Class Notes

Hi, Ladies, as you can see below from our news, Jody and I are still hard at work each month collecting and disseminating news for those of you with email; but for those that don’t use email, here is a summary of what’s been going on with our classmates:

Peggy Bloxom Verville replied to her birthday e-card that she finally had the delayed surgery on her knee, and Patty Morgan Connolly wrote that on her birthday she was busy baking cookies for an annual bazaar. She still lives in Bloomfield CT, still riding her horse, plays racket ball, sings in her church choir, and spends many hours volunteering. Mona Allen Spilo, altho in her 20^th year of chemo for ovarian cancer (which won’t go into remission) is still active, and happily retired in Stonington, CT.

Lu Omasta Clark wrote that she and her husband were now wintering in Mesa, very near Karen, rather than Payson, AZ in the mountains.

Bonnie Davis Hall is cancer-free and doing great, but chose not to do the Christmas Revels show she and Ross performed in for years. Her husband participated, tho, and they stayed in a nearby B & B for the duration, visiting with many friends. She also finally got her second knee replacement and is doing fine, enjoying motorcycle rides in the sidecar of the motorcycle Ross bought during her cancer years. She has had a note from roomie Carlota Muse Rokita, in Vienna, Austria, and all is well with her.

Joyce Neill Krost has been busy with visits from friends and family, including one from her son who lives in Albania. She also attended her 60^th high school reunion in Richmond, with Jan Rutan Wright, from Seattle and had an enjoyable visit with her and other high school friends.

Judy Jacobs Winer caught us up on personal and family news: She taught Jr high school English for a year in Richmond, married, moved to Philadelphia and south NJ, taught for seven years while starting her family. Her 2 children are graduates of Ivy League universities; daughter is a physician, son an attorney. She moved to Clearwater, FL, 40 years ago, her husband has owned several businesses over the years, and still has not retired! They have toured most of Europe many times. She keeps busy with Bridge. Except for a small stroke and a kidney stone this year, she has been healthy. She has enjoyed 55 years of marriage and has 5 wonderful grandchildren.

When we became your class agents 10 or so years ago, our mission was to “Collect and Reconnect” classmates. We did that successfully, and periodically continue to try to add a few more lost sheep to our fold. At the beginning of 2017, we had 162 of you who hear from us monthly, and the latest search this year added 5 more for a total of 167 on our radar. We are delighted that some of this news is from the new additions.

Joan Linda Tuck West, who was Rita Knupp Burke’s roomie for a year, remains in contact with her by snail-mail, married in 1958 but lost her husband in 1992. She has 2 children, lives in Florida, attends therapy pool classes 2-3 times a week, and does senior yoga weekly. She attends Sunday School Class and Bible Study, does many day trips sponsored by the church or the Sr. Center.

Wonder woman Rita Knupp Burke (Springfield, VA) who has neither email nor FB, sent a long snail mail letter: She is in touch with Bonnie Davis Hall, Dee Merrill Albright, Janet Hook Foley, and Elaine Allsbrook Nix. Rita spent 43 years in education, worked in all levels K-12 and taught a graduate course in reading for teachers. She was a K-12 reading teacher, curriculum specialist, supervisor of elementary schools, and a K-12 supervisor. For 3 years at night school, she taught “Undereducated Adults”—people who did not graduate from high school.   After 27 years, was going to retire, but wanted to re-teach 1^st grade—her first year teaching–to see if the children were the same. She loved it so much she stayed for 16 more years! Rita has traveled to 59 countries and still has 2 more she would like to visit. Last year, she went to the United Arab Emirates.

Elaine Allsbrook Nix, (Kinston, NC) volunteers at her local hospital in the surgical waiting room. She also volunteers at church, but her favorite thing is volunteering each week at a school, helping 1^st graders with reading, math.   The principal of this school was in her class when she taught 6^th Grade there, and she also taught the present mayor of Kinston, NC!   She and Del have been married 56 years, has 7 grandchildren. Her “BFF” will always be roommate Charlotte Noland Downing. Charlotte is doing well, has 3 grandsons, survived the death of her husband so many years ago, many surgeries, and still is optimistic and fun.

We are delighted to have Ginny Barber Lamb “in the fold.” She has been in Westerville, OH, since 1998 when Chuck was sent there by The Boy Scouts of America. He had worked for them since college. Her son graduated from Miami U in 1985.

Audrey Maull Tuttle returned for the 50 Reunion with roommate Joanne Meehan Godfrey [who died 3 yrs. ago from ALS].   She has lived in her husband’s “hometown” of Columbia, CT, since 1961. She raised 3 children there, who all live within 15 minutes of her. She lost Bob 24 years ago to melanoma cancer, but has 9 grandchildren who still live fairly close, lots of friends. She taught in the lower grades for a while, did some substitute teaching, then realized life would run more smoothly if she helped Bob with his business. He eventually built, and they owned, a senior living complex in town. In late June, she planned a trip to Barcelona, and going on a Mediterranean cruise with 2 granddaughters.

Syd Collson Chichester’s shared her memories with us of the Amphitheater on campus, and hoped we could contribute to the restoration campaign.   We all have memories of the events in that beautiful setting.

Natalie Robins Lehmann-Haupt has a new book out and had many readings scheduled this past spring and summer.

Nancy Moncure Diess, had a note from Leecy Thornal Hatch, telling her that their third freshman year roommate in Virginal Hall, Anne Leach Atkinson Eggers, passed away this past March. Suzanne Swann Moon, another member of our class passed this news to Leecy.   Nancy still works at the National Gallery of Art, travels all over the US and Canada, and keeps up with her 9 grandchildren.

We added Nancy Jones Chandler to our Birthday List this year. I found her on FB. Nancy moved from Alton, VA, to North Carolina where children and grandchildren are. She and Betsy Watts Haskell were Karen’s suitemates for a year or two. Sadly, Betsy passed away in February in Texas, where she had moved to be near family.

World travelers Bob and Jan Latven Allnutt planned a trip to Scandinavia this past June. And several years ago, traveled to Iran and Syria, and have made many trips to Africa. They play tennis year round. They have grandsons’ ages teen to toddler. She also finds time yearly for a get-together with college roommates, Joey Van Tol Goetz, Betty Bruce Shepard, Susan Cramer Drouin. They hear from Susan Stanley Sokil, who is fine, once or twice a year.

This past spring, Diane Delamarre Madgic had a get-together with roomie Judy Davidson Creasy and both their husbands, near the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Tucker Freeman Vicellio reported that she stays in contact with roomie and bridesmaid Cary Tilton Doyle.

Karen and husband, Darrell, made several short visits to Vegas to visit our daughter’s family—4 generations, including 3 granddaughters, 5 great-grands age 1 to 6 yrs. Our son from FL and his then fiancé—now his wife—joined us on one of those visits.   Our passion is working with our church, which is embedded in an assisted living and nursing home facility.   We help with and participate in several usual church activities there, including a weekly church service with the precious memory cottage residents. We spent the summer at our RV resort in the “cool” mountains of AZ.

Jody: “Greetings dear chums, nothing new from me. Looking forward to my eldest granddaughter’s wedding in August. ‘Still busy with genealogy, doing research for others, giving lectures and so forth. Had a super year with Boy Scouts this year- combining them with genealogy is a real gift of joy. It was a great treat to hear from some of you long out of touch classmates. We are hoping that this reminder will galvanize the rest of you into sending a note giving us an update on your comings and goings.”

Connie Booth Logothetis (A – G) connielogothetis@gmail.com

Renee Levinson Laurents (H – Q) arjle@aol.com

Lynne Williams Neave (R – Z) lyneave@aol.com

Please send news to the designated class agent according to the first letter of your maiden name.

From Connie:   Jerri Barden Perkins is always doing something challenging. This time, “Encouraged by a business colleague who thought my life adventures should be preserved for grand kids, I have written 8 stories for the 11 kids for Christmas.

