970) Nierenberg survive Roy.

1968 - Susan Beirne - Deceased (a while ago)

Susan Beirne in her apartment.

Susan Beirne in a park

1968 - Patti Garin Abelson - “Hi Art, Thank you for sharing your memory about Peter Yarrow and your son. Amidst everything else today, it is beautiful to take the time to honor a person’s life on this planet. Warmly, Patti

1968 - Shelley “Sheli Nan” Hershcopf - Composer

“Greetings from The Music Studio of Sheli Nan

Before I tell you my news, let me express sadness for what our dear state is going through. Having survived the horrendous firestorm of 1991, the pain and sense of loss is terrifying. My heart goes out to all.

Here’s my news so far this year:

Parma has recorded my piece Requiem for the Ancestors - Dia de Los Muertos - to be released in the fall. It is a large scale piece for solo soprano, full choir, piano and conductor. The Requiem is in English and Spanish. The Kühn Choir of Prague, choirmaster Jakub Pikla, pianist VojtÄ›ch ÄŒervenka and soprano Bree Nichols, performed it.

On February 8th, I will be premiering PATHOS—two songs for baritone voice and guitar, at 2:00 pm at the Center for New Music in San Francisco, produced by The National Association of Composers, USA, San Francisco (“NACUSASF”). On March 10th, in New York City, North-South Consonance String Orchestra, under the baton of Max Lifschitz, will be premiering my new piece Flash Forward.

I have a number of other new pieces: Goddess of Endurance for horn trio; By the Bayou for tuba and euphonium quartet; and Rock Paper Scissors, a piece in three movements that demonstrates different musical genres for brass quartet (tpt, hn, euph, tba).

Thank you for the opportunity to share my news and all best.

Sheli Nan 🎶🦋🎶

1974 - Peggy Maguire - Elvira “Vivi” Cilmi Kunz (1964) Writes - “Hi Art, Thank you for sharing Peggy Maguire’s story. She was a part of our family for many years and will be missed at our family gatherings.”

1978 - Steven Kargman - Lunch in Tribeca

L-R - Art Engoron (1967) and Steve Kargman (1978) - Pepolino, New York City, January 29, 2025

2006 - Brian Mayrsohn, M.D. - Brian is a board-certified pain management specialist and founder of Maywell Health. He specializes in comprehensive pain management, utilizing both advanced interventional procedures and complementary therapies to improve patient function and quality of life.

Dr. Mayrsohn graduated from The Wheatley School in 2006 and earned his B.A. in Medicine, Health & Society from Vanderbilt University in 2009, followed by an M.S. in Nutrition from Columbia University in 2012. He received his M.D. from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in 2016. He then completed his residency in Anesthesiology at Mount Sinai Hospital and an interventional pain fellowship at the Tri-Institute Fellowship, which included training at Cornell University, The Hospital for Special Surgery, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

He currently practices at his locations in Plainview; Queens; and Midtown Manhattan, where he treats a wide range of chronic pain conditions, including back and neck pain, cancer-related pain, joint pain, neuropathy, and post-surgical and post-radiation pain, integrating cutting-edge medical treatments with holistic therapies.

Fan Mail

1962 (Nancy Newman) - “Hi Art and Keith, Thank you for all the work you do to produce The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter. You do a great job of keeping us all in touch and keeping our memories alive.”

1963 (Jeff Carduner) - “I always read the Newsletter.”

1967 (Jill Simon Forte) - “Thanks, Arthur, The latest Newsletter provided much-needed memories of Wheatley and took me back to my young years (the good times in the halls meeting up with Bob 😊).

1971 (Neil Rosenberg) - “Many thanks for your work with the alum info. As an LI expatriate, it’s been a blessing.”

1979 (Leslie Collins McLoughlin) - Thanks for all the work you do on the terrific Newsletters.”

1984 (Amy Chin Lorenzen) - “Thanks for your excellent and generous service to the Wheatley community and for keeping us connected.”

1986 (Ari Haberberg) - “I am a long time fan of the Newsletter.”

The Official Notices

All underlined text is a link-to-a-link or a link-to-an-email-address. Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the text that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination or will address an email.

In the first 24 or so hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 189 was viewed 2,918 times, was liked 11 times, and was commented on three times. In all, 4,725 email addresses received Newsletter # 187.

The Usual Words of Wisdom

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 189 Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at

The Wheatley School Alumni Association Website

Also thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material.

I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a fact-checking department.

We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967

Closing

That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 190. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.

Art

  Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967

  WHEATLEYALUMNI@AOL.COM

  ARTENGORON@GMAIL.COM

  WWW.WHEATLEYALUMNI.ORG

  646-872-4833