Class Notes

We would like to celebrate the lives of our classmates and their loved ones.

Joyce Panciera Pippo’s husband, Tony, wrote to say that Joyce passed on from pancreatic cancer in October 2010. They have a beautiful daughter, Emily, who is married to Michael Tracht; a 6-year-old grandson, Alex; and a granddaughter, Olivia, all of Atlanta. Tony and Joyce spent summers in Mystic, Conn., and winters in Coconut Grove, Fla. They had a wonderful life together.

Nancy Mann Kaplan’s husband, David, wrote that Nancy’s memory loss and mild cognitive impairment developed into Alzheimer’s disease, and she is in assisted living. Nancy’s older sister is affected, as well. Janet Garriss Lewis’s husband, Phil, passed away from cancer in May.

Betty Ditmars Prosser and David celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a garden party at their home, hosted by their daughter and her family. Fifty friends, from Maine to California, shared the special occasion, and Betty and David “renewed their contracts” for another 50 years. They looked forward to summer houseguests and Betty said, “In another life, I am going to operate a cozy country bed-and-breakfast in this nice old farmhouse.” We hope you caught the Survey Says article, which opened with Betty’s remarks, in the spring issue of this magazine. Thanks for representing us so well, Betty.

Joanne Lister Jacobs and husband Frank also celebrated their 50th. Their children gave them a wonderful party at a local restaurant with all their friends and relatives. Joanne continues her work as a speech pathologist with a private pediatrics firm. Jude Wandell Potter and her husband celebrated her May birthday by flying to Greece and Turkey.

Cyd Day Getchell thanked us for remembering her birthday and said her wish would be to turn the clock back 40 years! She spent her birthday weekend getting a herding instinct certification for the German shepherd puppy she got last fall and was training it for next year’s title. Cyd once bred 40 champion show dogs but said that as a breeder-owner-handler that was a walk in the park by comparison. She is a new member of the United Schutzhund Clubs of America.

Sue Whidden Frisch enjoyed April botanical travels, exploring flora throughout North Carolina. They explored the Croatan National Forest with friends in Morehead City, visited Bonehenge, the site of the reconstruction of a sperm whale skeleton, and saw several Wilmington-area nature reserves. Places they visited include the Raleigh/Durham/ Chapel Hill area, Swift Creek, Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, the North Carolina Botanical Garden, and the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest near Asheville. They traveled home via the Blue Ridge Parkway and detoured to the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern United States. Upon return, Sue said that Norfolk, Conn., seemed tame, and she was planning her next trip.

In response to the birthday card we sent, Natalie Robins Lehmann-Haupt said she had spoken to Sue, whose father is, of course, our Dean Whidden. He is 106, lives near Sue in Connecticut, and, aside from some hearing loss, was doing fine! Nat is a prominent New York-based author, who has written several novels. Her husband, former publisher Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, and their daughter, are authors, as well.

Syd Collson Chichester had a super birthday with her daughter at their family reunion at Glencairne, the Chichester farm in Virginia. Syd enjoyed seeing friends she hadn’t seen in years at the Class of 1961’s farewell brunch at UMW. She chatted with Lloyd Tilton Backstrom ’61, whose sister, Cary Tilton Doyle, is in our class but not on our radar – does anyone have her address? She also spoke with Polly Updegraff, Peggy Howard, Ellen Gotwald, Renee Levinson, and Caroline Crum. Syd wrote, “Their class won the Triple Crown – all three of the Eagle awards. The ‘devil class’ raised more than $2,700,000 for the University! Quite a feat, huh? They had 67 returnees.” (Note from your agents: You know this is a challenge for our 55th reunion coming up four years from now, so get ready!)

Syd bought a winter home in Florida on the St. Johns River, fell in love with the area, and stayed well after the season ended this year. After the reunion in June, she drove back to Florida with Gay Hall Sullivan, whose new home is near Syd’s. They had a small kennel on the drive for their two rescue dogs and a long-haired Chihuahua. Patty Connolly visited Syd, fell in love with Vero Beach, and planned to return next year. Syd and Patty had lunch with Nancy Cleaves Blaydes, who also wintered there. Syd volunteered at the Indian River Environmental Learning Center and led canoe trips, joined the Vero Beach Museum of Art where she was delighted to see a painting by Gari Melchers, and mentored a high-schooler who became like a granddaughter to her. Syd said, “Guess you can take the teacher out of the classroom but not the classroom out of the teacher!”

Pat Garvin Dyke, Shelby Davis Porter, Bayla Goldberg Manis, and Marietta “Jo” Ames Steinberg sent greetings. Shelby reminisced about school days shared with Janet Garriss Lewis. Liz Hill Heaney and Bob are always busy – staying out of “the proverbial” trouble.

Teresa Horseman Ammon and her husband are avid gardeners in Atlanta, where they had what they felt was their most beautiful yard ever this year. Teresa sent a gorgeous picture of it. Sue Whidden Frisch sent a picture of her home in the snow. Accomplished artist Gray Sheafer Dodson shows her work online. Another artist, Joyce Neil Krost, returned from her travels abroad and added a gray calico cat to her family. Her marketing director was developing a website for her work.

Jeanette Meyer Juren and husband Hal learned a lot of Russian history and saw amazing palaces and churches during a cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow. They wore jackets, hats, and sweaters on the trip and returned to 90-degree weather in Norfolk, Va. Sarah Forsyth Donnelly enjoyed spring in Albemarle County, Va., but complained about having to weed. The lefty promptly broke her left wrist and had to weed right-handed. Sarah and her former U.Va. roommate visited Washington, D.C., touring the Capitol and other sites. Sarah’s wrist was healing well, and she happily reported that the titanium in it did not set off any metal detectors.

Darrell and Karen Larsen Nelson traveled to Las Vegas to meet their new twin great-grandchildren, a boy and a girl, Brynn and Seth, and to visit their daughter and all three granddaughters. From Las Vegas, they took the long way home through southern Utah, stopping at Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Monument Valley. They took another spontaneous trip in their RV in September.

Jody Campbell Close spent a week with her sons and their families in Virginia, then a week with her daughter’s family in Seattle. The family reunions mean a lot to her as she lives in Florida and sees relatives so rarely. Jody is on her way to professional certification in the study of genealogy. She completed 15 weeks of genealogy research study with Boston University and was working on several commissions in addition to her own family research. With help, she developed a successful nine-week workshop for Boy Scouts to earn their genealogy merit badges. Jody said, “It was so great to see their interest grow as they made discoveries about their families and about history, but their wizardry at the computers was humbling.”

Karen and Jody, your class agents, continue to publish a monthly news flash for those with email addresses and to send birthday greetings and condolences on behalf of the class. We hope these efforts help us remain close and keep our bonds alive. A note, especially to those without email – please send us news; we want to hear from you, too.