Wes … 1958, NY City

The two years that my husband Dick spent at “LIFE” magazine put him in contact with many people that he would never have met otherwise. One of them was Byron who, when he saw some of Dick's photos, hired him to take his portrait. They hit it off and we would often meet him and his partner, Wes, for an impromptu drink or meal.

One of my favorite memories of that time came about when Dick and I were invited for dinner at their apartment on Riverside Drive. I was excited about it because I'd always wanted to see the inside of those lovely buildings. I wasn't disappointed.

There were only 8 of us for dinner and it was a diversified and lively group. When I commented about the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen Wes grabbed my arm and steered me that way. He was excited and kept telling me what fun he'd had putting the dinner together. As soon as we got to the kitchen I saw why. Wes had prepared a rack of lamb … a rib for each person.

But the exciting and fun part was how he had decorated the lamb. He had painstakingly fashioned paper “hats” for each chop with the person's name attached. It was amazing. I can't recall what mine was but I do remember there was a camera for Dick's and someone else was a turkey !

Wes was a set director for CBS and, over the years, he would go on to win 4 Emmy's. We lost touch with him but about 8 years ago I met up with him again in Palm Springs. He was a mutual friend to the ones I was visiting and, although years had taken their toll on both of us we had great fun reminiscing.

Wes passed away in March of this year. I'm glad I took this picture of him. We were at the art museum where he volunteered ... his expertise as a set director being very apparent with the displays behind him.