Class Notes

Greetings from your new class agent! I hope you will keep emailing your news. Those of us at our 35th reunion in June had a great time, thanks to Carolyn Roberts and Cathy Colbert, who chaired the reunion committee and did a great job! We hope to see a lot more of you at the 40th reunion, which Daphne Johnston Elliott and Jean Ellis Crabtree have volunteered to chair. Check out our Facebook group, “Mary Washington College Class of 1976.” Cathy has done the work on that.

Our daughter, Ellen, received her master’s degree in teaching from U.Va. and was to begin teaching second grade this fall with Fairfax County Public Schools. Sue Sendlein Luscomb came from Memphis to attend the reunion with me. One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Wegmans for the first time, and we had dinner there Saturday night with Betty Anne Gupton Teter and Jane Reese-Coulbourne.

Cathy helped Lucy Dee Kinsey get ready for daughter Kate’s wedding the week after the reunion. Kate is a vision therapist and new husband Philippe works in IT for Accenture. Lucy’s other daughter, Monica, is a senior art major at VCU. Lucy’s niece attends UMW and plays lacrosse. Lucy and husband Carroll planned to vacation out West this summer. She had a wonderful time catching up with classmates at the reunion picnic.

Carolyn Roberts married Jim Everett in February. The wedding was elegant and fun, and Judy Sledge Joyce and Jan Biermann celebrated with them. Jan said that anyone who wants to buy a 1903 Victorian cottage in Yonkers, N.Y., should write to her. Becky Adams Mauck is still married to Newby and they have children Lawrence and Cabell Layne, who both are married, and Andrew, who attends Hampden-Sydney College. Becky has taught preschool for more than 20 years and is now director of the school.

Gail Pullan, who has been in real estate for the past few years, moved to Atlanta in 1989 and loves it. Mary Ruth Burton married Rich McLain, lives in Richmond, and runs Burton- Fuller Management, which provides corporate training, executive coaching, and team development to organizations nationwide. Clients this year included VCU basketball coach Shaka Smart and athletic director Norwood Teague, who made a historic run to the Final Four! Her son works for Deloitte and lives in New York, and her daughter works for the Software Association of Oregon and lives in Portland.

Yolande Long does communications and coordinates the annual statewide conference for VOCAL, a non-profit statewide mental health consumer organization in Richmond. She received a master’s of social work from VCU in 1978. Her eldest daughter graduated from VCU, where her older son is enrolled, and her younger son is at U.Va. She has one granddaughter. She and her husband went to Hawaii in February and stopped in San Diego. Yolande regularly sees her son’s godmother, Melissa Baisch Face ’78. Myra McCord Lovelace missed the reunion due to the high school graduation of husband Jim’s daughter. She is the last one out of the nest and planned to attend Abilene Christian University. Myra continues to work in the chemical industry but hoped to retire at the end of the year, then possibly do part-time project work, giving her more time for volunteer work and art classes. Husband Jim works for a technology company in the oil field services market. He just returned from Russia and found Internet cafés in Red Square, which is quite different from when Myra visited 30 years ago behind the Iron Curtain. Daughter Leslie died in an auto accident nearly three years ago, but they celebrate her life every day. She loved butterflies and there is no shortage of reminders everywhere. Daughter Alex lives in Houston, so they see her quite often. They survived the relentless heat and drought in Texas this summer and were looking forward to fall.

Robin Rimmer Hurst was beginning her third year as an adjunct instructor at the UMW College of Business, teaching human resource management, organizational behavior, and organizational development and change. She is glad to be back on campus interacting with the talented Mary Washington students. Cathy Kroohs has been a paramedic with the Alexandria (Virginia) Fire Department for 25 years. Her big summer project was riding a bike for seven days and 454 miles across Iowa as a fundraiser for another AFD medic as part of RAGBRAI. It isn’t a race, just a ride, with lots of stops to eat Iowa corn and barbecue.

Rob Hall and I relocated in July to Saltville, Va., where Rob took the chief of police position. I am returning to Virginia to live for the first time since 1989. Stay tuned as I re-embrace the East Coast, family, and friends!

Edwin Brown sent news for the first time since we graduated. Ed majored in biology and chemistry and earned his master’s degree at U.Va. He has lived in Florida for 33 years, and he and wife Nenita have sons Aldren, 23, and Anjover, 21. He is an environmental engineer, having worked on pollution treatment projects in private practice, but has been with the Army Corps of Engineers for the last 24 years and works in marine biology on environmental restoration projects in the Everglades and estuaries. He deployed for emergency work after the Alabama tornadoes, and his hobbies are gardening, growing palms and cycads, and traveling to tropical places like South Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, and Mexico. Ed said Robin Pender ’78 of Stevensville, Md., is a manager with the Defense Mapping Agency and likes to balloon and travel.

