Deceased July 9, 2021
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In Memory
Cam loved Amherst, and Amherst loved him back. Cam died on July 9 from pancreatic cancer.
The College mailbag is full of inquiries about Cam. We answer some of them.
Why is Google so slow these days? Because Cam’s no longer answering every query. Cam was the proto-Google. He knew obscure facts about almost everyone in the class. Forget your mother’s maiden name? Ask Cam.
Which was Cam not affiliated with: Pratt, Chi Psi, DKE or the Iso Ward? The Iso Ward. Cam bolted Chi Psi for DKE without generating ill will and, once at DKE, pushed for it to become coed. Later he railed against an off-campus version of the frat he viewed as retrograde.
What were Cam’s academic bona fides? An AmStuds major, he triumphed with his paper examining religion in Archie Comics (A-). He attended UPenn’s Annenberg School for Communication, where he met his wife, Julia Portale.
Did Cam go abroad junior year? No, New Canaan High School wouldn’t let him return to do more coursework. Cam lived in New Canaan, Conn., from ages 6 to 62. He was involved in preservation and school issues and was a force for good town governance. Cam’s children, Emma ’15, Alex and Lily, had a father who was the town’s unofficial mayor.
Why are ’81’s class notes the best? Because they reflect Cam’s riotous sense of humor and his application of just the right touch of sentimentality without bleeding into nostalgia.
What did Cam do in the real world? Cam was most recently communications director of Horizons National, an academic enrichment program for kids from underresourced communities. He was active in the Congregational Church and Roton Point, a swim/sailing club in Rowayton, Conn.
Do we miss Cam? Spending time with Cam was remarkable, joyous, fun and memorable. His classmates will miss him terribly.
Dave Nicholas ’81 and John Eastburn ’81
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