Class Notes

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1990s

1990

Susan Crytzer Marchant
march66358@verizon.net

1991

Shannon Eadie Niemeyer
sfniemeyer@comcast.net

Greetings, Class of ’91!  I didn’t hear from many people this time; I hope to hear from lots of you next time!

Stephen “Steve” Miller married longtime girlfriend Melinda, and they live in a new house in Alexandria, Va. Steve still runs his IT business, MillerTEK, LLC, and produces art on the side.

Todd Stayin, wife Laura, and daughter Elle welcomed baby boy Tate in April. After leaving his job at EMC, Todd went to work at a Richmond software company in March. They sold their Reston house and moved to a new house in Richmond’s Salisbury neighborhood. Todd joined the Salisbury Country Club and looked forward to experiencing the area’s relaxed pace.

Diana Kelley made a fresh start, leaving 43 years in Northern Virginia behind and moving to Huntsville, Ala., with her two children. She is a senior analyst for ATF at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research on Redstone Arsenal.

I hope everyone is well. Please keep the news and updates coming. It’s always great to hear from fellow ’91 grads!

1992

Courtney Hall Harjung
charjung@hotmail.com

Thanks to everyone who sent news. Please continue (or start) to do so. Some of us keep in touch through email and Facebook, but this magazine’s format is a wonderful way to stay connected with Mary Washington and one another. I hope to see many more updates in the future!

In April, my husband, Tom, and I visited my family in Lexington, Va., and attended my cousin’s wedding in Mechanicsville. In May, we vacationed at Sandals Whitehouse, scuba diving, kayaking, and stand up paddle boarding along the south coast of Jamaica. We are still active with the Atlanta Outdoor Club and lead hikes and floats along/on the Chattahoochee River. I celebrated my 43rd birthday in June with friends and three days of activities. In the rainy weeks that followed, we remodeled our home’s exterior with new siding, paint, and gutters. The noisy construction kept our cats, Leo and Luna, hiding under beds and behind curtains. I stay busy volunteering in our community. In my second term as social director, I welcome new people to the neighborhood, organize fun events like bunco and supper clubs, host pool parties, and more. I’m also still the editor of our community newsletter. Tom and I were counting down the days until our week on St. Simons Island, Ga. After a work conference, we planned to celebrate Tom’s birthday and spend a few days lounging on the beach and exploring historical sites. We also planned an October trip to St. Lucia, our fourth time on the island, to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary.

Kate Stanford McCown; husband John; daughter Mary Ella, 10; son Jack, 8; and daughter Ashlyn, 2, were to move again this summer to Marietta, Ga. John took a position as a senior director of tax strategy for Home Depot in Atlanta. They’re happy to be closer to friends and family on the East Coast and to “get back to the Peach State!” They took a family vacation in May to Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Donald Rands Fuller was nearing the end of his assignment with the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. He is a Kiowa Warrior senior instructor and master gunner instructor and was awaiting a promotion to chief warrant officer 5 and preparing for another overseas rotation to Afghanistan. He spent nearly half of the last 10 years in CENTCOM (Iraq/Afghanistan). After completing flight school in 1994, Donald moved to Fort  Bragg, N.C., working as a junior Army aviator and living through not one but two “one-in-a-million” aircraft incidents unscathed. He moved to Fort Rucker, Ala., in 1998 to be a senior standardization instructor pilot, instrument examiner, and combat tactics instructor at the U.S. Army Flight School. He started overseas hardship tours in 2002, with an assignment that led to daily patrols of the DMZ in Korea. Next he moved to Fort Carson, Colo., where he spent most of his time assigned to the CENTCOM area. Donald moved to Washington state in 2009 and had a special assignment flying a year of medevac for the Army, but he found his years as an attack pilot had jaded his opinion of other types of flying, so he left that job with the promise of preparing another unit for a deployment overseas and headed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He hopes to retire in the Pacific Northwest and be near family in Boise, Idaho. He was to be eligible for retirement in December. He’s ready to leave the military – but not the lifestyle – behind. Donald is in contract negotiations for a post-Army civilian job flying in the Middle East on behalf of the Department of Defense, Department of State, and more, and hopes to do a two- to four-year contract before going back to Washington and hanging up his hat for good.

Marc Tate has been with Booz Allen Hamilton for 13 years and joined the SkillSource Group board of directors, helping individuals seeking employment and employers seeking a qualified workforce. This summer Marcus, 12, attended Boy Scout camp, and Maddie, 10, attended gymnastics. The family planned an August vacation at their Bethany beach house.

Edna Coste Borchetta, husband Gene, son Christian, and daughter Carriella looked forward to seal and whale watching and exploring the national seashore on their annual Cape Cod vacation.

