Andrea Gritti
After coming home from my wonderful year as an American Field Service foreign exchange student I graduated at the Law School of the University of Milan and then spent my professional life as a bank executive (mainly in the legal department) at Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. I married Francesca in 1973 and we have a son Roberto and a daughter Elena: they work now together in their book store in Brescia. Roberto is still single, while Elena is married and has a wonderful son Lorenzo, who is almost 5 years old. My wife and I like traveling and we made beautiful trips to the U.S. in 1974 and 1984 for the 10th and the 20th NHHS Reunion and also in 1997, in 2007, when we drove coast to coast, and lately in 2008, when we visited our good friend Ed Gerber, with whom I have been keeping in touch ever since: Ed will come to Italy next September and we are looking forward to seeing him again. It's a half a century old friendship of which I am proud. I retired in 2006 but I am still pretty busy sharing my time with my wife, children and grandchild, taking care of our big house near Lake Garda (the large garden is a very good gym for me) and reading books (also many English books).

I always remember with great pleasure the year I spent at North Haven in 1963-1964 and all the people I met there.
Ann (DeSalvatore) Polanski
I had a wonderful childhood in North Haven in the 1950's. Attended St. Joseph College for my first two years, then spent my junior year in Spain at the University of Madrid. There I met my first husband and moved with him to Morocco. After having two children, and looking at what my life might be if I stayed there, I moved back to the States, divorced and was graduated from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.
At a social club event, I ran into Ed Polanski. I remembered him as the teacher in North Haven who taught me driving skills and how to shoot a rifle. Back in the 50's, there was a rifle club at the high school that met and practiced in the range in the basement.
In spite of the 20-year age difference, Ed and I were married in 1982 and moved to Wallingford. I knew at the time that I wouldn't have him forever but we shared a wonderful marriage until he died in 2004.
I've worked all my life at various jobs: from cashier at Stop and Shop to a general accountant for Maroc Sun Oil in Morocco. I retired from Radio Frequency Systems in 2007 as a marketing manager.
I have recently put my house up for sale and am moving to a cottage at Ashlar Village in Wallingford. Now it’s time for fun without the responsibility of maintaining a house.

Barbara (Schreier) Hurley
John and I were married 31 years ago. I have one son John from my previous marriage and one son and one granddaughter.
We have been to Ireland and lived in North Carolina and Florida.
I love to read fiction mystery and romantic mystery books and have done latch (rug) hooking.

Bill Olmstead
I am the proud father of 2 boys Erik and Mark, as well as the proud grandfather of 3 boys, Bradley, Michael and Logan.
My entire career was in health care administration as an Administrator. I worked at Yale New Haven Hospital, Medical Management and 2 very large Orthopedic groups. This is the reason I have no hair!
I have a Masters degree in Healthcare Management and an under grad in Accounting. I also have been, and continue to be, an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Haven and at the Medical University of South Carolina (on line).
I spent the last 15 years in Charleston, SC before moving back to CT this past September. Yes...I retired north. This has given me the opportunity to be closer to my family. I spend a great deal of my free time on the golf course where I found another sport I am not good at!! I am hoping a few old classmates may be interested in a round of golf that reunion weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing some old friends and catching up!

Bob Applegate
I was at Center St. School until grade 5, moved to New Haven, and returned to North Haven for my last 4 years, graduating in 1964. After a year at UCONN, I enlisted in the Air Force and worked on semi-remote radar sites for 3 ½ years. In 1967, I married my high school sweetheart, Mary Beth Moran, and we moved to Caribou, Maine, then Montauk Pt. Long Island, Willimantic, Meriden and finally Wallingford where we built our home.
I completed my bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Hartford and my master's degree in Software Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - Hartford Campus. I have worked primarily in medical research and development at Picker Nuclear, Philips Medical and Covidien (Healthcare Products) with stints at IBM and Pitney Bowes. Last October I cut back to 20 hours a week which leaves me lots of time for travel and relaxation. We plan to take several trips each year to the many places on our "bucket list." Aruba is one of our favorite islands.
We have one son Dave who is still single and is a chem/ math teacher at Xavier High School in Middletown, CT and he lives nearby in Wallingford.

Bonnie (Boughton) Colberg. Married to David L. Colberg since 1965. We moved to Williamsburg, VA in 1992 after raising our sons in Durham, CT. One son lives in Manchester, CT and the other in Denver, CO. We have recently retired and we are enjoying a life of leisure.

