  45 Bellevue Road, Sampscott, Mass. |
|
| 1957-1959 |
"Connie, Con" |
|
Honor Roll 3; Corridor Proctor 3; Honorable Mention 3, 4; Commencement Play 3; Yearbook Staff 4; Head of Hiking 4. "Yo Rinny! Turn Over!!! Actually it's the best...! I ahven't the foggiest. Somebody up there likes me.(?) That class is a fight!!!" Pete Pve--- "noises" from above; snoring! Foibles ---mops at midnight, walking, fresh air, Exeter. Noted for --- jello! pricked by a thorn, pretty hair; Exeter. |
|
 |
|
| Constance Laurence Brinckerhoff | |
|
HUSBAND: Robert Brinckerhoff, PhD CHILDREN: Elizabeth Johnston, MSW; Laurence Brinckerhoff, MD; Deborah Noyes, BFA CAREER: Professor of Medicine and of Biochemistry PERSONAL ESSAY: Bob and I saw each other all through college, he at Union (’62) and I at Smith (’63). Like so many of my classmates, we were married within weeks of graduation, and 45 years later we are still together. After a year working in NYC, we both enrolled in PhD programs at SUNY@Buffalo (I in Microbiology/Immunology; Bob in Philosophy). Four years later, we left Buffalo with two PhDs and two (unexpected) children. I defended my PhD thesis 9 months pregnant with our second child – I still believe that the committee members (all male) were terrified that my water would break in the middle of my defense. We moved to southern Vermont, where Bob had a faculty position with Antioch’s graduate school of education; after four years (with a third child in tow), we settled in Norwich, VT where I began a post-doctoral fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School. I have never left Dartmouth, and for more than 30 years I have been a professor/researcher in arthritis and cancer metastasis, and a faculty administrator advocating for graduate education. Like most scientists, I have struggled with grant applications and NIH funding, but I am fortunate to have continuous grant support and the privilege of training graduate students for their PhDs. Research and teaching have been the focus of my career. Bob became Assistant Head and Director of Guidance at Thetford Academy in Thetford, VT, positions that suited him perfectly for 25 years. There have, of course, been difficult times: juggling careers and child-rearing, illness and death of parents and close friends. Among the worst was my own diagnosis of breast cancer, at the very time my lab began studying breast cancer metastasis. I underwent surgery, chemo and radiation. It was a horrific experience, and walking our two German Shepherd dogs was a daily activity that seemed far more therapeutic than the treatments I received. That was in 1996. We did not know what lay ahead; my mother had had breast cancer and my sister died from the disease one week before my own diagnosis. With hope for the future, we bought a house on Martha’s Vineyard. It remains a sanctuary of happiness and love. Our family continues to grow. Our three children are married and successful: our oldest daughter has an MSW and is building a career as a therapist. Her husband is an ER doc at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and they have two children. Our son is a thoracic surgeon at Tufts-New England Medical Center (his MD is from Dartmouth Medical School); he also has two children and a lovely wife who is a physician. Our youngest daughter is an artist who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. She lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and their two children. She has her own show in Park City each year, sometimes during the Sundance Film Festival. We live in New London, NH. Bob is happily retired and I continue to work, albeit at a slower pace. Life has been kind, and it is clear that the most important decisions are made from the heart and not the head.
On the Web
|
|