Almerinda “Mindy” Campo- Thomas of Wallingford, Pa., has a private career consulting practice in suburban Philadelphia specializing in counseling, coaching, and résumé writing. She also is on the faculty at Immaculata University in Malvern, Pa., where she teaches adult development, employee selection and psychometrics, and other organizational development courses. She is single and has three sons and a daughter, ages 20-26. Mindy said Katherine “Nikki” Billos visited her from Athens, Greece, and they had a ball shopping, restaurant hopping, and doing happy hours. Nikki hosted Mindy in Athens two years ago, and they traveled all over the Greek Islands on an unforgettable whirlwind trip. Mindy has also been in touch with Liz Smith of Lynchburg, Va.

Kathryn Wire Weatherhead is science department chair at Hilton Head Island High School, S.C., where she has taught for more than 31 years. She retired two years ago but continues to work more than full time. She is an adjunct assistant professor in the biology and marine science departments at the University of South Carolina and a College Board consultant for AP biology and environmental science, presenting at workshops around the country. Her Advanced Environmental Science text, lab manual, and ancillaries won the Text and Academic Author’s “Texty” Award for 2010 for outstanding physical science textbook. She also has published AP Achiever for McGraw-Hill, Special Focus: Ecology for College Board, and other texts and online curricula, including the new eTextPrep for AP biology and APES.

Daughter Hillary, who also lives on Hilton Head with her husband, was expecting a child late this year. Son Tyler and wife moved to Santa Monica, Calif., so Kathryn travels west frequently. Husband Paul works for the USPS headquarters in Washington, D.C., and telecommutes from Hilton Head. They enjoy traveling and planned to visit Paul’s daughter, Lauren, in Argentina in October.

Maggie Jeffries-Honeycutt is a pediatrician at Child Health Associates in Warrenton, Va. Husband Don recently recuperated from major abdominal surgery, was in and out of the hospital and away from their medical practice for two months, but was back at work. A new physician was to join the practice in August, giving them some much needed time off together.

Betse Sharpe Trice, who attended Mary Washington from 1973 to 1975 and transferred to U.Va. to get her degree in special education, attended her first Mary Washington reunion in 2007. She was impressed by the changes at UMW and the beautifully organized reunion events. She had fun catching up with roommate Dana DeGroot Grobicki and many of her hall-mates, and she enjoys updates from friends whose children attend UMW. Barbara Moseley of Richmond’s West End has worked for about 25 years with the Department of Corrections, where she is an employee trainer/teacher. She counts the 40 or so children at church as her kids, even when they’re all grown up. Barb dabbles in drama for her church but said that teaching adults can be dramatic enough. She also writes and hopes to one day have a couple of her books published.

Pat Seyller continues to be a costumer for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis Opera and the Virginia Opera, which presented Aida in September. Kathy Haffey Bova recently spent time with classmates Terri Navas Slocomb, Melinda Peed May, Grace Matheny Lalonde, and Terrie Martin Dort, who have made a point of getting together periodically since most of their children graduated and moved out. Terri and Steve Slocomb invited Melinda, Terrie, Grace, Kathy, and their spouses for a June weekend at their vacation home in Deep Creek, Md. They boated, dined, and caught up with each other. Melinda and husband Tom were to host the same group at their get-away home on Bells Creek in Virginia’s Northern Neck in August. Last year the ladies of the group enjoyed a snowy New York weekend, the Broadway play Wicked, and lots of girl talk. Karren Mann has worked on her own computer consulting company, KEM Networks, LLC, for the past two years. Maintaining a client base is stressful, but not working for someone else makes a world of difference.