It is dedicated to Cal and his 11 grand children with sketches by a local artist. Marcia Minton Keech has been generous with her time and most helpful critiquing the art for the book. On May 27, I will host cocktails for local artists, my sketch artist from Savannah School Art and Design, my writing teacher and other classmates and friends -assuming I have any left after this – who have listened to my struggles during this project.  Marcia and I had fun dealing with recent art graduates and the generation gaps in how we see art! First of June I am off to UMW to meet the student there with whom I have been corresponding this past year.  This was another fun project and the University did a super job in pairing us together.  She is interested in medical research, NIH and travel.  It forced me to write about my college, medical school and career choices.  Some of these I shared with my son who was astonished to learn more about my medical training and my life choices.  Although written for the student, I always receive more than I give.  Can’t wait to meet her and visit, Belmont in Fredericksburg.”

Carole Grant LeMay wrote: “It has been a busy Spring and Summer so far.  I am still a tour guide for Natchez Pilgrimage Tours here in Natchez, and I do tours off the paddle wheelers American Queen and Queen of the Mississippi.  Spring is especially busy as many busses come in from up north to escape the snow and see the azaleas and magnolias in bloom.  I specialize in Civil War tours, which for a Yankee girl like me doing a tour of Southern history is often amazing to the tourists, but where else could I talk about history and have a captive audience?  Ralph and I are still traveling.  We just returned from a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with our daughter, Jill, and her husband, Frank, and our grandson, Jacob who is 12 going on 20.  In a few weeks I am going to New Hampshire with a former MWC girl, Bee Stone Byrnes.  If you lived in Trench Hill our Freshman year, you may remember her.  Her son lives on a lake up there and has kindly invited me to come visit with her.  Bee lost her husband, Charles, last August, and this will be a nostalgic trip for her. [Carole and Bee connected when Bee became Ralph’s secretary. Bee left MWC after one semester. cbl] The end of July I am going on a girls’ cruise.  Eight of us are going to take off and have fun for a week.  Then it is back home and up to our lake house in north Alabama for some serious cleaning and work. Ralph and I are in good health except for the occasional ache and pain and sometimes it takes two of us to remember something.  My memories of Mary Washington are wonderful, although I was from up north and had a hard time understanding the southern accents, (and I am sure most didn’t understand me either at first), it was fun, and I value the education I received and the friendships I made.”

Linda Giles Poole was sad to report the death of her husband, William (Buddy) Poole, class of 1961, University of Virginia, in December 2016. They have lived in Houston, Texas for a most 50 years. We send our deepest sympathy to you, Linda.

Kelly Cherry just keeps on writing – “New book coming out this summer, Beholder’s Eye: Poems. Anyone who is interested will have to look at the website Small Press Books. I hope I have that name right. It will soon get furiously hot here (Halifax, VA), but right now we have open windows, fresh air, birdsong, and the poor squirrels who want to raid birdseed from the feeders but can’t figure out how to do it.

Mary Gilliam Dodson Larson has some exciting news: “I am moving to Seattle, Washington to be close to my daughter and her husband and my two adorable grandchildren. My grand daughter is 4 years old and grandson will be 2 on Father’s Day.  My new address is 2315 NE 65th Street, Apt. 402, Seattle, WA 98115. My oldest daughter is a Captain with DELTA.  She just received a diamond ring from her boyfriend so she has a wedding to plan.”

Clara Sue Durden Ashley wrote: “In April Clarence and I went to Columbia, SC, to visit some family and to attend my 60th high school reunion. The reunion was a wonderful affair but also sad because so many of our classmates were not there. On June 4th our son Park, his wife and seven kids arrived to spend most of the week with us.  One evening there were seventeen members of our family here for dinner and togetherness. We are so proud of our son Dennis.  He passed the Professional Engineering Exam! The bad news is that after eleven years my cancer (ovarian) has returned and I will begin my chemotherapy on June 22. I expect to have six treatments, one every three weeks. I will continue to work as long as I am able.  Before, I would sometimes work half days or none at all.  My boss has always been very accommodating of my needs whenever I have had take time off.  We have plenty of work (quilt repair) to do, so I will do what I can. I am optimistic that all will go well.” Thoughts and prayers are with you, my dear suitemate.

Some older news: from Dee Doran Cairns and Doug who are very happy living in San Antonio at the Army Residence Community. Their two “kids” are daughter Cathy and son Rob. Cathy and William Brown live in Montgomery, AL; their son Chris and wife Jordan live in San Francisco and were expecting their first baby. Rob and family live in Camp LeJeune, NC; their son Nathan will be in third year at West Point and daughter Katye graduated from HS and volunteers as a helper in physical therapy for the wounded warrior Marines at the Navy hospital there. She will start college this fall.

News from Ellen Gotwalt Willing laments that they are no longer able to travel due to Bill’s various infirmities…no more escaping the winter cold of York, PA, for Naples, FL, which they did for many years. Fortunately Bill’s mind is OK and his personality is “still wonderful.” Her daughter lives in Vienna, VA, and visits 1-2 times a month. Grandson graduated from HS this June. Ellen keeps busy with exercising and volunteer work.

My news is that Andy and I have been busy! A wonderful cruise to Cuba in Feb, a master bathroom upgrade in March, the wedding of my niece in Livermore, CA, in April, and a week in Delaware in June for my great-niece’s HS graduation. This young lady has wisely chosen UMW for college! Emily Rossi is my sister Linkey’s (UMW ’63) granddaughter. Emily plans to study theatre. While in DE we had lunch with Barbie Upson Welch and Chuck who spent a month in Arizona in Feb. and went on the Queen of the Mississippi music cruise from New Orleans to Memphis in April – loved it. We continue to enjoy life here in Wilmington, NC, in spite of the current GenX water crisis. Grandson Leo is now10 and loves surfing and anything active and outdoors. He is an avid reader and has read to dogs in the library’s Paws for People program.

From Renee: Sandra Phillips Conklin wrote a lovely tribute for Dr. Cover, her chemistry professor.  She learned of his passing in the last issue of the magazine.  “It was sadness mixed with gratitude for his long life….  Of all of the fine professors I encountered at MW he is the one I have thought of most often over the years because of a simple bit of information he gave me: ‘Rinse the container out three times.  It will be clean then.’ If you think of all the times you rinse something – from the wine glasses to the dog’s water dish – then you can imagine how many times I think his words!  OK, I’m weird, but that’s what happens.”  No, Sandy, not weird at all.  I have similar thoughts about Dr. Laura Voelkel Sumner every time I read or see something about Greek Mythology!  Sandy went on to say that she never knew much about Dr. Cover’s personal interests. “He was a perfect gentleman, an excellent teacher, and an important and appreciated part of my education at MWC.  Thank you, Dr. Cover.”

Sandy’s personal news is that she and hubby recently acquired a new Tibetan Mastiff puppy.  Their first one, Ketu, died last September.  This one is a female. Sugar Bear is white, light tan and honey colored.  White ones are called Snow Lion Tis and eventually develop a lion’s mane.  The house is no longer quiet & lonely.  Happy new pup, Sandy.  Are you going to build her a home of her own?  Or just add onto yours to accommodate her?!!!! Please write more about your “Steampunk Art” projects for our next News.

Donna Henninger Henderson has gained a new granddaughter!!  Her name is Eleanor Rose and she lives in Portland, OR. Donna does get to see her two or three times a year.  She will be two in July.  Donna’s son’s three children are 21, 19, and 17.  They live on the farm where Donna lives in Troutville, VA.  The oldest will be a senior at VT in August.  Donna’s hubby still helps their sons on the dairy farm; she writes checks, runs errands, and plays bridge anywhere any time!   She continues to volunteer in her community and on June 30th will celebrate 22 years of retirement!  She likes watching the Washington Nationals and NCIS, and in her spare time makes pickles!!  Donna, I LOVE NCIS…miss Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly, though.

Donna still fondly recalls her wonderful years at MWC.   Don’t we all, Donna!

