Class Notes

It is with great regret that we report the loss of Diane Hays Neuman. She had been in declining health and finally succumbed to lung cancer in March after a heroic eight-year battle. We send our sincere condolences to her husband, her sister, Lynne Hays, and to Sue Smith Goodrick, Diane’s college roommate who kept us in the loop.

Many of you may know that our own Bonnie Davis Hall was completely blindsided recently by a surprise diagnosis of breast cancer. She has completed a successful lumpectomy and has undergone chemo and radiation treatments to be sure all possibilities are covered. As usual her reports are upbeat and cheery.  Such a special spirit makes her much loved at any time and she has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of concern and love from friends, family, and classmates.

Jody Campbell Close said she blew it.  All that hoorah about attending our 55th reunion and exhorting you to attend, and she didn’t get to go after all. As she stood on the three-step utility stepladder to reach over her head and lift her suitcase down for the trip– you see where this is going? Yup, she fell. She had a neighbor take her to the emergency room to make sure nothing was broken and she was told she should not travel for a week. She is fine now—nothing serious—but she missed out meeting with Pat Voelker Donnell, who came all that way at her urging, and Anne Angel McMarlin and Joyce Larrick Casey, who came together. In a phone chat recently with Sue Smith Goodrich, with whom she shares memories of high school and college, Sue shared with Jody that she is still enjoying her beautiful home and gardens and traveling to exotic places. She added that her main excitement for the summer will be a Viking Riverboat cruise on the Elbe River. She is so looking forward to another river cruise. She said the big cruise ships have their advantages, but the smaller boats and fewer passengers have a lot going for them too.

Pat Voelker Donnell said that Reunion was great fun, the campus was still beautiful, and the events well organized. She got to be great friends with Anne Angel McMarlin and Joyce Larrick Casey, who were there, and they exchanged addresses and emails. She said the new buildings were well adapted to the overall image that Mary Washington has always maintained, with red brick and columns and perfect landscaping. It was her first visit to the campus in years, and it left her with a feeling of pride and love for the college she had chosen. Pat belongs to the Delphi Group ,which is a body of folks who come together to discuss current or historic events and study issues, philosophy, and policies, each taking a turn at presenting an essay on a subject or person of interest. She reports that she has become the new editor of the Delphian newsletter and will be facing her own publishing deadlines in 2016.

Anne Angel McMarlin said that she and her husband, Bob, had a great time at the 55th reunion. She said it is always a special occasion to share time with her friend and former UMW roommate, Joyce Larrick Casey, and Joyce’s husband, Jerry. They enjoyed spending time with Pat Donnell and making her acquaintance. She said the new construction and restorations to the old buildings make UMW a beautiful campus.

Syd Collson Chichester reported no recent adventures, summer or otherwise.  She is just hanging out, enjoying her home in Fredericksburg and her longtime friends, etc. She won’t likely return to Florida until mid-October or thereafter. Syd spends much of the year in Vero Beach, Florida, where she volunteers at an after school program helping elementary kids with homework. She also works at the Environmental Learning Center in nearby Wabasso, Florida. She can be found teaching and encouraging at the “Touch Tank” where she says most of her visitors are first- through third-graders whose intelligence and enthusiasm are inspiring. Syd says she has learned so much just imparting facts to the little ones. She said it keeps her old brain on task and active! The Environmental Learning Center is putting together a nature trip to, of all places, Cuba!  She is tempted to sign up if she can cajole one of her close friends or her daughter, the arborist/ horticulturist/ landscape designer, to join her. She wonders who would have ever thought she would be even contemplating a trip to CUBA! In May, Syd joined friends on a senior bus trip to New York City. They toured a variety of memorable stops, and attended a Broadway musical described with many superlatives. Syd was especially glad to have a few quiet private moments at the 9/11 memorial in Manhattan, which she found especially moving. In June she visited with Grace Hall Sullivan, who shared freshman and sophomore years with us at MWC, and other friends to celebrate her birthday.

