If you prefer to submit Class Notes by mail, send to:

UMW Magazine – Class Notes
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

1961

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: Betty Meaders-Lynch of Seattle wonders about the whereabouts of Becky Johnson, saying the two of them used to find dates at the Naval Academy. Betty often thinks of roommate Maria Adela Rahola. She was to have been in Maria’s wedding, but there was an airline strike the day she was scheduled to fly to Puerto Rico. Betty has a 2-year-old grandson.

Bev Carlson Shea had 11-year-old grandson Eric with them for the third summer. University of Wisconsin Press was set to publish author/poet Kelly Cherry’s new collection of stories in spring.

Patty Cairns Hourin and Jim were to visit son Scott and family in Stuttgart, Germany, in June. Scott is on active duty with the Marines, and the girls, who still live in Hawaii, joined him for the summer. They all went to USAFA for nephew Jack Hourin’s graduation and Lake Martin, Ala., for a cousin’s wedding, and planned to attend a niece’s Alp-top wedding in Switzerland.

Jerri Barden Perkins sailed around St. Thomas and the British Virgin Islands in June and recalled times there with her husband. She planned to go on an Italian cruise with UMW alumni in October. She works in medical research, protects patients in clinical trials, and was invited to speak in January at two universities in India. Son Jack, a Roanoke, Va., physician, received the emergency department faculty teacher of the year award.

Mary Gilliam Dodson Larson said Joyce Gann Rush had been sick for several months and was recovering at a rehab center in Lynchburg, Va. Joyce and husband Carol celebrated their 50th anniversary last year. Get well, Joyce!

Sarah Leigh Kinberg has been traveling a lot, crossing Croatia, Ephesus, and Pompeii off her bucket list and visiting her daughter in France and two of their exchange students in Finland. She attended her 55th Maury High School reunion in Norfolk, Va., and spent three October weeks in Virginia and North Carolina. She and Tom traveled to France in June.

I continue to recover from my lung transplant last December at Duke. After eight months in Durham, we came home in April, but still travel to Duke about once a month for check-ups. The latest setback was sciatica, which had gone, and left hip pain, due to hairline fractures. I haven’t fallen, so I probably have osteoporosis. Putting weight on it is painful, hence I’m not getting around much anymore. I’m doing physical therapy and trying to gain weight and build stamina and strength. As the surgeon said last summer, the transplant is not a guarantee of perfect health – you’ll trade one problem for a different set of problems, but you will be alive! Andy has been a terrific caregiver, and my family, friends, and you, classmates, have been a great support. Thank you all! I can empathize with those who have been through rough treatments for cancer and other problems.

From ReneeMary Hatcher and Bill took a cruise to Alaska from Seattle on the inside passage to Ketchikan, cruising Tracy fjord, seeing the Sawyer glacier, and returning to Seattle via Wrangell, Alaska, and Prince Rupert, B.C. They spent a week in May in Upper Lake, Calif., tasting wines and attending lectures, then traveled to Angel Camp, Calif., to visit Yosemite.

Tomi Lewis Reneau, a Fredericksburg native, lives in Tampa, Fla. She was a day student from 1957 to 1960, but while living on campus, she met a young Marine on a summertime blind date. They eloped six weeks later and were transferred mid-junior year, and Tomi had to say goodbye to MWC. She and Cal were married 52 years and made it through two tours in Vietnam. After Cal retired from service, they moved to Sanford, N.C., where Tomi had her turn, owning a camera store, lab, and studio for 20 years, while Cal worked for Coty. They moved back to Fredericksburg, then eventually to a one-story home in Tampa. Cal passed away two years ago. Tomi enjoys bridge, genealogy, club work, family, and the Bodacious Chicks, a group of 15 gals who have known each other more than 65 years. Tomi counts MWC among the great things in her life.

Becky Paris Spetz of Lynchburg, Va., traveled to Italy in September 2011 and to Kingston, Ontario, in 2012 to visit Wayne’s brother and his family. They returned from that trip to the superstorm, losing a large oak tree and power for six days.

Debbie Phinney Wylie of Cheshire, Conn., had visits this summer from her son, Rob, and grandson. She expected Laura to come from Georgia with her four and planned an August trip to Maine with her sister.

Judy LaRoe Hare said this wet Atlanta summer curtailed her tennis game, but she was able to watch Wimbledon. In June, she attended the French Open in Paris, which had been on her bucket list. She looked forward to their annual family vacation on the Gulf Coast in Seacrest, Fla., where her son rents a place each summer to escape the Phoenix heat.

Sylvia McJilton Woodcock and Stuart want to hear from anyone visiting Williamsburg.

Peggy Howard Hodgkins was awaiting an August visit from Pat Scott Peck and Carolyn Crum Pannu. Peggy enjoyed time at the lake with a new summer book club, boat rides, watching loons and an eagle, and receiving visits from family. She even enjoyed some of the cooking, as well as short hair and being barefoot.

I’ve been feeling quite well. My hair has grown back in curly! I took leave of what’s left of my mind and agreed to participate in a clinical trial for a new breast cancer vaccine designed to prevent recurrences. Of course, I don’t know if I’m getting the vaccine or a placebo, but I thought a 50/50 chance of living longer was worth it. I also feel I might be helping other women. I get four injections each month. One drug is similar to a drug that stimulates production of white cells, which I had while I was on chemo. It made me quite sick, while the chemo did not. I’m also on an estrogen suppressor, which has many unpleasant side effects I could nicely do without.