My News: I want to thank Sandy Conklin again for the lovely tribute she paid to her chemistry professor.  Isn’t it wonderful that we had have gifted educators in our lives at MWC whose influences remain strong and bright in our memories.  Our professors received far too few accolades for the excellent work they did.  A favorite of mine was Dr. Laura Voelkel Sumner, classics professor.  I took as many of her classes as I was able to fit in.

Not much exciting news here…still busy with UCLA classes, my book group, and a political action committee in which I participate especially around election time.  I am thinking of selling my house here and moving to the desert.  Friends of mine have already done so and often urge me to join them.  I’ll probably rent something here in L.A. for the unbearable desert summers.  Maybe I’ll have news about new digs in the next installment!  My wonderful cat, Dickens, is 18 and not doing well.  But he still is eating and grooming and walks with my dog, Buddy, and my other cat, Domino, and me at night when it’s quiet here and no traffic to speak of.  So, as long as he enjoys his life, I’ll keep loving his company.

So, only two of you wrote this time.  My bad, I was very late in sending my request for news to you.  But, c’mon, gals…we meant something to each other at MWC and still do.  Hearing from all of you does my heart good. I mean it.  Please urge as many of our classmates as you can to share thoughts and life’s stories with the rest of us.  Thank you.  And God bless.

From Lynne: Thanks to all who provided us with news. Life continues to be good to me. Sandy and I are planning another Seabourn Cruise in August, this time to Alaska, celebrating a significant birthday for him!   We have two grandchildren heading off for their first year of college in September!! I continue to enjoy bridge and serving on UMW Foundation Board as well as the Board of our condo in Litchfield, CT.

Janie Riles: Janie and Jim are spending more time in Ft. Lauderdale these days, although they still go back to San Diego from time to time.  She had a nice visit from Connie and Andy last January after having houseguests every day of December! She took a quick trip to Cannes at the end June to visit friends from her years of living in France.

Pat Scott Peck: Pat had a wonderful two week visit with Carolyn Crum Pannu in April. It was her reward after completing her tax returns! Carolyn showed her so many exciting things – Muir Woods, wine tasting with her daughter, Kara, 2 great museums, beautiful coastal drives to small villages, etc. But the best was long chats about their lives and how blessed they have been. MWC was such an important part of their/our youth.  She hopes all who can will meet next spring in Texas for a mini-reunion. The years are flying by and five is too long to wait.  Pat will be in Calais, ME by mid-June and welcomes any company! It’s a small town on the Canadian border-about 2 hours North of Bar Harbor. Her cell is 305-205-0400.

Eleanore Saunders Sunderland: “Good news health wise this year is finally getting my exzema skin issue under control. The best news I have is all the time I am spending with my children.  First a wonderful trip Milan, Italy to visit my daughter with my 19 year old grandson in tow.  Of course, within 3 days he took off for Marseilles to visit with a high school friend.   Then it was time for his brother to graduate from Ohio State, so I joined my son to celebrate his son, who is promptly taking off for Tanzania for work under the arm of the State Dept.  He graduated summa cum laude in Tanzanian studies and international politics.   He speaks perfect Swahili.  The FUN news I have is my going sailing with my son on his oceangoing sailboat (now on Lake Erie going through upkeep and trials).  His big dream is to sail the Atlantic to Russia, and to navigate its rivers.  Willard is an 18/19th century Russian historian professor at the University of Cincinnati.  He speaks fluent Russian, and has written several books on that fascinating period.”

Lynne Wilson Rupert: “I returned home from an amazing 10 day trip to Iceland on May 18. What a unique country it is, although a bit chilly for this CA girl. The following weekend began with my twin grands graduating from high school in Valencia, CA. In June, my granddaughter here in Temecula graduated from high school and the following morning my grandson had promotion ceremonies at middle school. Such an exciting time for all. High school grads are off to OSU, WPI, and UCSB in the fall. One proud Grammy!!! Looking forward to traveling back to hometown Easton, MD for a high school reunion in Sept.”

Nancy Wright Wright: “Greetings to the MWC Devils of ’61 from my retirement home in Springfield, VA. I am happy to tell you that I am in good health and in a lovely Erickson Community retirement place not far from my last address so my life has not changed very much. Several friends are here and the nicest part is they serve dinner! I will be going back to my little hometown for part of the summer–my sister (also MWC) and I own a cottage there and love being together for part of the summer. My three sons and family live close by here in northern VA and my five granddaughters continue to be a great source of happiness to me– the youngest is in kindergarten and the oldest has graduated from William and Mary, is working at the Smithsonian, and has enrolled at GW for graduate school in museum studies this fall. I’m busy in the DAR –the old history major loves their programs. I’m also involved in my church, play bridge and stay busy with community life here. I love reading your news and always look forward to it.”

Kay Slaughter wrote: “Sadly, earlier this Spring my beloved friend, Judy Matthews Kennedy, (BS school of nursing UVA 1961) died after a second battle with breast cancer. Judy, from Richmond, attended MWC 1957-59 before transferring to UVa to complete her nursing degree. There she met John Matthews of Roanoke. They had three sons and raised their family in Martinsville, VA. Judy practiced nursing and became the first female chair of the Martinsville school Board in the 90s. For years we met annually to catch up. From 2001-05, my work took me to Martinsville almost monthly and I stayed with Judy and John becoming even closer to them both. I miss her. On a happier note, my daughter Margaret and I will visit Charlottesville’s sister city, Poggio a Caiano, west of Firenze, Firenze, Pisa and the environs. We’ve hosted the Italians this summer in Charlottesville to celebrate our 40th anniversary.”

CONDOLENCES

Linda Giles Poole ’61 who lost her husband

Bee Stone Byrnes ’61 who lost her husband

IN MEMORIAM

Judy Matthews Kennedy ’61

From Jane Walshe McCracken:

Marsha Arlott Wooster –  Married to her high school sweetheart for 53 years and lives in Santa Barbara, CA. They have 3 sons and 7 grandchildren, living in San Francisco and Greensboro,NC. Marsha and her husband spend 2 months in NYC each spring, then two months on Skaneateles Lake, outside of Syracuse.

Nancy O’Neal Robinson –  Nancy stays busy and one of her fun activities is called “Show on the Road”,  short comedic musicals she helps produce  for senior residences. She also holds some offices in Lions and a favorite thing there is chairing the Student Speaker Contest. Family keeps her and her husband returning to the east coast, so they have been able to include visits  to  Jerry & Ann Tench Huml or Ken & Sandra McGregor Craig.

Susan Taylor Pitney – Sue left UMW in the middle of our Junior year and married her Marine officer husband with whom she first lived in California and subsequently all over the world when her husband left the Marine Corps and went into International Business.  They returned to the US when the oldest of their five children was finishing high school and she has lived in San Diego ever since. When Sue’s husband died from leukemia from Agent Orange, she, with her oldest son, ran the company for several years. Now she is retired and enjoying visiting her children and 16 grandchildren, and traveling to some of the places they lived years ago. She traveled to our reunion in June and enjoyed getting reacquainted with some “old” friends!

Barbara Hauser Scott – Barbara  is still living in New Jersey, although she was selling her large home and moving to something smaller.  In 2000, she moved to Paris for a year and was able to visit 12 countries, the trip of a lifetime. She put her adventures together in a book, then never did anything with it. She, like so many of us, is happy being a grandmother and makes time for Book Club, Mah Jong, writing, swimming, and enjoying life.

Linda Taylor Horciza – Linda lives in Petaluma, CA. After graduation from Mary Washington, Linda moved to MA where she first worked at Harvard University and then received a graduate degree there to prepare her for teaching in San Jose, San Francisco, and Petaluma.  She met her husband, a native of Czechoslovakia in a folk dancing class while living in the San Francisco Bay Area and they had three children. Sadly she list her husband in 2015, but living near her whole family , including eight grandchildren, keeps her busy as they see a lot of each other.