Karen Larsen Nelson went to Las Vegas in February to finally celebrate the long-awaited marriage of one of her granddaughters, and their four-year-old twins were their only wedding attendants. In mid-April Karen drove to Florida in their little trailer for the college graduations of son Jim and his oldest daughter, Maggie, both from the same college and both with degrees in secondary education. They made stops at various national parks along the way and also had a brief visit and dinner with Jody. Their return trip to Arizona was through, but not in, most of the bad weather in Texas. They are now ensconced in their summer home until fall, enjoying beautiful weather and summer friends. She, too, wishes she could have been at the reunion, but with the graduation trip on May 1, she was unable to stay on the East Coast for the whole month.

To those of you without email, a special note from Jody and Karen: We keep in touch by email with almost everyone, but about a third of you don’t get our monthly notes or our special bulletins. We want to hear from you, too. If you have an email address please send it to us so we can add you to our mailing list. If not, please write us a note letting us know how you are doing. We aren’t looking for you to report on receiving the Pulitzer Prize, but of course if you do receive such an accolade, please let us know that, too. We are happy to hear everyday news— what you are up to, clubs, associations, and family news. We miss you!!!!

And, to all of you, please continue to send us your updates.

From Connie: Jerri Barden Perkins wrote a very enthusiastic account of the fantastic job UMW is doing on its Travel Abroad Scholarship Program, which was presented at the Scholarship Donor Appreciation luncheon on April 11. She said that prior to lunch there were numerous impressive poster presentations by scholarship recipients. She reported that it was great fun to walk around and select a number of exhibits of interest to her, of which topics included Study abroad in Italy; Should women in workplace use sex appeal to advance careers?; Pompeii; and Deity/Yoga. From the last she learned much about the art work she has donated and more on one Quan Yin to be donated. What a delightful experience to see the enthusiasm and knowledge of these students!

At lunch the student recipients and donors were seated together which Jerri thought was a wonderful idea. Since she did not have a recipient this year, she was seated with a student who had studied for a semester in Paris. Jerri loves Paris and this young lady shared her passion for Paris and her experiences. Another student, who will be the first in her family to graduate from college, shared her Study Abroad experience with the audience. She was from Richmond and was scheduled to travel to Egypt, but Arab Spring forced the University to find her a spot in Jordan. Not only did she have incredible adventures, but Jerri was impressed that the University could rearrange her educational experience under extreme circumstances. Well done, Mary Washington.

Jerri is planning on four travel abroad scholarships this year: One for a UMW student in memory of her husband and three trips abroad with teen granddaughters. They will sail in the British Virgin Islands, go on a Mediterranean cruise with UMW alumni in October, and, finally, spend time in London and Paris for New Years. She said it’s a lovely trip down memory lane for her and education for four students along the way. She is excited about travel and thrilled that a number of Mary Washington students have the opportunity. Jerri, you inspire us all!

Bev Carlson Shea sends many emails daily, but says that she has no news except that Eric, her 13-year-old grandson, will be visiting from California for another whole summer. She adds that hopefully she will survive!

Carolyn Crum Pannu texted Pat Scott Peck, who was on her way to see Lloyd Tilton Backstrom and Art in Hertford, North Carolina, where Carolyn had a delightful visit in 2007. Pat is driving from her new condo in San Antonio to Calais, Maine, where she has a summer home. Carolyn was teaching until her month-long break in August. She just returned from Texas to see her grandson play baseball before all of that disastrous flooding. They escaped it, but keep those less fortunate in their prayers. She is excited about our 55th reunion, and will room with Pat. Yippee!

It was nice to hear from Nancy Brooks Blevins who wrote, in reference to her family’s upcoming trip to Greece, that they have a daughter and son-in-law living in Italy now. He is a Captain in the Navy. She guesses they will plan to head that direction next year sometime. They did get to Greece once with Dave’s cousin. All of her husband’s family live on the island of Cephalonia. She looks forward to seeing everyone next year for our 55th!

