Sixty-Plus Years Later, A Dobbs Ferry High School Class Marks A Lifetime’s Of Memories

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The Class of 1962 rconvenes 63 years later

October 8, 2025

By Sue Treiman–

The year that John Glenn first orbited earth, the Rolling Stones formed their historic band and the Cuban missile crisis simmered, 86 Dobbs Ferry teens gathered for their 1962 high school graduation photo.

Twenty-two of them (plus some spouses) returned this week to mark more than a half-century of high school reunions; seven in total.

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Virtually every member of the class spent the entirety of their school years together. Sixty-three years later, they still can’t get enough of each other. “There’s something about our class; a force that takes hold and just keeps us getting together,” said Dan Luckett, one of the organizers of this year’s event.

A pastiche of retired doctors, lawyers, educators, as well as laborers, public servants, and media professionals, members of the 1962 class were born around 1944, when the tide of the Second World War turned towards the Allies, creating a powerful sense of optimism and connection. “As a child growing and throughout my school, whenever I was home sick or there was a vacation, I found myself missing my classmates; not just the ones I was close to, but all of them,” said Luckett, a former instructional designer who lives in Yorktown.

Now at or near the age of 80, the celebrants came from as far away as Italy and Nova Scotia and as nearby as the village’s Beacon Hill neighborhood to share in the festivities at Bellacosa restaurant, owned by a Class of 1986 alumnus Frank Donato and sing the praises of their hometown.

“Dobbs Ferry was a small, wonderful place, where everyone respected one another, everyone got along, and everyone cared about each other,” said Mark Biel, a retired lawyer and former Stars and Stripes journalist in Vietnam. More than a half-dozen graduates served in that war.

Born during the final years of Silent Generation, the alumni shared a childhood spent in prosperity and patriotism. The tight-knit students who, as juniors, organized and executed a major class trip to Bear Mountain on their own and without any adult participation, generated a diverse population of professionals and public servants. They included Jan Novak, now a clinical professor of gastroenterology emeritus at Suny Buffalo; Joan Beer of Westport, CT, a former New York City public school teacher; and Dennis White of Fishkill, an entrepreneur who helped establish Triathlon as an Olympic sport. Two chemistry professors, a Harvard fertility specialist, several Wall Street traders, two police officers, and an Italian television producer helped round out the class.

“It was so important for me to come because I grew up Dobbs, I’m part of this village, and these are my friends,” said Corrine “Korky” Burns Bruno of Montefiascone, Italy, who journeyed 4,000 miles for the occasion. She has lived overseas for 56 years.

Like her classmates, she considered mid-century Dobbs an idyllic location. “Day to day life was very ‘“Ozzie and Harriet,” agreed Arthur Samuel, referring to the 1950s/60s prime time television sitcom.

The former English teacher lives in the same Dobbs Ferry building where he savored a childhood that “totally revolved around pick-up sports games after school.”

Most of his fellow graduates, though, eventually scattered throughout the New York area and neighboring states. Paul Kellogg – now based in Nova Scotia – was among the few exceptions. He worked as a broadcaster in Connecticut, as freelancer for CBS news, and as a talk show host in Toronto. Along the way, he befriended such celebrities as singer Dionne Warwick, former Beatle George Harrison, and songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Today, he ranks his treasured high school reunions among his peak experiences.

“This particular reunion could be the last for a class that has always had great spirit, where whether you’re a cop, taxi driver, or a lawyer, everyone is accepted, there’s no attitude and politics are never discussed,” said Kellogg.

While Kellogg hobnobbed with newsmakers, fellow graduate and serial entrepreneur Dennis White labored to win greater respect and visibility for the emerging sport of triathlon. His efforts led to the International Olympic Committee’s 1994 decision to add the sport to its summer roster. Triathlon debuted during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The alumni had met just three years ago to mark their 60^th anniversary, which included a visit to their Dobbs alma mater to answer questions and compare high school experiences. Like previous gatherings, the event conjured bittersweet memories of the 1962 graduation ceremony.

“When we heard the first chords of ‘Pomp and Circumstance’, we knew it meant that this was happening and all of this, all the people I knew so well and spent so much time with, was really ending,” said Luckett.

Thankfully, Luckett and his former classmates have managed to ensure that the auspicious 1962 event came to represent a new beginning rather than a sad ending. “Of the things that give meaning to our lives, the relationships with other people are near the top, so I’m very proud of my class for maintaining them,” said Luckett with a smile.

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