It was fun being back in Mason for the Reunion last June – not that Mason looks much like it did when we lived there as sophomores! In fact, the whole campus is quite a different place, but still beautiful. Emily Lewis, Ann Tench Huml, and I shared a suite with Joan Akers Rothgeb and Mary Lott Haglund right across the hall – shades of senior year in Ball.

From Kathleen: The Class of 1962 reunion in June was a resounding success, with nearly 20 loving members of our class able to attend. We were thinking of those of you who could not make it.

Our hearts go out to Julia Shumaker Bailess, whose husband has passed since our reunion. If you have a death in your family,  an illness,  or a change of address, please let your class agent or UMW know.

From Linkey:
Connie Waterman Lampert writes that husband Alan still works full time. Their eldest grandchild graduated from Skidmore College in May. Instead of wintering in Florida, they will be going on a holiday cruise to Asia. She continues to enjoy duplicate bridge.

Betsy Lydle Smith went to New Zealand in January to visit friends and attend The Virtues Project Mentorship Conference, where she was honored as an elder of The Virtues Project. Betsy said, “It was wonderful to meet colleagues I’ve corresponded with for years but had never met.”

Arlene Drescher Wilson writes that she has been painting a lot so she had a sale to benefit the Nashville Tree Foundation.   Arlene’s travels include an art retreat in Costa Rica and a week traveling up the California coast with Betty Chilton Finkle ‘61 who recently lost her husband Eliot. Arlene’s son Henry was elected president of the Virginia Plastic Surgery Society.

Karen Vandevanter Morrison took her granddaughter on a Road Scholar program of making movies. Her daughter and family moved to Oregon and Karen is delighted to have them closer. Karen still plays 65+ USTA tennis. She and Kent travelled to Ireland during the 100th anniversary of “the troubles.”

Suellen Grant Knowles spent the last year and a half getting back in shape from having a pacemaker inserted. She is grateful for the assistance in recovering and celebrated by traveling to Texas & Washington to reconnect with family and friends. She says, “Life is full and I give thanks for my many Blessings.”

Betty Caudle Marshall wrote, “I am currently the Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the NC Delta Kappa Gamma Educational Foundation. Only two years old, the Foundation has given 10 mini-grants to teachers across NC.” Since becoming a Registered Parliamentarian, Betty serves as DKG state parliamentarian. She has seen Betsey Bourke Christian (and husband Meade) and Ann Marchant Long as they visited my husband Tom and me.”

Karen Gustafson’s husband Marty Munitz, finally retired. To celebrate they rented an apartment in Paris for a month. They had so much fun that they did the same in London for summer 2017. Karen lives in CT between New Haven and NYC and spends time in both cities. She’s been in touch with Carol Paige Spruill and they plan to attend our 55th reunion in June 2018.

Allie-Blue Habel Everett says that she has exhibited her artwork and taught numerous workshops throughout the country.   Her daughter ACE Everett and husband Liam Cleaver graduated in the class of ’92 and her other daughter has a daughter that will be in the freshman class this fall.

My granddaughter will join Allie-Blue’s in the freshman class at UMW this fall. I’m still active in AAUW and am now Membership VP for the state of PA. I’ve created a class e-mail list but got a lot of “mail delivery failures” from my request for news. Please send new email addresses if you haven’t heard from me.

From Lyle Fowlkes: After working for 60 years, I finally decided it was time to move on. From my first career as a director of gifted programs in Virginia to lobbying and politics in Maryland, it’s time to take leave from the long workaholic days. I kicked off my free days with reading for fun, playing bridge, participating in several coffee groups, going to the gym, volunteering at the library, keeping up my 125 year old house and planning trips. Just returned from three weeks in Portugal and heading to Italy at the end of the month. I am still living in downtown Annapolis where I have been now for nearly 30 years! I still miss Virginia and may return someday soon.

If you would like classmates to know what you’ve been up to recently, please email me your news at pcweisser@yahoo.com. Also, if you did not receive this news from me in June, it’s because you are not on my mailing list. As many of you have moved, retired or changed email addresses, you may have forgotten to give me the update. I’m still in Atlanta, but looking forward to a cruise from Rome to Malta in July and a 32-day cruise around Australia in October. Susan Spatig Schmidt ’64 will be joining me for that-it’s been on both of our bucket lists for a long time.

Evie King Cox wrote that she and husband Herb retired in 2005 to the Northern Neck of Virginia. They live on about 5 acres of land on the Coan River. Life is pretty idyllic there with oysters under the dock and crab and fish off the end of the dock. They both do a lot of volunteering as it seems to be the case with their retiree friends. They travel a bit and are getting ready to go to Maui with their son, Mark, and his family. A lot of travel is between Lynchburg and Sewickley, PA, where Mark lives. Pat Davis has moved back to Virginia. Her new address is 694 Anne Lane, Aylett, VA 23009.

Linda Patterson Hamilton writes that she and husband celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April with a trip to New Orleans, where they explored the French Quarter, sampled wonderful seafood (plus beignets and chicory coffee) and ended with a Mississippi River jazz cruise.They also recently vacationed in Key West with her sister, Liz Patterson Vawter ’72. They are still enjoying Colorado with their five grandchildren and their parents, and occasionally her devotional meditations are published in quarterlies such as The Upper Room and The Secret Place.

Susan Ford Irons writes from Yorba Linda, California where they have lived since 1976, loving their new granddaughter Chandler (their only child’s first child) who is close by in Irvine, wedding plans for Tyler (otheir son) and McCall for October (yes, they did things a little backwards!), family visits from Jim’s side in Pennsylvania over the summer and a river trip through Europe in late August.

Sigrid Irmgard Daffner writes that life in beautiful Carmel, Ca. is great, especially in retirement. After teaching German for many years, even a year at Mary Washington College, she reports that it’s nice to concentrate on herself. She is taking a memoire writing class that brings back and sharpens her memories, recovering even those she thought she had forgotten. In the group they read their weekly writing to one another and in that process they have become extremely close. Alice Funkhouser Flowers wrote to say her husband George died March 24, 2017 after a two year bout with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer of the esophagus.

Lee Smith Musgrave wrote that she visited Hilton Head Island, Savannah, and Charleston in March with a neighbor.

Margaret Cobourn Robinson writes that she and husband Kenny  (+ 11 friends) went to Hawaii in January.  He crossed another state capitol off his bucket list…now down to 13. They then boarded Pride of America to tour other Hawaiian islands. The night after their ship passed an active volcano, rocks fell & covered up the flow so it was no longer visible at night. Lucked out. Luck ended there…in June, she fell going into the garage (one step) and fractured the metatarsal bone in left foot and broke big toe on right foot. Meg passed on news of Barbara Hagemann Hester who slipped on the ice in December.  After an operation on her shoulder and months of therapy, she is now therapy-free and able to drive again. Nurse Ben will be back at the gym.

Robert and Barbara Bishop Mann celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary on a Rhine River cruise from Lake Lucerne to Amsterdam. Last year at our reunion Bobbi told Robert her anniversary gift was NOT inviting him to our reunion and since then their life has been a whirlwind. At her yoga class a new member, Elizabeth Bray, mentioned that she had transferred from MWC to Charlottesville for nursing and broke out singing our fight song! Bobbi immediately thought of Mary Parsons Black and Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner, who on many occasions have created public disturbances with our fight song.

In March Bobbi attended Margot Lee Shatterly’s presentation about her book, Hidden Figures, with an SRO crowd at UMW and was surprised afterwards to learn that our own math- major classmates, Terry Caruthers, Marty Spiegel Sedoff, Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner, Eva Teng and Alice Ann “Sann” Moore had done summer ‘65 internships at the same NASA facility in Hampton, VA. Marty reported that they all lived together in a duplex, worked in separate buildings on different assignments such as calculating re-entry orbits for space modules to touch down on land rather than water, and called it a life-changing experience.