This spring, Kelly Cherry published Twelve Women in a Country Called America, a collection of fictional stories about Southern women that are all very different from one another.

The collection is available at Amazon.com or Press 53, which can be found online. She said she had a ball writing this book. She and Burke are fine, though feeling overworked. She asked if everyone does at this age. Yes, I agree, and I am not writing books!

In November 2014, Eleanor Knight Jensen and Cliff flew to Barcelona where they boarded the Seabourn Sojourn, which was their home for 116 days, sailing to Angola, Nambia, and South Africa, among other destinations. This was the fifth year they celebrated Christmas and the New Year on a Seabourn cruise.

Kelly had a nice chat with Ellen Gotwalt Willing‘s hubby, Bill. Ellen was out exercising, which she does five times a week, and now that summer is here she has added swimming to her regimen. For the first time in 23 years they did not spend the winter in Naples, Florida, because travel has become increasingly difficult for Bill. He was very philosophical about aging (he is 92) and is doing what he can to get by. He spent three months in a nursing home last year but is at home now. Even though his body is weak and his hearing is going, his mind is sharp and he credits Ellen with being an excellent caregiver. They occasionally go out to dinner and the symphony, and attend church weekly. He is sorry they probably will not make it to our 55th. They will be missed, as he was one of the regular husband attendees!

My good news is that my health has improved enough that all my doctors have given me the go ahead to go to Greece with my family from June 17–July 9. I hope I can keep up! It will be the first time for grandson Leo, 8, to meet the Greek relatives. For our first extended trip since my lung transplant, Andy and I went to Florida and caught up with Carlotta Croghan Clark and Janie Riles. Carlotta and hubby, Preston, spend six months in Fort Myers and then head back to Annapolis, Maryland. When they sold their lighting businesses, they bought a beautiful apartment in a community where they play lots of tennis. Janie and hubby Jim Dietz live bi-coastally in Fort Lauderdale and San Diego. They had just returned from a month-long cruise to the Orient, where Janie taught art classes aboard ship—all expenses paid! Janie will be teaching painting classes, gardening, taking bridge lessons, and enjoying her two little grandsons in San Diego this summer.

Let’s try to get a good turnout for our 55th. We aren’t getting any younger, you know!

From Renee: Well, it looks as if the only news for my column is my own. I understand that this time was a bit of a rush and I’m sorry that you guys didn’t write. But you will do better next time, won’t you? Mostly, things are fine with me. I had a slight meniscus tear a couple of months ago. It is a painful thing, but following my doctor’s orders I stayed off of it most of the time, iced it, and took Advil. He told me he expected it to resolve in a couple of months. I of little faith did not believe him! He was right, of course. It’s about 90 percent now and feeling better each day. Classes at UCLA continue—most enjoyable, and no tests! Cosmology/Astronomy is fabulous. I also take courses in writing, current events, and the career of Barbara Streisand.

From Lynne: Once again, thank you all for your wonderful responses, especially with the very short notice. I have very little to report about myself; actually, I think that is good news, as it indicates we are in good health and still enjoying New York City and Connecticut. We are taking our first River Cruise in late September from Paris to Normandy with friends. Sandy and I have enjoyed time with Lloyd Tilton Backstrom and Art several times in conjunction with the UMW Foundation. I adore their energy, and when I’m with them, I seem to build up more energy myself. They leave for Pompeii and Herculaneum in September, and it sounds like a fabulous trip.

Sandy Walters Julifs and Harold have four granddaughters, all of whom will be graduating from one school or another this year. At the end of May, one of the Illinois girls graduated from high school and will attend the University of Alabama on a track scholarship in the fall. Her older sister graduates from the University of Missouri in December. Their California granddaughters are also graduates—one from high school (attending the University of Washington) and one from eighth grade. Otherwise, they are fine and busy with their own various activities.