Heather Martin Montgomery lives with her husband, dog, and cat, in northern Alabama, where she explores the wilderness and writes children’s books about nature. Her 10th book, Wild Discoveries: Wacky New Animals, published by Scholastic, was featured in the summer edition of UMW Magazine.

Tamara Tasheiko Tucker ’91 and lawyer husband Bill live on a small farm in Ruckersville, Va. Tamara found their indoor cat, Frosty, who is deaf, 13 years ago by a road in Fredericksburg. They also have a barn cat, Maybelline, who recently adopted them. Tamara competes in hunter/jumper shows and showed her two horses in Ocala, Fla., in February. The Tuckers took a ski trip last year to Stowe, Vt., and planned a fall trip to California to see Monterey, where Tamara was born, and visit family in Berkeley. She and Bill, partners in Charlottesville’s Tucker Law Firm, PLC, practice in the areas of equine and employment law, insurance coverage, workers’ compensation, and other civil litigation matters. Tamara stays in touch with Danielle Favreau Santos ’90, Heather Cawthon Deane ’90, Denise Mickelson Campbell ’91, Lisa Williamson Dargay ’91, Dia Pullen ’91, and Morey Oare. Over the last couple years, they’ve met up at Rabble Rousers reunion concerts.

Pete Chirico ’93 and wife Bethany moved to Vienna, Va., after 14 years in Falls Church. Pete has been a geographer at the USGS for more than 16 years, mapping natural resources in conflict zones and developing countries. He travels a lot but keeps ending up in places like Afghanistan, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When Pete and Bethany aren’t remodeling their house, they spend time with their rescued German shorthaired pointer, Reese, who likes to play Frisbee. Pete has run several marathons and half-marathons recently. The Chiricos get together with friends and family and are close to Pete’s younger sister, Liz Chirico ’08 of Alexandria, Va., who works for the Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C.

John T. Williams Jr. ’93 caught up with many college friends at the 2013 UMW Reunion Weekend. He lives with wife Ann and children Caroline, 16, Ellie, 13, and Carly, 5, in Onancock on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. He and his family travel and boat, and John T. plays golf whenever he can. He manages his family’s businesses, Williams Funeral Homes, Shore Crematory, and Peninsula Monument & Vault Co., and was named 2013 Small Business Person of the Year by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce. He was especially honored, since his father had received the award in the past. John T.’s parents, Peggy Gray Williams ’58 and John T. “Johnny” Williams, live nearby, and they spend time together.

1993

Cheryl Roberts Heuser
chatatcha@yahoo.com

Bethany Zecher Sutton
bethanyzechersutton@gmail.com

1994

Eric Robert Nolan, aka “The Man in the Green Jacket” (no, you will never live that down, Eric!), had many poems published this year in online literary journals in the United States, Australia, and Great Britain, including Delaware Sheets, published in May in Every Day Poets. His debut novel, The Dogs Don’t Bark In Brooklyn Anymore, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, was to be published this fall by Dagda Publishing in the U.K.

Len Ornstein was one of 15 teachers in the country chosen for an immersion workshop on the Marshall Plan with the George C. Marshall International Center in Virginia. He also was chosen for the Gilder Lehrman “Age of Reagan” workshop at California’s Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. Len ranked 4,475th in the world for ages 40 to 44 in this year’s Reebok CrossFit Open.

To celebrate their 40(ish) birthdays, Dave Kovacs and wife Mary Johnson Kovacs ’95 joined friends – trip organizer Dave Evans and wife Cat, Colin O’Brien and wife Jen, Dave Marks and wife Kristin, Chris Gildea and wife Amy, Matt St. Amand ’95 and wife Amanda Harris St. Amand ’95, Greg Urquhart ’95 and wife Wendy James Urquhart ’95, Brett Christiansen ’95 and wife Lilith, and Sean Forde ’96 and wife Lesley – in February in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

I apologize for missing a few deadlines over the past months. It’s clearly an argument for going to law school in your 20s and not your late 30s/early 40s! After graduating in May from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, I’ve been madly studying for the bar and accepted a clerkship with the presiding judge for Pima County in Tucson. If things go well, I plan to complete the clerkship in a year and move to the City of Tucson Public Defender’s Office. Hope all are healthy and happy! Don’t forget our 20th reunion in May/June 2014!

1996

Jennifer Rudalf Gates
jeni17@me.com

Jill McDaniel
jmmcdaniel@fcps.edu

1997

Michelle Trombetta
blondebombchelle@yahoo.com

Susan Lee Metzger, Elise Balkin Ice, Susan McAllister Walker, Abigail Baird Bartley, and Melinda DelVishio O’Neil had a mini-reunion in Fredericksburg. They toured campus and were impressed with the new facilities and the updates to Mason and Randolph halls.