In April and May a group of Ball Third West residents, including Jody Nutter Amberly ’76, Laura Ann Ewers Cline, Kathye Baldwin Geary, Dana DeGroot Grobicki, Kathy Diehl Hartman, Jane Albert McGee, and Alison Stern Wood, took their spring break together on a cruise to Bermuda. Missing group member Lisa Lyle Wu was busy teaching and couldn’t get away. The trip was filled with laughter, relaxation, drinking, good food, and best friends. Jody and Dana both have children who are married and grandsons. Jane and Kathy have sons who were to graduate from college shortly after the cruise. Kathy’s oldest son was to marry in September, and her oldest daughter, Amanda Hartman ’05, got engaged over the summer. Kathye’s son was accepted into the Johns Hopkins graduate program. Laura Ann’s family cruised the western Mediterranean in February, and two of her daughters returned from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Judy Kemp Allard’s mother, who has lived with them in Mechanicsville, Va., since 2005, turned 90 in April, is sharp, and works circles around Judy, literally, in her wheelchair. Her only downfall is her arthritic feet. Youngest Jacob turned 13 in April and is in eighth grade. Judy said he is fun and has yet to hit the sullen teen stage. Melanie graduated from VCU in May, was temping as an instructional assistant with Henrico County, and had one more leg of student teaching before she could get her state teaching license. Christopher was going back into full-time food service at a new Mechanicsville restaurant. Husband Randy, a safety specialist, has been with Dominion Virginia Power for 24 years. Judy is “retired,” teaches middle school math remediation part time, and loves the flexibility.

Jeanne Weller planned a quick May trip to New York City. She is the Internet safety guru for the Virginia Department of Education, heads up several professional development projects for teachers, and reviews all division technology plans for the state. Husband Randy works for Altria, and they were beginning to plan for his retirement. Eldest Emily, 20, went to community college then transferred to U.Va., where she majors in Spanish.

Mary Ann Kennedy Kane recently earned a master’s degree in speech-language pathology with a specialization in aging at Ohio State University. It took 32 years, but she finally achieved her goal. She was seeking a position in a medical, skilled nursing, or rehab setting in Columbus. Grown children Allison and Bobby and husband Brian were to help celebrate when she received her degree in August. Mary Ann would love to reconnect with other speech pathology and audiology majors from the Class of ’79.

I want to hear from more of you, so email me at the address above and your news will be in a future edition of University of Mary Washington Magazine.

Vicky Wilder and I attended a recent meeting of Friends of Dance of UMW to discuss details of scholarships that were to be awarded in the fall. The Claudia Moore Read Scholarship and the Sonya Dragomanovic Haydar Scholarship are awarded yearly to individuals who are outstanding students, dancers, choreographers, and performers and who express an interest in dance beyond graduation and have participated in the development and work of the Performing Arts Club (PAC). Other Friends of Dance members who are UMW alums include Gail Conway ’86, Florence Ridderhof ’50, Rozzie Whitescarver ’71, and Kristin Gauta ’08. This year’s goal is to increase our involvement with PAC by inviting visiting choreographers. Vicky and I are also members of the Sacred Dance Ensemble of Fredericksburg, which hosted the July workshop “Dancing the Psalms,” attended by members of sacred dance groups around the area and country.

Our reunion in June was wonderful! Not one of us looks like we’ve been out of college for 30 years. It was great to see all who could make it and catch up. Everyone had a terrific time, whether attending for one event or the whole weekend. It was the first time since graduation that some had been back on campus, which has changed a lot but is as beautiful as ever. The highlight was the Friday night class party, hosted by Bill and Theresa “Terrie” Young Crawley ’77 at their beautiful home. Here are updates from a few of those in attendance:

I went to Italy for three weeks in May, spending the first two weeks at an Italian language school in Montepulciano in Tuscany and visiting relatives in Perugia, then heading south to Naples, where I lived in the early ’80s, and to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Jenifer Blair ’82 was in Southern California for a June conference and visited me and my family for a few days. JB is director of college counseling at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in Baltimore.

Eileen O’Connell worked for 17 years after graduation for two nonprofits in the Washington, D.C., area, AAPA and ICMA, before switching to the dark side and becoming a business analyst/IT consultant for iMIS software. She put down roots in Alexandria’s West End and is a weekend docent at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She has been catching up on travels, including a trip to Ireland, Italy, and Bermuda with her dad, and has a gaggle of family to enjoy, including six nephews and two nieces, ages 8 to 28. The past year held another adventure in medicine, as Eileen was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall. She finished treatments and was waiting for her hair to grow back and the last effects of chemo and radiation to wear off. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2002 but is now disease free.

After 21 years with Onondaga County (Syracuse, N.Y.) government, Lynn Shepherd Scott started work in January 2010 in senior leadership at Upstate University Hospital at SUNY’s Upstate Medical University, which recently acquired another hospital, so there is always something new to work on. Lynn came to reunion with husband Rob. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary and are young, hip grandparents, with their third grandchild due in August.