Carol (DiGiuseppe) Davis
Graduated from UCONN with a Degree in Microbiology and took Graduate courses in Education and later Molecular Biology at Tufts University. I worked for IBM in for 25 years before I retired, I was, at the end, an Advisory Engineer / Project Manager in an Engineering group, at the end working on Robotics, currently I'm retired, did so at 55 when I took Early Retirement in 2002. Since I did so much traveling when I was working, I only make one trip a year now, no Children and therefore, no Grandchildren. I am currently working on perpetual procrastination, and doing quite well at it if I do say so myself!

Dorel (McManus) Benson
Widowed for over 7 years. Two children, Joe and Sarah, Prior to his passing, my husband and I traveled to Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Canada , the Caribbean, New Orleans, San Diego and San Francisco. I have two grandchildren, Garrett, 9 and Trinity, 5 1/2. My husband was a detective in the New Haven Police Department for over 29 years. I have pets: 2 dogs and 2 cats. I am also active in my church. Interests include; crafting, reading, hiking with my yellow lab, going to tag sales and gardening. I have been a Medical Assistant for more than 30 years. I currently work for an Ophthalmologist in Guilford but will be retiring in the near future.

James Alstrum
I received my B.A. from Fairfield University in 1968 and then went to Colombia in the Peace Corps for 3 years where I met my wife Liz Acevedo. We were married in Bucaramanga, Colombia at the end of 1971. I received my M.A. (1973) and PhD (1977) from Vanderbilt University. I just retired (June 1, 2014) from Illinois State University after 33 years as a Professor of Spanish and Spanish American Literature and Culture. We raised 4 kids-2 girls and 2 boys who are all bilingual and college graduates. I directed a summer program in Mexico for 21 years. Now that I am retired I hope to travel to Brazil and Alaska.

James Olson
Graduated UConn (BSChE) in ’68.
Active Duty with US Navy -- Navy flight training with “winging” September 1969; Carrier Landing Instructor; Sky-equipped C-130 flying in Antarctica;Naval Postgraduate School (MS Aero Eng); Operational Test Director for new systems; C-130 cargo flying in Western Pacific and in Europe/Mediterranean/Middle East; ;Senior Mathematics Instructor, US Naval Academy.
After US Navy retirement -- Government contractor for USN F-14, E-2C and C-2A; Cisco Certified Systems Instructor; Government contractor for USCG HC-130J and C-37; Government contractor for simulations; Senior Researcher for Department of Homeland Security “think tank.”
After fully retired, practicing my fiddle playing, going to fiddle camps, and taking courses for songwriting/arranging with Berklee College of Music.

Joan Hall Cnossen
After teaching elementary education for 5 years, I took time off to have my 3 children. I was fortunate to be a stay at home mom for most of those early years. We had moved to Vermont, where I currently live, to find the country life for raising children. Our years were filled with skiing at Mad River Glen and sailing on Lake Champlain in the summer. I changed careers and became a computer science/math teacher at the local high school. After 28 years of teaching everything from web design to financial planning to geometry. I retired 4 years ago to spend more time with my 4 grandchildren who all live within 40 minutes of me. I lost my husband to cancer in 2005 so I have had to redefine my life as a single person. I still tutor students in high school math, volunteer for a variety of community service activities, travel to Utah to see my oldest multiple times a year, ski and love gardening. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion in September.

Jo-Anne Basile
Is it true that everyone has a story? Perhaps and here’s mine. Colleges include Boston, Montana and San Francisco ending up with a MA from San Francisco State although given the years I was there (’68-70), it could be said that my real degree was in “radical, anti-war, why can’t the world get it right”. From there I had a two year stint in Seattle – perhaps my favorite city and then back to Connecticut where I stayed for 6 years before moving to DC for a fellowship. While in our nation’s capital I worked for the transition team that put together the new US Department of Education, then legislative director for three members of Congress and lastly as a telecommunications lobbyist for the mobile phone industry. All in all I stayed in DC for almost 30 years returning to Guilford CT in 2006 thinking I could take it easy but the economy tanked and now I find myself dabbling in local politics, doing some telecom consulting and animal rights advocacy work. No kids but I do have two dogs: Roxanne and Eddie.

(Karen) Kristy (Andrews) Petersen
The first thing I did after high school graduation was start using my middle name. I hadn't liked my first name, and although Dad found both my names in the family Bibles, (both Mother's and his families) I am not genetically related to either of those ladies. So I was using the name Kristy when I met my husband. I went to Vernon Court Junior College, a very defunct school, in Newport RI and met Mike while he was in OCS. Mike Petersen and I married in July 1968. We had three children, one girl and 2 boys. I now have three grandchildren, 2 boys and one girl. Mike died in 2000. I've retired to Crown Point IN. All my kids and grandchildren live in the general area.