In April Bobbi, Carolyn Eldred, Jana Privette Usry and Lee Enos Kelley attended a celebratory inauguration of Troy Paino as MW’s 10th president and enjoyed a true sense of optimism for UMW’s future. Bobbi heard from Crystal Winston Metcalf that she was recovering from a successful kidney transplant, with a new kidney donated by her own son, Andy! Bobbi would like to know if anyone has news of Elizabeth “Beth” Van Houten. Susanne Landerghini Boehm recalled that Beth and her husband were living and working in the Washington DC area many years ago but had no current information.

Jana Privette Usry accompanied Bobbi to UMW to attend the Annual Luncheon for Donors and also the installation ceremony for President Troy Paino. She, too, remarked on his great sense of humor, outstanding qualities and what a good candidate he is for the university. Jana continues to do court mediations in the Richmond area and sing in the One Voice Chorus. She finished her physical therapy following knee-joint replacement, recommends the surgery for anyone who needs it and is considering having her other knee “done.”

Lynn Smithey Campbell has settled into her new home in the west end of Richmond and invites us all to come visit. Her contact information is the same as in our reunion booklet. Mary Lynn Murray Applegate connected with her “old” suitemate and fencing partner, Joan Cuccias Patton. They shared a delightful and informative luncheon in Richmond VA after many years apart and are astounded at how they have not changed a bit! Joan also had a nice lunch with Sally Souder while passing through Florida. In April Joan performed in her local Heritage Hunt Little Theater in a play called “The Dixie Swim Club,” about five middle-aged friends who once were on a NC college swim team. Just like Joan they gathered each summer in the Outer Banks! Joan, a retired career math teacher, played a “martini-drinking, smart-mouthed lawyer from Atlanta” and had a blast doing it.

Sally Souder and Gerry Sargent Habas renewed their lunch tradition in June in St. Petersburg FL. Sally entertained many visitors this winter (“yes, it IS Florida”) and continues to enjoy an active life there. Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner and husband Charlie spend nearly half the year in Naples FL working on their golf game and socializing with friends, the other half in Alexandria VA. Mary Kathryn insisted on sending regards and good wishes to all our classmates lest we assume she is no longer around!

Anne Meade Clagett claims she’s “one of our class’ most boring people, having no new hobbies, no trips, no grandkids to write about.” Her big news is her recovery from her second hip replacement in November and having to attend too many funerals (like many of the rest of us). Anne and John enjoy their quiet life in rural Fauquier County VA counting their blessings. Joe and Cherie Wells Brumfeld sold their house in Orlando FL and moved back to Volusia County – the Daytona Beach area. They rented a condo for a year and were right on the beach with the closest land east of them being the Canary Islands. While still house hunting they took a break in August to travel to Washington DC to mark their 50^th wedding anniversary with a family celebration in the same place as their wedding and reception.

Bill and Ginny Bateman Brinkley left Florida in the spring to go to NYC for their granddaughter Brittany’s opera event at Julliard, where she is a freshman. While there they stayed with Susan Roth Nurin in her apartment overlooking Central Park and had the grandest tour of the city’s sights, sounds and foods that Susana could provide. Bill and Ginny even learned how to navigate the subway. One memorable spot was the restaurant where the Seinfeld show took place! In May Bill and Ginny drove to Naples FL for a visit with Mary Grace Wright Day in her lovely “winter home,” which is within walking distance of charming Old Naples with its great restaurants and shops. They all enjoyed drinks on the beach at sunset, too. In June Ginny and Bill took a road trip to Texas for their grandson’s high school graduation and were already making plans to re- enact their NYC and Naples adventures in the not-to-distant future.

Susan Roth Nurin delights in the NY city life, serves as a multi-lingual tour guide, volunteers at the Metropolitan Opera, participates in many inter- faith programs and is a champion concert goer. Susan meets and interacts with more performers than most of us see in a lifetime! One special event in May was the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the Met and the Lincoln Center, where Susan exercised her good “opera karma” with an SRO ticket which morphed into a front row seat.

Marty Spiegel Sedoff organized a NYC high school theater trip in March. 49 Minnesotans traveled to the city to see Waitress, Miss Saigon, Wicked, In Transit, Dear Evan Hansen, and Josh Groban as Pierre in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, plus a matinee of School of Rock. Marty has recovered from her foot surgery and has resumed her tap dancing activities with Rhythmic Feet. She also serves on the board of the local chapter of AAUW (American Association of University Women) and the board of her golf league, acting as treasurer. Marty works at Questar scoring comprehensive tests for disabled students outside of MN. She scores tests from kindergarten level through 11^th grade for English, math, science and social studies, sometimes receiving entries on tape, in videos and once in Braille. Her next assignment will be to read writing samples for students in grades 3-8.

Pam Kearney Patrick and husband TaB were finishing up renovations in their Cape May NJ house when Peggy Beeler Burns made her annual visit to Northern VA and missed their usual connection. Pam entered some of her miniature watercolors in Bethesda’s Strathmore Mansion show at that time and proudly announced that two of them SOLD! In March Pam visited with Ambler Carter near Philadelphia where they shared a trip to the art museum for the “American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent” exhibit. In May she and TaB joined Jim and Pam Ward Hughes and Pete and Carol Bingley Wiley in Brooklyn NY to celebrate Bing’s grandson’s bar mitzvah.

Summer plans included a visit with Marty and Lenore Gilbert Bowne in Cape May. Pam and Lenore are trying to locate Sandy Knobloch, the fourth classmate in an old photo they found. Lenore and her husband have been living in Cape May for seven years where she serves as president of a 100-member garden club. They are exploring the option to move back to Bucks County PA near their children and comfortable medical facilities. Rather than get a townhouse or condo they are looking for an over-55 community with independent living. In April Lenore had a delightful time with Pam Wald Wagner, her maid of honor some 52 years ago, and was pleasantly surprised at the ease of conversation and being together despite infrequent visits. They set a fall date in DC to meet again.

Ambler Carter found that maintaining her home and yard for more than 40 years was too consuming. She easily decided to sell it and move to Philadelphia into an apartment building owned by her daughter and son-in- law. Margaret, David and their 9-year-old daughter ideally live in the same building! Now Ambler is really close to family; can walk to shops, the library and public transit. The move was more of an ordeal than she ever imagined, partly because she broke her wrist before she got settled, but she did manage to participate in the “sister” Women’s March held there. After visiting with TaB and Pam Kearney Patrick Amber had a wave of nostalgia and had a long catch-up phone talk with Anne Sinclair Jones. Anne, widowed in 2006, has since retired from over 30 years’ teaching in the Norfolk public schools and enjoys traveling to visit her three sons and their families. Ambler mentioned that Nancy “Howie” Thompson Mountjoy also retired from a teaching career so she and husband Jim can enjoy their four teenage grandchildren. Ambler heard from Carolyn Kirkpatrick, also widowed, that she had recently returned home from a trip to Nuremburg and is living near her son and daughter in VA.

Last fall Linda Glynn Hutchinson and Pat Lewars Pace traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. They encountered a tremendous contrast between the two countries: Dubai was ultra-modern, a rich people’s playground with everything superlative, while Egypt was struggling with its economy largely because of a huge drop in tourism to its classic attractions. Pat remarked that the antiquities are awe-inspiring; that structures built over 4000 years ago are incredibly well preserved. Linda and Pat enjoyed a peaceful, safe vacation with the exception of a small incident between angry taxi drivers and their Uber driver. Their next scheduled trip was to Greece, Bulgaria and Macedonia in the fall of 2017. Pat, a classics major, cannot fathom why it took her so long to see the Parthenon!

Lois Rucker Scott had a wonderful time in April being Mother of the Bride in daughter Holly’s Celtic wedding. In tradition all the men in the wedding and many of the guests wore kilts. The music was a bagpipe and a harp. There were no flower girls, only eight little boys in kilts plus bell-ringing page boys leading the bride. (The boys nearly stole the show!) Several other Celtic traditions were incorporated into the wedding festivities and all went well. The happy couple now live in Arlington VA right across the street from Lois, Sam and the rest of the family.

