Class of ’77 Fall 2017 Class Note

Pearl Turcotte Gapp

7468 Dugway Road

Clinton, NY 13323

(315) 853-6851

pgapp@hamilton.edu

facebook.com/groups/UMaineClass1977/

 

By the time you receive this issue hopefully I will have seen some of you at Reunion. Happy 40th, Class of ’77!

A lifelong love of wildlife brought David Smus to the University of Maine. After graduation he moved to Tennessee, where he worked among artists and wood carvers and says he fell in love with sculpting with wood. The skills he developed eventually led him to working with bronze. Today his love of nature and fine arts has come full circle. From his home studio in Harmony, David creates limited edition bronze sculptures of animals such as dogs, bears, otters, and heron. 

John J. Quirk, president and CEO of Quirk Subaru of Bangor, received a nomination for the 2017 Time Dealer of the Year award. The award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Nominees are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a longstanding commitment to community service. John was one of only 49 auto dealers chosen from 16,000 nationwide. In 2013 he received the Henri A. Benoit Award for Leadership in the Private Sector from the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. He is also proud of his association with Wreaths Across America, a group dedicated to honoring veterans. John and his wife, Rebecca, have three children and five grandchildren. 

I received a news update from Larry Miller. Since the 1990s Larry has worked and lived in Minnesota, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. Upon retiring in 2014 he and his wife moved to a log home in Yaak, Montana. He now keeps busy with his woodlot, gardening, fly-fishing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and basically enjoying the natural beauty of his little slice of paradise. Larry sends regards to the forestry Class of ’77.