Brandeis Magazine

What a wonderful 55th Reunion we enjoyed last month. We shared stories about the dreams we fulfilled and our hopes for the future of our families, our university and our world.

Barbara Ball Buff told us of Helen Goodman Budd’s passing in March. When Helen retired after years of teaching kindergarten in Arlington, Mass., there was a special Helen Budd Day held in her honor. Generations of her students attended. Helen grew up in Lebanon, N.H., as the youngest of 13 children; she credited this background for her ability to “think positive” in the face of whatever adversity she encountered. Helen was a beloved member, along with Barbara, Eva Newbrun and the late Sylvia Epstein Sawin, of BESH BASH, our own Brandeis ’56 mini-reunion group, which gathered at least annually for laughter and remembering as well as for mutual comfort and support. We’re, sadly, no longer BESH, having been reduced to BE BASH. 

Herbert Paris, president and CEO of Mid Coast Health Services in Brunswick, Maine, was presented with a lifetime achievement award by Maine Gov. John Baldacci. Herbert was also honored by the Southern Mid Coast Chamber of Commerce for his leadership at the hospital and on numerous community boards.

Sidney Hurwitz, professor emeritus of art at Boston University, says some of his work has been purchased by the Cleveland Museum of Art, Kalamazoo (Mich.) Art Center, and Flint (Mich.) Institute of the Arts. The museum in Flint hosted a solo exhibition of his work in May.

Gordon Cohen writes in to say that, as of July 1, he retired from his child psychiatry practice. He and his wife, Joan, plan to travel and hope to do volunteer work in the area of suicide prevention.