Cathe Cantwell Luria and husband Eric are still living in Ajijic, Mexico, where they participate in several music activities and continue to travel far and wide with their English clog dancing organization. They spent Thanksgiving and Christmas “up north” with family and friends, then later hosted daughter Sacha for a respite from the Portland snow and rain. Cathe’s Spanish is constantly improving with the help of a certified teacher and her voice lessons have boosted her to soloist with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship there in Ajijic.

Sandra Hutchison Schanné enjoys armchair international traveling through the reports from our classmates. She and Richard attended a rainy April family reunion in the Outer Banks of NC, then an in-law’s 50^th June wedding celebration in Charleston, SC with at least 30 second cousins of all ages. Sandra also flew to Denver CO to visit daughter Amy, Shawn and their three young children.

Yvonne March wrote that she had spent the winter dodging flu bugs and then assisted husband Chris following his double hernia operation. Yvonne is content to stay snug at home but misses having the little ones around.

Anne Powell Young wrote with some added information about her “Mind Benders” group for whom she arranged a gala holiday party. Her “little people” are not children but rather seniors 85 and older, who are always sitting, either at tables or in wheel chairs, making Anne feel “10 feet tall.” Anne and Betty Birkhead Vickers, who lives nearby, continue to have their 4-hour lunches without ever having a loss for words. Betty and husband Vic traveled to Kauai, Hawaii, in the spring and Anne accidentally telephoned her at 2 am – the shortest conversation ever! Betty is quite involved with the Rotary Club, and after 35 years of service she attended a convention in Atlanta with the Rotary Youth Exchange. Betty also keeps busy with six grandsons and a toddler granddaughter, Evie, plus helping her sons with their entertainment venues in Pigeon Forge TN. In April when Anne’s grandchildren made their annual Tennessee visit they all had a wonderful time at one of the venues, MagiQuest, a computerized scavenger activity. Next year Anne plans to treat them all to white water rafting and tubing down the Little Pigeon River while she watches! Anne’s husband Virgil still does considerable contract work in Mexico, building his college Spanish skills also. Anne concentrates on research and spoiling her Schnauzers. Now that Anne’s daughter has moved into a new home in Fredericksburg Anne has resolved to spend more time in Northern Virginia.

Betsy Chappelear Tryon retired from her Princess line “meet and greet” position at Los Angeles airport because 4:30 a m was no longer appealing! She now enjoys following granddaughter Maddy, a super volleyball player, to her games and tournaments which involve travel. In February they went to Salt Lake City, March to Spokane, April to Las Vegas. Maddy’s team earned a bid to the Junior Olympics in Minneapolis in June and Betsy might explore that prettier, quieter place for possible relocation.

Judy Wells Clark, an accomplished pianist, continues to perform publicly in southwest Virginia. Last spring she played four piano quartet concerts in Roanoke, Lexington, Chatham and Wytheville with three amazing string players. Judy invited me (Katharine Rogers Lavery) to join her in some musical selections, perhaps at our next reunion, since I am still playing trumpet and cornet. Get your requests in early!

Katharine Rogers Lavery proudly announced that granddaughter Mary Lavery decided after graduating college that she really didn’t want to teach science in Stafford County VA and enlisted in the Coast Guard. She then tried out for the Armed Forces Women’s Volleyball team and made it! She took TDY for a few months to compete against international teams. Katharine is still looking for Mary to be in the Olympics someday. During their NC beach vacation in June Katharine and Muriel Haley Montgomery met for their annual catch-up luncheon by the harbor in Manteo. In July Katharine and Hank took one last trip through the Great Smoky Mountains to Brevard NC for a gathering of his brother’s clan before their scenic mountain home was sold.

Terry Caruthers headed to Louisiana in April with friends, family and neighbors for the New Orleans Jazz Fest plus a celebration for her sister’s 65^th birthday. In June Terry and her husband celebrated their 50^th anniversary by taking their two eldest grandsons on a tour of Seattle, Vancouver and an Alaskan cruise after the boys’ graduations. Grandson Tyler Fant graduated high school and signed on as soccer goalie for The College of Charleston, a wonderful place for grandparents to visit. Terry, who wrote about her father in a series called “Benny’s Tales,” has embarked on another project of tales about her grandparents and mother, Mabel Hines Terry. Both writings include much interesting information about Highland County VA and surrounding areas woven into detailed anecdotes of family events.

Kitty Downs Gregg wrote and reminisced about traveling east last June when she and husband Don visited Terry and Don Caruthers at their lakeside home in NC. The four of them drove from there to our reunion, where Kitty realized that the only thing she would change about the last 50 years would be to keep better in touch with our classmates!

In February Dennis and Mary Bishop Morris drove from Michigan down the eastern seaboard to Florida. En route they stopped in Manteo NC to visit Mary’s roomie Muriel Haley Montgomery and husband Bob. After wending along the coast with a stop at Jeckyll Island GA they arrived in Orlando FL, where son Jeff and his wife live and work for Disney. They had a delightful visit complete with a Disney art show, “Moana” and various country exhibits. From there Mary and Dennis visited roomie Lynn Norris Harkless and husband Ron in Lakeland FL, where they toured a group of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern University. Their last stop was western NC to visit Dennis’ siblings in the beautiful Smoky Mountains before returning to Michigan.

Mike and Susie Williams Cluff moved to McLean VA in the independent living section of the Vinson Hall retirement community. Mike runs the fixit shop there and Susie enjoys many activities, including frequent trips to plays at Arena Stage in DC. Susie has also been in a couple of fashion shows. In May Susie and Mike traveled to Kansas for their second grandson’s high school graduation.

Elaine Gerlach McKelly enjoyed our reunion so much that she is encouraging her Woodbridge VA granddaughter to apply for admission next fall. Elaine and Tim took their annual beach trip to Ocean City NJ with about 30 extended family members and then a quiet retreat later to Wrightsville Beach NC on their own. Their new adventure was a river cruise on the American Queen down the Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans. Elaine, a native Northerner, happily learned a lot about Vicksburg, cotton and the French Quarter. They also traveled to Key West FL, stopping along the way at various Florida attractions and a favorite, a spring training baseball game in Clearwater, and already have plans to revisit Key West in February. Since two of Elaine and Tim’s grandchildren are in college; two are high school seniors; three are high school juniors; they anticipate a spate of graduations in 2019! They plan to stay in their Oxford NC home two more years and then move not far to a retirement community in Durham.

Dennis and Robbie James East, after relocating to Southport NC, returned to Virginia in the spring to see children and grandchildren, then continued traveling to the Texas hill country. The Texas wildflowers, blue bonnets and orange poppies, were spectacularly blooming everywhere. On the return trip they stopped in Fredericksburg for a wine tour, visited Wildseed Farm and ate wonderful German food at a small place called Otto’s. At home in Southport Robbie volunteers at Greenlands Farm, an agri-educational organic homestead, keeping her farming talents alive and well.

Diana Hamilton Cowell and her husband spent February in the Galapagos Islands, loving every minute. While snorkeling at Kiki Rock Diana was swimming just above 20 hammerhead sharks! Her Galapagos favorites were the Blue Footed Booby bird and Diego, the Giant Tortoise. In South Bethany DE Diana keeps very involved in community activities. She has immersed herself in merchandising apparel for the South Bethany Property Owners’ Association (non-profit) to sell at McCabe’s Gourmet Deli. Again this July Diana hosted a French couple from their sister city, Periers, France. She squired all twelve visitors through DC for three days and then seven of them through NYC for three days. Diana was instrumental in 2010 in the endeavor to make Periers the sister city to South Bethany and has enjoyed annual joint events since then. Diana and Katharine Rogers Lavery share an interest in WVU since they both have grandsons there. Katharine’s grandson will be a senior in mineral resource engineering; Diana’s will be in a graduate program in political science.