Kay Slaughter is visiting Oxford, England, in September to learn about the influence of English gardens and architecture on Jefferson. She posts travel logs and other items on her blog, http://rivannawriter.blogspot.com, and invites you to take a look. Kay had a recent arthroscopy on her knee but hopes to be healed enough to dance at her grandson’s wedding in Hampton in June.

Peggy Howard Hodgkins and I haven’t communicated much until fairly recently, as she seems to travel constantly. She needs to be away from New England during the brutal winters; I can’t blame her for that! I didn’t get to see her last winter, as she stayed in New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Scarsdale rather than Manhattan. After that she visited her brother at The Villages, a friend in Fountain Hills, Arizona, and her sister in Georgia, with the entire trip lasting two months!

Sadly, Polly Updegraff Champ and Dan lost his oldest daughter to liver cancer in December; she was 62 years old. They did, however, enjoy Palm Beach Opera’s season as subscribers and donors. While there they also enjoyed biking and walking daily as well as hitting tennis balls with the machine. Polly continues to work wardrobe for the Broadway Series at the Bushnell in Hartford, Connecticut. They continue to care for their cottage on the Connecticut River, although it is becoming more difficult for them.

Eleanore Saunders Sunderland went on a Viking cruise in September to the Bordeaux Region, traveling on two rivers through interesting countryside with chateaux and wineries. Then in May she cruised again with Viking, this time on the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg via Vienna. In addition, she traveled to Sarasota in February to celebrate her grandson’s 18th birthday and graduation. Sadly, Eleanore lost her younger sister, Patience, to a heart attack caused by emphysema. Losing two sisters in two years has not been easy for her, but she plans to be living a long time and has no health issues. We send lots of love and condolences to Eleanore.

In closing, I ask that you all mark your 2016 calendars to attend our 55th Reunion on June 3–5, 2016.

Many thanks to those who took the time to send any news in spite of new changing deadlines, the temperature rising, thunderstorms roaring, and so many power outages in our electronic world! If you do not use email, a phone call or postcard would be most welcome, especially sharing any new addresses or phone numbers. Enjoy the holidays!

Driving in the Outer Banks celebrating a family reunion with her children and eight grandchildren for the July Fourth week, Kathleen Sprenkle Lisagor suddenly received a call from her MWC National Dance partner, Sandra McGregor Craig, bearing the good news that she chats frequently with Nancy O’Neal Robinson. Nancy, who lives in California, says her newest granddaughter, Murphy, was born to her son Neal and his wife on February 1. Upholding a family tradition, Murphy arrived just before the Super Bowl kickoff, as had her mother! In the fall Nancy will be on the East Coast and plans to visit Jerry and Ann Tench Huml. The Craigs will be on the West Coast then!

Sandra is delighted to be teaching their 13-year-old granddaughter, Brighton, sewing machine lessons! Sandy’s community involvement includes being an appointee to the Historic House Foundation, which sets policies and raises funds for the historic museums owned by the city. She also had news of Carlisle Allen Pearson, who lives in Texas. She is the coordinator of the Austin area alumni network! Wonderful! It sounds as though there is a wide range of UMW grads there including two from 1962 through the class of 2014. Also, her daughter, Dawn Carlisle Buckingham, is running for State Senate, District 24! Sounds like a busy year ahead for that family! Best wishes!

Louise Couch Girvin and John have gone through much stress with their grandson, Albert.

He suffers with bi-polar disorder like his dad, and he had a serious episode at Christmas. With treatment, prayers from many, and home schooling, he was able to graduate and will attend a technical college. Their grandson Jonathan also graduated and will attend Eastern Kentucky University in the pre-med program. Their granddaughter Emily is a junior at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Education. Louise has always had a special talent in crocheting. She has joined a group of 30 women who meet every Tuesday to make afghans for nursing homes, baby blankets for hospitals, and scarfs and hats for the homeless. She sews labels inside that touch our hearts—WARM UP AMERICA.

For the Fourth of July celebration, Nancy Powell Sykes welcomed her two daughters to town to put the finishing touches on her downsizing to move to the beautiful retirement home in Newport News—The Chesapeake. Nancy had been a mathematician at NASA working with Kathleen Sprenkle Lisagor’s late husband, Barry, in aviation.