Rob Edwards’ dramatic fiction novel, An Image of Us, centered on a love story (think Nicholas Sparks) and published by 1st Ride Enterprises, was getting fantastic reviews. Rob’s next novel, Purple Meadow, was due out in fall.

Jamie Simpson is director of meeting logistics for J. Spargo & Associates Inc., where she plans the fourth largest medical meeting in the U.S. She and Philip Stoneman ’94 of Vienna, Va., have been married 13 years and have children Kate, 8, and Jacob, 5. Phil was getting ready to be tour manager for The Dismemberment Plan, which includes members Eric Axelson ’94 and Jason Caddell ’93.

Jennifer Wilson Watson, resource development manager at Stafford Junction, a nonprofit that helps low-income kids, recruited and worked with several UMW interns this summer.

Becky Earle Middleton hung up her lobbying shoes and became chief operating officer of the Alliance to End Hunger early this year. She and husband Dennis of Arlington, Va., met through Jeff Seaman. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in November 2012 and have two children.

In April, Jenn Wood Shand and husband Mike of Alexandria, Va., welcomed baby John William. In June, Susanna Fisher Parker and husband Rob welcomed Robert “Bobby” Reid, joining Stevie, 6, and Caroline, 2; Crissandra Finno Domroes and husband Stephen welcomed Matthew Joseph, joining big sister Catharine; and Jin Wong and wife Libby welcomed son Tate Ju-Yung, joining big brother Kai.

Stacie Tarbet Carson, an elementary school assistant principal, and husband James of Athens, Ga., welcomed first daughter Anneliese in January 2011. That May, Stacie received her Ph.D. in middle grades education from the University of Georgia. Family and friends, including Corie Tarbet ’01, Chappell Tyler Tommasi, Ailie Byers ’98, and Wes Heuvel ’98, helped celebrate. The couple planned to welcome their second daughter in September.

Jackie Curry Todaro, husband Jim, and children Courtney and Jeremy attended an April wedding in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. Michael Hurt married Caroline Ball in May. Jeff Seaman and Jesse Freese, Mike’s friends since their Bushnell Hall days; Jeremy Blain ’98; Clint McCarthy ’98; Mike “Pasta” Paolino ’98; John Tani ’98; and Brian Lusk ’98 attended.

1998

Erika Giaimo Chapin
erikagchapin@gmail.com

With fall, the leaves shifted colors along Campus Walk, and a new group of freshmen started out at old Mary Wash, just as we did 19 years ago. That number must be a typo, right? Anyway, here’s a report of achievements, events, and general news. I email to ask/accost people for updates every few months. If you aren’t getting emails, contact me at the address above, and I’ll add you to the list.

Alyson Andrews Ramsey is director of development at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest near Lynchburg, Va. Anne and Tristan Daugherty-Leiter of Middleton, Wis., have children Griffin, MacKinnon, and Beatrix. They recently hosted Matt Galeone, Lara Fedorov, and Anne’s sister, Trish Daugherty ’03. Matt works at Lockheed Martin, started an independent publishing company, and plans to publish his sci-fi adventure trilogy, The Champion of Clarendon Ditch. Matt’s son, Aaron Christopher, was born in June.

Adrien Snedeker Dickerson was holding down the fort in Northern Virginia while husband Adam served in the Coast Guard out of Cape May, N.J. Kevin Adkins lives in Alexandria with his wife and three children, works at Forbes Media, and performs with his band, Icewagon Flu.

In May, Larissa Lipani Peluso-Fleming welcomed a daughter, joining Anthony and Deacon. She planned to leave Virginia, as husband Michael accepted a position in Raleigh, N.C. Larissa is excited she’ll be closer to Bradley Hopper ’99, Rick Oppedisano ’96, and Brian Daly ’97.

Sara Leedom spent the summer in Rwanda, working with the African Entrepreneur Collective, and was in India for a yearlong fellowship with Shell Foundation. Sean Tuffy and wife Lorraine are still overseas and compete in a recreational co-ed hurling league.

In February, Chrissy Harakal and husband Andrew welcomed second son Ryan James, joining big brother Alexander. Angie O’Connor Walger, a project manager with Capital One, where she’s worked for 15 years, and husband Adam welcomed son Connor David in January.

We spent a week on Martha’s Vineyard, toured colleges in Maine, and saw some of you folks down in not-at-all sweltering Northern Virginia. We subsisted on Darien Berkowitz Jacobson and husband Andy’s award-winning barbecue, met up with Adrien Snedeker Dickenson, and strolled Campus Walk with Katie Shea Britton, husband Craig, and daughters Emma and Claire.

Don’t forget to email me so I can hit you up for an update in a few months!

1999

Amanda Goebel Thomas
goebel_amanda@hotmail.com