Kathy Goddard Moss announced at our reunion that she was homeless, that she and Tom had sold their house, put their furniture in storage and were headed for Spain to spend two months with their daughter and family. They then drove for months all over the United States, stopping to visit family and friends in many states before settling in an Oakland CA retirement community, Grand Lake Gardens, where they have found wonderful people and delicious food. Their complete tour of 15,000 miles in a tiny car prepared them for living in a small apartment. In recollecting Kathy admits some of her favorite places are Santa Fe, the Grand Canyon and Anza Borrego Desert. In June Kathy and Tom traveled a “short distance” to Ohio for Grandson Quentin’s high school graduation and enjoyed a family reunion at that time.

Lee Enos Kelley made some major life changes since our reunion. She decided it was time to downsize, sold her home in Washington DC and moved to a senior condominium community in Bethesda MD, where she has found a supportive group of new friends. In April 2017 her husband of 34 years died peacefully in his sleep of Alzheimer’s disease, which he had lived with for ten years, the last six in a dementia care facility. Although Lee misses him greatly, she is relieved that he is free of his disabling disease and she herself has been relieved of the extreme fatigue that often overcomes the caregiver. “Life looks promising again.” In memoriam: our sincerest condolences to Lee Enos Kelley in the loss of her dear husband, Kevin.

 Patsy Monahan Holden writes that she retired from education as a school counselor in 2005 and retired from being lead therapist at a local psychiatric hospital in 2012. She continues to work as a Licensed Professional Counselor one day a week at a local agency and has a small private practice. She and her husband Mike travel to Austin once a month to visit their triplets and their families. They have 4 grandchildren ranging in age from 2 to 15. They’re planning a family trip to Hawaii next year to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Nancy McDonald Legat and her husband Dan celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in June (2017) and enjoyed a trip to Myrtle Beach where they had spent their honeymoon. Later in the year they’re going on a cruise to the Bahamas. They love spending time with their 3 daughters and sons-in-law, 7 grandchildren and 2 grandsons-in-law and 3 great grandchildren all of whom live within a couple of hours from them!

Leonora Talley Burger writes:  “Recently I met up with Mary Carter Bishop ’67 in Charlottesville. She has written a book that is scheduled for publication next summer. I knew when we were roommates at Mary Washington that she would one day publish a book! Her career has been as a newspaper reporter and feature writer. She is married to Dan Crawford and lives in Roanoke. I am continuing to practice as a therapist in Annandale and have daughters living in Manassas and New Orleans (a great place to visit!) In April I enjoyed a wonderful Viking river cruise in Eastern Europe with family members.”

Please note:

Just after the celebration of our 50^th Class Reunion, Eleanor Frith Peters wrote the following letter to our Class of 1967:

Dear Classmates,

We happy few (twenty-four plus a few brave husbands) gathered at Mary Wash for our 50^th reunion this past weekend. We missed those of you who were not able to join us. We know sometimes it’s hard to deconflict those things that pull at us but we still missed you!

From those first classmate sightings and big hugs on the lawn of Brompton on a beautiful Friday afternoon, we enjoyed one another’s company whether we had really known each other in 1963-1967, were vague acquaintances or couldn’t remember ever laying eyes on one another! Wish you could have been with us. . . After an opportunity to meet the new and impressive UMW President, Dr. Troy Paino, and wonder through the lovely and historic President’s residence, we adjourned across the street to the Jepson Alumni Executive Center for a delightful dinner where we were inducted into the “1908 Society” because it was our 50^th reunion. However, best of all, we had more opportunity to catch up and reminisce. Some classmates had brought memorabilia and Susan Saffran Potter and Peggy Ford Poe had generously volunteered to provide some entertainment! First, there was a flat screen TV running a loop of photos of our classmates—you were probably part of that show! Then, at an appropriate moment, Susan and Peggy stood and began, in turn, to ask us questions beginning, “Do you remember. . . ?” or “Where were you when. . . ?” or “Did you ever. . . ?” or. . . People shouted out answers to lots of hilarity.

On Saturday, because it was another chance to gather with our classmates, the highlight for me was the picnic lunch. Again, Susan and Peggy took the lead. They had decorated our tent on Ball Circle and had two maps, an activity for us to all join in on. One was a map of the world with stick pins for us to mark where we have traveled. The second was a map of the US to mark where all our classmates are. Based on those two maps, we are a well-travelled group! The world was pretty well covered! Our tent won second prize in a competition we didn’t know existed! During the picnic, we gathered briefly on the steps of Ann Carter Lee Hall for a class photo. Following the picnic, we had a brief class meeting in Ball to remember our classmates who died too young.

That afternoon there was also an opportunity to hear Dr. Paino talk on the state of the University, and to meet his lovely wife, Kelly Paino. Those of us present were pleased to hear his vision for the future. While he didn’t pitch us specifically, he did point out that everything costs money and he is always happy for us to give financially to our Alma Mater!

On Saturday evening, some participated in the All-Class Party in the new University Center on the site of Chandler Hall which we all remember, some more fondly than others, depending on what classes we had there! Some others gathered in smaller numbers at local restaurants where we could hear one another talk!

There were lots of interesting sounding classes offered over the weekend which some of our classmates attended. To one degree or another, we all wandered the expanding campus, sticking our heads into classrooms, the library or dorms and meeting some of the few, though enthusiastic, students still on campus. Some classmates visited historic sites around Fredericksburg, some shopped at the College book store where the “C shop” used to be, some participated in the wine and beer tasting, some took naps to be fresh for the evening!! No matter the activity, we missed YOU, our absent classmates!

Five years will fly by and 2022 will be here before we know it. I know the other 23 of our classmates who were here in 2017 join me in encouraging you to come to our 55^th (!!!) reunion. If this year was any indication, I know we’ll have fun! In the meantime, when you take a trip or retire or have a new grandchild or move into new digs, or to share whatever is going on in your life, please send a note or a postcard (or your Christmas letter) to Nancy McDonald Legat (dlegat1@sc.rr.com), our class scribe, so she can share the news with the rest of us in the college magazine. It’ll only take a couple minutes and the rest of us will be so pleased to hear!

With love,

Your classmate,

Eleanor Frith Peters

June 5, 2017

Classmates, next June we will celebrate our 50^th reunion. PLEASE reserve the dates and make plans to participate. JUNE 1-3, 2018. Let’s continue to demonstrate that the Class of 1968 is unparalleled!

I heard from Dodo Fisher Roberts, who has retired after 48 years in IT. She spent summer 2016 on Nantucket, then got her Wilton CT home ready to sell after 45 years. Dodo moved in June to an apartment downtown where she will still have her daughters and friends nearby, can walk to everything, and not worry about snow in the driveway! She was looking forward to helping her mother celebrate her 100^th birthday in the fall, and is staying busy with lots of volunteer work.

Pam Tompkins Huggins reports that all is well with her “tribe” in Staunton, VA. The family hit a bump in the road when oldest daughter, Sally, was diagnosed with breast cancer. As of early summer, her chemo was competed, and she was preparing for surgery and radiation. Pam reports that she has an excellent prognosis and an even more excellent attitude, including a journal entry titled, “I’m Too Sexy for my Hair!” Pam’s oldest granddaughter has completed a year of college and her sister is loving high school lacrosse. KT and family are thriving in San Francisco, and Jamie and her family recently moved to Staunton, much to everyone’s delight. Both Pam and Jim continue to volunteer locally and took their first bucket list trip this year—a river cruise to Paris and Normandy.

In a short note, Susan Blosser Wight said she was looking forward to a busy summer and a fall golf trip to Spain.

Maureen McCart attended the inauguration of MWC’s new president, along with Carol Lee Hawtin, Judy Henley Beck, Judy Jackson Jones, and Suzanne McCarthy VanNess (’67). The impressive ceremony was held in Dodd Auditorium, and brought back memories for Maureen of Mrs. Dodd as her advisor. The reception was held in the University Center, a most impressive building where Chandler used to be. Maureen is still working four days a week at a Catholic all boys’ high school, and is looking forward to returning to Ireland in June 2018. Maureen also shared that Suzanne is going to be on the Alumni Board and our own Donna Sheehan Gladdis is the President-elect!