In March, Kathleen was invited by a special friend also from NASA to go with him to attend the Helicopter Association International in Orlando. He has a patent on strakes. Women in aviation were also a feature. Some of you may recall big sister, Eleanor Markham ’59, who earned her pilots license. She was a tribute to UMW for our time. The Convention Center was filled with an enormous amount of helicopters, especially the medical surgical ones, awesome for heart surgery. By coincidence, Peggy Downs Gerber was in Orlando with her family to escape the northern snow for a month, and a shared lunch was a special time to meet in the warm sunlight. En route home, Kathleen enjoyed a visit with Joyce Wilborn Lacy and Lou in their lovely home on Hilton Head Island.

Marcia Kirstein Fitzmaurice and Ed moved to Florida in late 2014. Their son had a lovely wedding in December to a young lady who was a soccer player for U.Va. and who is a marathon runner. Marcia, with her usual humor, said she was a new delightful type added to their family! Daughter Carey continues guiding TealToes to new heights, educating the public about ovarian cancer as she continues her own battle.

Rosalie Alico Turner and husband Frank continue crisscrossing the country with many trips seeing family and participating in speaking engagements promoting Rosalie’s books. She had a new book planned to come out in July 2015: The Winding Road. They sponsor a week long Civil Rights Movement Tour for 25 Texas A&M commerce students. Husband Frank headed up the Historical Railroad Museum’s gala opening in Tucumcari, New Mexico, his hometown.

Pat Mackey Taylor wrote that the Taylor clan is healthy and growing. She now has five granddaughters and two grandsons. She continues taking classes at a local college in their lifelong learning program.

Nancy Cheek Mitchell‘s son, who has been working in China, has returned to the U.S. and Nancy was looking forward to again having everyone together at Christmas. Her second granddaughter started her freshman year at Madison University in the fall of 2014.

A cute note from beautiful Barbara Elliott Adams! She said that she was an unmotivated student and seldom attended classes. She remarried and together with her husband raised five children and they are still madly in love! Barbara sold real estate in Houston and sculpted and sold expensive porcelain St. Nicholas figures. She is now a painting student and fondly recalled studying under Julian Binford at Mary Washington. One of his relatives lives in Austin and is now a dear friend of Barbara’s. She and her husband recently moved to a retirement community in Austin. At Christmas she was able to reconnect with her roommate, Carolyn White, something Barbara really wanted to happen.

In the spring, Donna Floyd Parker was able to be in Virginia visiting her sister. Donna, her sister, and her brother made trips back to places of their youth which meant so much to the three of them. They met Gale Taylor Drew and her husband, Lewis, and Joan Akers Rothgeb and her husband, Eddie, for a lunch filled with laughter and conversation.

Jeanne Craig Gough and her husband, Bob, had another busy year in 2014. Jeanne was in Jordan again for two weeks digging at the Tall el-Hammam site near the Dead Sea. They spend time between their Albuquerque home and their cabin near Durango in the summer to escape the heat. They also had a wonderful trip to Italy seeing cave houses, beautiful churches and temples, olive groves, and vineyards. It was a great adventure, according to Jeanne. Finally, they made a trip east and included a visit to the Mary Washington campus; Jeanne had not been back since the late 1970s and thus saw many changes.

With permission from Reba Calvert Bayliss, I am including information from a VMI publication that I received. The first Captain Paul Bayliss 1960 Memorial Scholarship was awarded this spring. This scholarship was established by brother rats of the class of 1960 at VMI to honor Captain Bayliss, who was killed in action. Captain Bayliss received many awards and medals for his service in Vietnam as an instructor pilot who then flew T-28s for ground attack missions. A wonderful picture of Reba and her son, Patrick, a graduate of the Naval Academy, was a part of the article, as they attended the presentation. A plaque in the Memorial Gardens at VMI also honors Captain Bayliss.