Marsha (Wilberg) Butler
I was married for 19 years and from that union,I came away with two wonderful daughters. I lived in upstate New York where I raised my daughters. I worked as an administrative assistant (secretary) for 29 years in our high school. I coached soccer, designed and made costumes for our high school yearly spring musical, sang in a community chorus and a church choir. My daughters were both involved in ski racing, so winters were spent on the slopes
I retired in 2009 and moved to Vermont to be able to spend more time with my children and grandchildren. I read a lot, garden, kayak, hike and volunteer at the hospital here in St. Albans and am on the Hospital Auxiliary Board of Directors.

Mary Beth (Moran) Applegate
I grew up in Norwich CT and went to Norwich Free Academy prior to moving to Northford in 1963. As the North Branford High School was not yet completed, my junior and senior years were spent at North Haven High School. It was here that I met my future husband, Bob Applegate, and we began dating just before the senior prom.
We married in 1967 and moved to Maine, Long Island, Willimantic, Meriden and finally settled in Wallingford. We have one son David who teaches chemistry and math at Xavier High School in Middletown. I worked as a marketing rep for twelve years at SNET and then 20 years as the technology coordinator/computer teacher at Holy Trinity School in Wallingford. I am slowly easing into retirement and love traveling. Our best two trips have been to South Africa in 2001and a Mediterranean Cruise in 2013.


Richard Barry
Current job: Professor at Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies, Linthicum Heights, MD (part time).
Retirement pleasure: Snowbird in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Adventures: Married to Gail (retired NH teacher and varsity rifle team coach) 1971 to present. Sailed as captain of large container ships from 1977 to 2002. Worked as captain of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy training ship and as professor of Marine Transportation from 2006 through 2008.
Travel: Pretty much everywhere connected to water.
Children: Christopher (36) NHMS teacher and varsity girls basketball coach. Kevin (32) PHD Wesleyan U. 2014.
Grandchild: Anabel Barry (1).
Interests/Challenges: Golf and fitness.
Accomplishments/Awards: Naval Academy Scholar Athlete Award 1967. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy “Stedman Trophy” most outstanding athlete award 1968. NHHS Sports Hall of Fame 1998. U.S Merchant Marine Academy Team Advisor Award 2006-2007.

Richard Coyle
On May 3, of this year my wife, Tina, and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary in our new home in Savannah, Georgia’s historic district. A week later our eldest daughter, Carolyn, was married in St. Paul’s church in Savannah, the same church in which Tina, a Savannah native, and I were married. The week following that, our other daughter, Christine, received a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. That was a great string of events that illustrates an important facet of my life: Having a strong, loving, connected, accomplished and now expanding family has been the best part of my post-NHHS experience....
…And, the rest of it hasn’t been too shabby either, and included graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, serving as an officer in the Navy and earning a Master's in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University. Subsequently I was a newspaper reporter in Colorado before beginning a nearly 40-year career in corporate communications, financial public relations and crisis management. My work included 20 years with IBM, and nearly five of those years were spent in Tokyo, which enable us to travel throughout Asia and Europe. Living in a different country and learning to appreciate different cultures was an incredible learning experience. Now retired, my interests include travel, reading, cooking and fitness.
I take online and other “distance learning” courses, and have a growing interest in science, particularly environmental issues. Baseball and basketball – two of my favorite NHHS activities are no longer part of the equation, but I’m finding that yoga, Pilates and walking are excellent substitutes and far better for the knees, back and head. I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend the reunion, and wish you all a great time, and happiness and health going forward!

Rodney Thomas
I'm married for 47 years. I have 2 kids Son- Chiropractor in Springfield, Mass Daughter- school teacher in Syracuse,NY We have 6 grandchildren - 3 girls 3 boys. I am retired. We enjoy our camp in the Adirondack Mts.

Sandy (Palasiewski) Zalonski
I am married to Stan for 46 years and entered North Haven High School from North Branford. Have three wonderful children and 5 very active grandchildren. We love traveling and take many cruise ship vacations. Its great to be retired and able to do as we please as every day is a Sunday.

Steve Lipson
After NHHS I went to U. of California, Berkeley, where I was promptly arrested in the Free Speech Movement (also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year). In 1967 I married our classmate Sydell Marinoff. Went to U. of Chicago for M.A., lived in France for a year and returned in 1971 to work for a few years in my parents’ flower shop in New Haven. In 1977 Sydell and I had twin sons. I worked at M. Schiavone, the scrap yard, in North Haven from 1974 to 1979, and moved to Evanston, Illinois to trade scrap metal and lived there for the next 29 years. Sydell and I divorced in 1982; I married Judy and we have been married now for 29 years. We have one daughter (27). Six years ago we retired to Berkeley, California and are enjoying the natural beauty and wonderful weather. We both do a lot of volunteer work to keep very busy. We have, so far, one grandson.