Class Notes

Barbara Bishop Mann organized a June gathering of the MWC Lunch Bunch at Fredericksburg’s La Petite Auberge. Bobbi was joined by Sheila Denny Young, Pam Hughes Ward, Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner, Carolyn Eldred, Christine Brooks Young, Joan Cuccias Patton, Charnell Williams Blair, Anne Meade Clagett, Pat Lewars Pace, Dianne Twiggs Woodworth,and Pam Kearney Patrick.Chris and Charnell drove from Suffolk, Virginia, to surprise Bobbi. Jana Privette Usry planned to attend but was detained in a mediation case that morning. Sheilaspoke of her involvement with UMW’s alumni chapter in Fredericksburg and visits with her daughter in Colorado. Carolyn Eldred was considering escaping Northern Virginia and D.C. and moving to a Fredericksburg-area retirement community. Bobbi and Robert had just taken a trip to Iceland to celebrate Bobbi’s birthday. Pat and Linda Glynn Hutchinson planned to travel with friends to Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, and Bosnia in fall. Linda wants to organize local retreats with classmates at places like Massanutten, Virginia, where she, Pat, and Joanhave enjoyed tours, classes, and outdoor activities.

Cathe Cantwell Luria’s planeto D.C. for a conference was delayed and she missed the lunch. Cathe recently started the first Washington state domestic chapter of RESULTS.org, an international organization that fights poverty. Her husband has been involved for years. Cathe visited the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C.

Bobbi said Mary Lynn Murray Applegate contacted her in hopes of connecting with Joan Cuccias Patton but missed the meeting. They hope to connect after summer travels. Tyla Matteson,political chair of the Sierra Club Virginia chapter, couldn’t attend. She recently received the first individual Political Service Award from the Sierra Club national political team for her dedicated and exceptional service.

Pam Kearney Patrick and husband TaB, now fully retired, resumed ballroom dancing and planned a European river cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna next year. Pam joined the Potomac Valley Watercolorists and received an honorable mention in their Green Spring Gardens Show. She sent a poster from Carol Bingley Wiley – with a copy of her watercolor painting of a woman in orange against a red and yellow background – announcing the June opening of the Carol Wiley Studio in Jefferson, Maine. In July, Carol was one of 40 artists juried to participate in the 2014 Castine Plein Air Festival.

Sally Souder spent time in Orlando, Florida, with Gerry Sargent Habas. Theyate in Winter Park and took a boat tour through the chain of lakes.Sally sang at Gerry and Len’s wedding but hadn’t seen Len for a while. Their new home is in Baldwin Park, a planned community built on the site of the old Orlando Naval training base.

Mary Kathryn Rowell Hornerand husband Charlie have resolved never to spend another March in Northern Virginia and extend their winter stay in Naples, Fla. She’ll miss waitressing at the annual March needlework exhibition sponsored by Nellie’s Needlers at Woodlawn Plantation but feels golfing might be more enjoyable. After reminiscing about living in Willard, Mary Kathryn sent an item from UMW’s website stating that all Willard Hall rooms are now singles. When Charlie and Mary Kathryn attended a nephew’s June high school graduation in Fairfax, Virginia, she thought of our big day at MWC. She had a job lined up but wasn’t sure what would happen next. She did know, though, that she’d made friends at MWC that she’d cherish for a lifetime.

Katharine Rogers Lavery noticed a photo in UMW Magazine of the MWC band playing in the amphitheater at the 1956 May Day festival. A four-year band member, she remembered that Tyla Matteson,Cathe Cantwell Luria, Jana Privette Usry,and Genie McClellan Hobson were also there, under the direction of Dr. Lloyd Farrar. The article was promoting the restoration to return the amphitheater to its 1952-1953 appearance. Robert S. and Alice Andrews Jepson ’64 donated generously to the project and urge us to also consider promoting it.

Lee Enos Kelley attended Heritage Hunt Little Theater’s May production of Senior Follies in Gainesville, Virginia. One of the leading performers was Joan Cuccias Patton, who’s discovered a natural talent as a comedic actress. Lee praised her performance. Joan spent all of July in California, attending her high school reunion, visiting Lee in Del Mar, seeing her brother in Laguna Woods, and attending a family reunion in Newport Beach. Joan planned a fall trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Sandra Hutchison Schanne visited son Brandon and the three grandchildren she sees least often in Houston. She took a children’s cookbook to make a recipe with each child. The whole family went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to view the original 1217 Magna Carta document, on loan from England. Three of Sandy’s grandchildren live near home, and Sandy frequently travels to Denver to visit her daughter’s family.

Ginny Bateman Brinkley emailed a picture taken during her biennial Maui adventure in March with Ryan Stewart Davis and their spouses, kids, and grandkids. They finally introduced their “baby boys,” Ryan’s son, Colin, 40, and Ginny’s son, Brett, 42, who both are comedians.

Elaine Gerlach McKelly and Tim shared a house with 32 family members during their annual family beach vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey. Most of the grandkids are teenagers now. Tim and Elaine spent a week in Switzerland last September, followed by a weeklong river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. After their annual February warm-up spell in Key West, they went to Cuba in March with the People to People exchange program. Two of Elaine’s grandchildren are driving, and they’re all active in soccer, lacrosse, martial arts, dance, and cheerleading.

Kathy Goddard Moss and husband Tom took their annual summer trip to Spain to visit their daughter and her family. They celebrated their 9-year-old grandson’s first communion and visited the mountains and beaches of Asturias on the northwestern coast. Kathy and Tom also drove 10 hours to Ohio for a reunion with another grandson and dozens of cousins.

Robbie James East is settled in her new home in Southport, North Carolina. She traveled in May to Charleston and Savannah on the way to Florida to visit her younger daughter, a speech pathologist for Orange County Public Schools. Robbie marked off another item on her “bucket list” by visiting Asheville and Nashville, touring Biltmore Estate and the Grand Ole Opry, and taking a river cruise to absorb more American history. Robbie’s mother passed away in February, one month shy of her 101st birthday. She’d always been active, attending church and entertaining friends and family, until she suffered a fall followed by a stroke.

Kathleen Crawford Hoffman’s mother, Elinor Ross Crawford, died in June at 96. Sincere condolences to Kathleen and Robbie from us all.

Sandra Hutchison Schanneand I drove to Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, in July for an upbeat memorial service for Linda Spangler Berkheimer, who had suffered an aortic aneurism. We were joined by Eileen Goddard Albrigo, Ann Kales Lindblom,Sheila Denny Young,Charlie andMary Kathryn Rowell Horner, and Ron and Mary Parsons Black. The service, held in Coffman Chapel, was packed. A eulogy speaker, Mary Parsons recalled savory MWC moments, shared experiences, and examples of Spang’s uniqueness. Mary Kathryn compiled a booklet of our classmates’ spontaneous email comments and presented it to Betsy, Spang’s daughter. Spang’s sudden passing was a shock to everyone; she will be missed by thousands.