Rene Howe Brooks, who is on Facebook, and husband Mayson of Sarasota, Fla., traveled to Eleuthera, Bahamas, in July. Kathy Ramsey got a job with News Corp./Fox in Washington, D.C. Stephanie Amato Scheff teaches in Spotsylvania County, Va., is involved with UMW’s student teachers and master of education program, and enjoys running through Fredericksburg with her husband. Mary Chidester Jones, a third-grade teacher; husband Scott Jones ’83, a defense contractor; son Luke, a JMU freshman; and daughter Jesse live in King George, Va.

Laure Durbin Ferguson, an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay, and husband Mark, a vice admiral in the Navy, live at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Mark, who serves as deputy chief of naval operations for manpower, personnel, training, and education, recently was nominated for assignment as vice chief of naval operations and for his fourth star. Bridget Meaney Weaver and husband John of Alexandria, Va., have three sons. Mac works in New York, Tom is at Colorado College, and Henry is at St. Andrew’s School in Delaware. Bridget has volunteered for years for the Campagna Center, is on its board of directors, and recently received its 2011 Anne Culbert Legacy of Service Award, recognizing a community member whose dedication, spirit, leadership, and influence has left a legacy on an organization.

Mark Ingrao of Falls Church, Va., is president and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, is part of the “chain gang” on the Redskins sidelines, and umpires softball games. Last spring he trained softball umpires for the Army in Vicenza, Italy, and Nuremberg, Germany. Read about Mark and Eileen O’Connell’s heroics during the Bushnell Hall fire of December 1980 in Bill Crawley’s book, University of Mary Washington: A Centennial History, 1908-2008.

Bruce London, a Mary Washington sociology professor when we were students there, came to reunion with daughter Lisa London ’06, who works for UBS in Boston. Bruce’s son, Dave, was also there with wife Lindsay, who was Lisa’s college roommate. Bruce teaches at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

Cedric Rucker, dean of student life at UMW, heard from Bob Mooney, who is an attorney and chief compliance officer at Wells Fargo retail brokerage in St. Louis and has three adult children with wife Patty. Barb Heyl, who couldn’t make it to the reunion, is the chief physician’s assistant at a cardio-thoracic and vascular surgery practice in Maine, where she has worked for 23 years. Vicki Reynard Thorne of San Jose, Calif., also missed the reunion, as she was preparing for daughter Vivian’s wedding. Vicki and Kevin have four children.

I have the sad duty of relaying the sudden death of Charlotte Clare Snyder in June from complications of hypertension. Charlotte lived in Ellicott City, Md., and is survived by husband Mike and children Matthew, Nicholas, and Natalie. Our deepest sympathies go to Charlotte’s family.

Our middle son is a freshman at Tufts University, so only one son, Frank, a high school senior, remains at home. Eldest Tom is finishing his senior year at Yale. My dad, 93, spent the summer and fall with us. Work keeps us busy as does traveling, and I’m ready to downsize this big house.

Perry Roberts LeGaux and Elden LeGaux of Greensboro, N.C., are enjoying their time as empty nesters and traveling more. Daughter Amanda, 22, graduated last year from Western Carolina University, lives on her own, and works in advertising at Trone in Greensboro. Jordan, 19, is a sophomore in the music theater program at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. Her twin, Kelsey, majors in nutrition and food management at Appalachian State University in Boone and has aspirations of becoming a baker and pastry chef.

Glen Bell traveled with his family to Alaska, visiting Seward and Denali. His sons started fourth and sixth grade in August. Mary Ann Mayer’s bed and breakfast is doing well despite the economy. They participated in this year’s Topher Bill Memorial Scholarship Auction and their local Walk MS, donated rooms for servicemen and women to stay for free at their B&B in honor of Veterans Day, and enjoy giving back to the community.

Chris Landon lives in Fredericksburg, and his businesses, Landon Companies, LLC, are doing well. Wife Ronda has done government contracting for 10 years, oldest daughter Leah was to start VCU this fall, youngest daughter Lindsey is a high school senior, and son Tim works full time and is in his fifth year with Stafford County Fire and Rescue. Chris is involved with local history, in particular helping save Civil War battlefields.

Auby J. Curtis here, wishing the Class of 1984 a good year and hoping the next issue of University of Mary Washington Magazine will have a full page of news from our class. If you have updates about your lives, please share. A special shout-out to Dan Wolfes, Kimberly Daly, Blythe Stuart, Allen Cox, Lauren Ferguson. I have fond memories of my time at Mary Washington, mostly from the pub and dances; of course, the drinking age was 18 then (the good old days). My superb Mary Washington education jetted me into a wonderful career in the Department of Defense arena and has carried me into other endeavors, both academic and entrepreneurial. I am still working on my first book, Global Peace at Last, which I hope to publish this year. Email me soon. Sincere best wishes to all.