As I write this in late June, Ash and I are on an extended Airstream adventure through Colorado (including proudly watching our daughter, Anne, graduate from the Denver School of Nursing), Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, the Washington and Oregon coasts, and back to California in early August. In September we will be off to Australia to visit our son Todd and his family.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion. Don’t forget your tiara!

Cathie O’Connor Woteki – Cathie retired from federal service Dec. 31 after serving 6 years in the Obama administration as USDA’s Chief Scientist & Under Secretary for Research, Education. & Economics. Then she joined the faculty at Iowa State University where she was the Dean of Agriculture. She is also a visiting scholar at Virginia Tech’s Biocomplexity Institute, where she will be developing course work on science policy and working on her next book. In short, the only thing she has failed at is retirement. Her husband Tom continues as Senior VP at Maximus, Inc, & they still live on Capitol Hill.

Dr. Sharon Dobie has had a very tough personal year. Her 31 year old son died from complications of Schleroderma. She has had plans for retirement, but she is currently on hold with any change of plans , as she is still recovering from grief and the loss of one of her two sons. Send her healing thoughts.

Pam Hogan Baynard is in shock that she has actually become 70 years old. When she returned from her last tour of Central Europe ( Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna & Prague), she said it was fascinating but exhausting. Her question was why weren’t more naps on the itinerary?

She does volunteer work for her church, but her most enjoyable one is making quilts from remnants for the Lutheran World Relief. These quilts are shipped around the world after natural disasters or given to refugees. Her husband Chuck likes flying airplanes.

Lyn Holmes Gray attended husband Jim’s 50th college reunion at Randolph Macon while visiting their home in Blacksburg, Va. They returned back to their home in Africa in June.

Anne Witham Kilpatrick has been busy with her last year as President of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She says it keeps her off the streets at night and she sleeps well. Her husband Roger still enjoys his bagpipe activities.( I assume he practices during the day, since Anne is sleeping well at night!)  They have plans to drive to Nova Scotia while visiting friends and family along the Eastern seaboard.

Eleanor Woollard lives near Yorktown, Va., while continuing as Director Of Music at Christ Church in Mathews, Va. She also has a small private practice as Professional counselor in Gloucester, Va. for fun she does Isaiah Zagarish mosaics on large square cinderblocks, which hold up her house after Hurricane Isabel destroyed the place.

Carol Hewitt Guida (architect) spent a month at Christmas with her husband Hal (architect) studying the beautiful buildings & garden courtyards of Palladio around Vicenza in Italy. Carol also spent time with weavers in their Renaissance studios in Florence and Venice. They were also in Singapore recently. They continue to renovate their old house in a way they can remain there until they go out with their boots on. Carol broke her foot and has now been banned from climbing on the roof to clean out the gutters.

Lesley Fanning Atkinson reports she spent time at Hilton Head this past May with some MW classmates from Russell 3rd floor North. ( Nancy Raisor Schlossberg, Polly Elkins Rosenstein, Donna Bredahl Searle and Gabrielle Pagin ’70). Lesley is going on a Moselle and Rhine river cruise, having successfully done the Danube 2 years ago. She and her husband are retired and they fly to California and Colorado a lot their daughters and grandchildren. Her oldest daughter lives in Zanzibar with two grandchildren. They hope to visit there as well soon.

Bev Holt and wife Deb went with four friends on a Viking River Cruise called “Windmills and Tulips” this spring, touring the Netherlands and Belgium. They were there to celebrate Bev’s 70th birthday. Bev’s mom is now 93 and like the energizer bunny just keeps going!

Regina Sneed is moving to a retirement community in the city ( San Francisco). She continues to do volunteer work locally, especially with her background in law.

My Santa Rosa, California remodeled “forever home” is now complete  and we live here without carpenters. At one point we thought they came with the house ad infinitem. It won a first place design award locally and will be going for regional prize next. We created a walk out basement directly to the backyard with 8 raised garden beds set at 24 inches high so Ann could sit on them without bending over while planting and gleaning. There are no steps in the house, including into the shower or entering & exiting the house. We have an elevator to go downstairs to the basement floor, which is now a grand guest suite, with ADA bath,  kitchen, den, exercise space and laundry. Eventually someone will live down there to take care of us…after our 70th MW reunion.

I am playing gold, pickleball, doing yoga 3 times a week and have a personal strength trainer….all things to keep me feeling younger.

Ann and I are doing two folk music concerts a year with our 5 piece band called More Joy. Life is very good and I have aced retirement. (People said I would fail! )

Fyi- Chibba Watters Miller’s youngest daughter got married on Anna Maria Island on February 26th. Chibba is doing some art and craft projects at home that I hope to see in person sometime when I am visiting Florida.

Cynthia Lowdermilk has retired and gotten into her creative side. She likes drawing and painting with water colors. She claims her life is “boring” but it seems like she has carved out a nice zen like life for herself, which is only interrupted by setting out the trash cans every Friday.

from Anne Hoskot Kreuzer: Tom and I are enjoying  our retirement, and spend much of our free time traveling to see our 4 sons and their young families who live in Wilmington, NC, Carrboro, NC, Richmond, VA and Encinitas, CA. Last fall we took a fascinating trip to the WWII POW camp NW of Warsaw where my Dad was held following his D-Day capture after parachuting into Normandy. We thoroughly enjoyed Poland and would love to return should the opportunity arise.

Karen Ralston hosted her UMW roomies/ suitemates in February, 2016 in a spacious rental house in Satellite Beach, Florida. Linda Huff Alderson & husband Sandy were already close by at the Mets’ camp, since Sand is General Manager. (The Aldersons reside in New York City.)

Jane Jackson Woerner and husband were there as well. Jane lives in Florida but is moving to Urbana, Virginia soon.

Barbara Marks Poppleton lives in Florida, so she met the group as well.

Bonnie Page Hoopengardner ( living in Williamsburg) and Linda Marrett Disoway (living in Georgia) came south to join in the fun.

Karen rented the home to visit her nearby daughter, who is a research professor at Florida Tech and to have her son & his family come down from Colorado for the second week of their stay. The first week was all Mary Wash. They all pitched in for food and clean up and talked like they had just seen each last week. That is what 50 years of friendship and shared experiences has done for them. Sandy, Jim and Roger shared lots of stories about VietNam War. The girls toured Karen’s daughter’s Florida Laboratory, which researches “anti-fouling” (keeping barnacles, etc. off ship hulls- will save Navy lots of money!).

Mostly they hung out on the beach and by the pool, talked, ate and drank!

Karen has put their Memphis home up for sale and will move to a beach In Florida after the house sells. They will keep their house in Breckinridge, Colorado to visit with their son and ski!

She is looking forward to our 50th reunion back in Fredericksburg.

Dr. Ellen R. Brown ’69, lost her husband, Barry L. Bressler, this past February.

From Jennifer Higgins Clark: My husband Dane, a marine meteorologist, and I met at work 38 years ago.  I was an oceanographer and it was definitely love at first sight.  We worked for NOAA for 30 years each and then started our own business called Jenifer Clark’s Gulfstream and our webpage is jcgulfstream.com.  It has been a God given thriving business for 21 years.  We  were the ocean and weather support for Diana Nyad who swan from Cuba to Florida and were featured in her book “Find a Way”.  At age 64 she was successful after trying for 4 years!!   We also routed Erden Eruc in his around the world row and were featured in his book called “A Journey of a Life Time”. He was the first person in history to row around the world.  We routinely aid sailboat racers in winning races from Newport to Bermuda and other sailboat races.  We help the Coast Guard with search and rescue when a plane, boat, or person is lost at sea.   We love our “hobby” and will never retire even tho I am 70 now!

Signing off! If I hear from others before the deadline, I will send it on!