Class Notes

Greetings! I traveled to Egypt in January to visit the pyramids, sphinx, temples, and other historic sites. The trip was wonderful, but we were sightseeing during the Arab Spring, found ourselves in the midst of protesting and unrest, had a difficult time getting out of Egypt, and eventually were evacuated by the U.S. State Department – quite an experience to tell my grandchildren about. Our 50th reunion is right around the corner!

Linda DeAlba Filer has lived in Newport News, Va., since 1965 and taught in the local high school. After retiring from teaching and losing her husband to pancreatic cancer in 2004, she went to the police academy and is now a part-time detective’s assistant. Son Todd is a homicide detective in Newport News. Daughter Cindy lives in Charlottesville and teaches at U.Va., and Cindy’s husband works with graduates who live overseas. Linda’s cousin married Mary Washington roommate Marian Adams Spain, they live in Edenton, N.C., and Linda hears from her frequently. She would love to hear from other classmates, too.

Beverly Sulpice Persell’s 15-year-old granddaughter, Blaire, who lives in Temecula, Calif., visited her and her husband for 10 days in Alexandria, Va. They took her to the National Gallery of Art, the International Spy Museum, and the National Museum of Natural History, and they treated her to a scenic ride on a British-style double-decker tour bus. Bev keeps in touch with her Mary Washington “little sister,” Edna Knight Roberts ’64, who teaches French at George Mason’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Bev was looking forward to getting back to teaching after being housebound for two months with a herniated disc in her back and a pinched nerve in her hip. Glad you are recovering, Beverly, and, thanks for telling me about the death of Louise Dunn Fuqua’s mother in New Iberia, La. Our thoughts are with you, Louise.

Joan Akers Rothgeb enjoys babysitting her red-haired grandson, who lives in Richmond. She and husband Eddie traveled to Baton Rouge, La., and Florida, where she met for coffee with Beth Shailer’s widower. Joan, Gale Taylor Drew, and Sue Grandy Farrar attended the funeral for Betsy Carper Cole’s husband, Buck. Betsy was doing well and planned to spend the summer in California with her son’s family and to visit her other son on Pawleys Island, S.C., in the fall. Joan met Donna Floyd Parker and her sister this summer in Roanoke, Va., and was to meet Maggie Walker and Bettie Kienast for lunch in Charlottesville in July.

A correction from the last edition: Marcia Kirstein Fitzmaurice did not initiate TealToes.org, a nonprofit that educates the public about ovarian cancer; her daughter, Carey, did. Visit the site to learn more. Ann Tench and husband Jerry had a wonderful time at the Grand Canyon in May. Ann and Mary “Wolffie” Maddrey Isenhour both live in Emerald Isle, N.C., and see each other often. Ann planned to meet Helen Alexion James, Emily Lewis, and Judy Lewis Clark ’61 for an August mini-reunion at Helen’s place in Virginia Beach. Ann added that Sue Grandy Farrar was enjoying her museum work in Christiansburg.

Diana Copple, Nancy Powell Sykes, and I planned to meet here in Hampton for lunch in July, but circumstances prevented it. I hope things work out better next year; I still want to see pictures of that beautiful grandson. Kathy Clark Wary and husband Dick were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in August and reaffirm their vows in their church. They invited all their original wedding attendants, including bridesmaids Beverly Jacobson and me, to the late August ceremony in Stockton, Calif. Nancy Powell Sykes, Kathy’s Mary Washington roommate for three years, was to accompany us.

Patsy Barclift McDermott and husband Hugh took a Holland America Cruise from Seattle to Russia and experienced a 10-week odyssey, spending time in Japan and China; traveling to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Australia; cruising to islands in the South Pacific; and heading to Hawaii. Patsy and Hugh traveled around South America for 40 days last year, so they were glad to stay home for a while.

Liz Kennedy Thomas wanted to know the date of our 50th reunion, and Nancy Powell Sykes, who is on the reunion committee, assured me that it’s the first weekend of June 2012. Other committee members from our class are: Bette Stewart Kienast, Emily Lewis, Maggie Walker MacAllister, Jane Walshe McCracken, and Marsha Lynn Wilkins. Let them know if you have suggestions or thoughts. Ladies, please mark your calendars; I hope all of us will be able to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. In the meantime, keep me posted with your news