I received several long, newsy emails for this issue. Thanks, classmates! If you want to read them in their entirety, let me know and I’ll forward them to you. Meanwhile, here are synopses.

Charlotte James Young has lived in Murfreesboro, Tenn., with her family for nine years and teaches second grade at Discovery School. She is in her 17th year of teaching, after taking 10 years off to be with daughters Caroline, 13, and Catherine Ann, 10, who both are athletic like their parents and play travel soccer. Husband Phil teaches business and coaches cross country at the local high school. In November 2010, Charlotte was part of a 12-woman team that ran the Ragnar Relay, covering more than 200 miles, from Chattanooga to Nashville. Each runner ran three legs of four to six miles each, and they won their age division.

Patti Varner, a.k.a. Patricia Glenn Winne, lives on Tinsel Circle in Santa Claus, Ind. She actually enjoys experiencing Christmas 24/7/365 but hopes to relocate near family in Charlottesville and work in a private elementary school setting. Having been in education for more than 25 years, she has taught every grade from kindergarten to sixth and is now a library media/ technology specialist teacher for two schools. Her divorce six years ago, she said, was the best decision she’d made in years, though she is grateful for the daughters who came from that marriage. Older daughter Amanda of Northern Virginia was to make her a grandmother in September. Younger daughter Elizabeth was enrolled at Hollins University but had to withdraw for health reasons and will probably begin college again in Indiana.

Ann Marie Victor and Scott Stableford have lived in Virginia Beach for 15 years, raising their children. Daughter Seychelle (“yes, like the islands,” Scott wrote), is a photography major who was to earn her degree in art from VCU this year, and son Sean was to start at UMW in August, making his parents proud and eager to visit campus. Russell Berry is on the board of directors for the MetroTex Association of Realtors, which covers Dallas and Fort Worth and is the fifth largest association in the country, and serves on the Texas Association of Realtors’ Political Action Committee. Susan Waid Beard’s oldest, Thomas, was one of five seniors chosen this school year to be a Prefect, the highest leadership position, at Christ School, in Asheville, N.C.

Susann Lusnia, who still teaches classical studies at Tulane University, was appointed assistant director for the school’s new Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching. She is in charge of faculty development as it relates to classroom engagement. In the summer, she began a three-year term as director of the Classical Summer School of the American Academy in Rome, leading a group of secondary school teachers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students through the monuments of ancient Rome and surrounding areas. Kathleen Dwyer Miller lives in Winchester, Va., with husband Gregg, an independent contractor for Herff Jones’ Scholastic division, and their children. She enjoys her New Orleans roots and, with her eight siblings, helped celebrate her mother’s 80th birthday last spring with a big party across Lake Pontchartrain.

If you don’t receive my emails asking for news every few months, please send me your address so I can include you on the reminder list. We want to hear from everybody!

Thanks to all who made it to the 25th reunion; we had a wonderful time. Campus has changed a lot but is as beautiful as ever. It was amazing to see that the rooms in Jefferson Hall are exactly as we left them that long-ago May day in 1986! Everyone seems to be doing well, and a few classmates have children they’re trying to persuade to go to UMW. Kris Kabza coaches Mary Washington’s rugby team.

I have heard from a couple classmates who couldn’t make the reunion. Michelle Runge moved from Las Vegas back to Los Angeles, where she was pursuing a sales position with an international company that was to open offices in the fall. Tracy Greener Hollan helped run a children’s retreat on a mission with her children in the Black Forest in Wolfach, Germany.

I would love to hear from more of you, so please email me or find me on Facebook.

From Kim: I have been busy with work, making changes, and building the business. Ken and I also are working on another business venture that I hope will be finished soon. In July, I visited my hometown of Richmond for a week and spent time with Bev Newman ’88. My son, Chris, spent the summer at home and was to start his sophomore year at Oklahoma State in August.

J. Michael Good of Charlotte, N.C., went to Tanzania, Africa, in February and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. All five in his group made the summit despite 2 feet of fresh snow. Mike works for Bank of America, lives with his wife and three children, and is head cross country coach for their middle and high school teams, coaching more than 60 runners last fall.

Don’t forget, I’m on Facebook under “Kim Jones Isaac.” Your classmates and I would love to hear what’s going on in your lives, so please send updates!