To combat all this, I’m taking some interesting courses at UCLA Extension. I haven’t the stamina yet for teaching. Thanks to the responding class members. It really is great to hear from you. Keep well, happy, and busy.

From Lynne: Elizabeth “Bitsy” Wright Coxe wrote sentiments we all share, “The best news is that our own dear Connie successfully received a lung transplant. Through a great deal of courage on her part and Andy’s care (along with Duke!), she has weathered many storms and trials…. She is a terrific example to us all!”

Eleanore Saunders Sunderland first wrote that twin sister Judy Saunders Slifer’s multiple myeloma had actively returned, leaving her weak and in home hospice care, but in no pain. However, a few days later Eleanore wrote: “I very sadly must let you know that my crazy, wonderful, full-of-life sister passed away quietly on Saturday evening (July 6) from her most unkind blood cancer, multiple myeloma. She fought it truly well and had five sometimes difficult years. But she was always with a smile and an amazing joie de vivre! We plan a celebration of her life the last part of August. I will truly miss her.” We all will, Eleanore.

Lynne Wilson Rupert wrote that Jim passed away in June, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in April. They celebrated their 50th anniversary and his 80th birthday last year. They had a wonderful life together; memories, as well as her daughters and their families, were keeping Lynne strong. Our deepest sympathy to you, Lynne.

Carolyn Spell Robertson and Jim celebrated their 50th anniversary with a party, attended by all their children and grandkids. They planned a summer cruise around the Maine islands.

Kay Slaughter spent the fall of 2012 traveling and teaching with U.Va.’s Semester at Sea. They sailed the perimeter of the Atlantic − 14 port cities in four months. She traveled the Amazon and heard the Amazon Symphony in the Opera House in Manaus. Kay has two great-grandsons, and she is teaching land use policy, researching family history, and writing a novel.

Jean Ryan Farrell’s Singapore family visited for six weeks this summer. They planned their annual dive trip to Curacao at Thanksgiving. Jean and Frank stopped to see Connie Booth Logothetis and Andy at their Wilmington, N.C., home in April, while making a quick visit to her brother.

Marcy Pitkin has been through so much lately, when she should have been planning her 50th wedding anniversary. Her brother died unexpectedly, her husband was hospitalized for congestive heart surgery, and she had a lump in her breast. After chemotherapy, Marcy planned to go to her hometown in Pennsylvania for a memorial service for her brother and a reunion with family and friends, before returning to Florida for a mastectomy. She hoped for family time in Key West at Christmas. We’re all pulling for you, Marcy.

Sue Wilson Sproul and Dave spent a week in Park City, Utah. He attended a Native American flute camp and she spent time at the LDS Family History Center researching her ancestors. The forest fires had surrounded them in Colorado but had not reached them.

Jane Riles planned an art studio and painting classroom in the new addition to their house in San Diego, and trips to Cannes for her 12th art workshop and to Barcelona to travel by ship to Fort Lauderdale.

Aggie Welsh Eyster was in Berkeley, Calif., welcoming a new grandnephew and visited another grandnephew at Stanford. She shopped for handmade textiles in Guatemala, and in April saw El Anatsui’s monumental metal “tapestries” at the Brooklyn Museum. She visited cousin Jill Cusack Clay’s daughter, Bonnie (who is also my goddaughter!). Aggie had visits from her sister’s (Jane, MWC Class of ’57) kids and celebrated her daughter’s 50th birthday. She also planned to conduct Aggie’s Art Camp for her youngest granddaughter. Her closing statement was, “Life is good.”

Pat Scott Peck drove up from Miami to Calais, Maine, as usual, for the summer and said all test results in April stated she was tumor/cancer-free. Losing 20 pounds quickly during her winter ordeal left her a bit weak (and wrinkled!) so she was working out with a trainer three times a week and eating well. Carolyn Crum Pannu was to visit Pat in Maine for two weeks in August, and they planned to visit Peggy Howard Hodgkins and explore Boston before Carolyn returned to San Francisco. Pat and Carolyn flew to Barcelona last October and took a cruise from there to Nice, with many stops along the Italian coast, and up the coast of Croatia to Venice.

Polly Updegraff Champ enjoyed winter in Florida. They walked a lot, especially at several nature preserves in Delray Beach and Boca Raton. In Connecticut, Polly dressed the male ensemble for Sister Act and Catch Me If You Can, and the two leading ladies in Billy Elliot. Polly shared a bit of nostalgia: “I was recently reminded that the MWC ’61 yearbook’s colored dance picture of me and Beverly Sulpice ’62 and Bonnie Platt was used for the 1964 paperback edition of Agnes de Mille’s autobiography, Dance to the Piper. Not sure anyone else was aware of this. A. Wilson Embrey III was the photographer. I did some modeling for him during college.”

Sandy and I (Lynne) finally sold our condo in Boca Grande, Fla. It’s a relief not having three properties, but I am suffering a bit of seller’s remorse, as we have many friends there. During summer, we visited my sister in Dallas, and went to Cape Cod with friends and Nantucket with kids and grandkids.