There is an old saying, “Good friends are like STARS. You don’t always see them, but you know that they are there!” Please keep sending news and making sweet memories!

From Linkey: First of all, I need to make a correction to the Fall/Winter 2014 notes. In my section under Anne Rasmussen Lyles where it says, “While attending her 55th High School reunion…” That was actually my news, not Anne’s. The correct version is, “I attended my 55th High School reunion in Richmond this spring. While there I managed to squeeze in a brief visit with Sally Tarrant Bernert and Nancy Lee Leidy. Betsy Chamberlain Hartz unfortunately was not able to join us, as she had to work and my free time from reunion activities was brief.”

While in Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2014, David and I visited Nemours, which was the home of Alfred I. du Pont. His third wife was Jessie Ball du Pont, for whom MWC’s du Pont Fine Arts Center is named. Do go visit it if you are nearby. I continue to enjoy AAUW (Dean Hargrove would be proud) and recently became a board member of the local Library Friends organization. David and I purchased a camping trailer last fall and traveled during the summer of 2014 to Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, etc. Prior to the trip I still had eight states I have not visited. Our trip was wonderful, but we only made it to seven of my eight missing states. I guess I’ll have to fly to North Dakota for lunch!

As for favorite professors, mine will always be Dr. Castle. I didn’t know him from the classroom but got to know him well because he was our class sponsor. I kept in touch with him until he died.

In January of this year we went to California and had hoped to reconnect with Barbara Scherberger Offerman in Santa Barbara. Kathy Friedman Levinson and her husband, Sandy, spent this past winter in California instead of Florida so the three of us were to get together for lunch. I got sick, so I never saw either of them, but they had a couple of months together to catch up. Barbara wrote later that her recent travels have been in California going to Sacramento to visit son Steven and his family. Barbara has twin grandsons and a granddaughter.

Betsy Chamberlain Hartz wrote that she and Nancy Lee Leidy drove to Suffolk for a wonderful candlelight Christmas program that Mary Saunders Latimer and her husband Art were in at their church. Nancy Gibbs drove up from New Bern, North Carolina, and has been coming to it for years. She said it was wonderful, very professional, and had a great orchestra and choir. Nancy noticed that Mary was the last one in and was front and center and she told her that she conducts if needed, so she is still very musical. Nancy said it was such fun to visit at a delicious reception afterwards, and she thinks they will make it an annual event. Also, Nancy and I celebrated a little Christmas gift exchange with Sally Tarrant Bernert and loved being together for pizza and a jolly visit.

In response to an email Betsy Lydle Smith sent about an article in the New York Times on the closing of Sweetbriar College, Susan Rutan Joehnk replied that she often thinks about MWC and wishes she could go back to that time when we were there—probably one of the best, if not the best, times of her life. She doesn’t think she ever thought we girls/women were inferior to boys/men, and we can thank our education and experience at MWC for that. When she applied to law school twenty years later, she was told that the school looked at college transcripts and because of the year we graduated, they bumped up her GPA a letter based on the quality of education in the 1960s. Lucky for her! Thank you, Susan. I think you speak for many of us.

From Betsy: Arlene Drescher Wilson of Nashville, Tennessee, had a great time visiting her “old” roomie and friend of 60 years, Betty Chilton Finkle, in March. They hiked to the beach at Big Sur, California, for a picnic. Arlene also had lunch in Nashville with roommate Julie Burch Southall and her lovely daughter, Sherrod. They had so much fun talking about their years in Virgnia and Bushnell dorms, each of them remembering different views of the same events. Julie has forgiven Arlene for playing the ukulele during exams, a guilt Arlene has carried for decades!

Meanwhile, life has led Arlene far from her major in Medical Technology. She asked if aging make us more right-brained than we used to be. Arlene is presently painting abstracts embracing elements of nature. See more with her statement of purpose on her website www.arlenewilsonearthwork.com.

For Lila Davis, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2015 has been a year of travel, from Florida in January; Texas and Utah in February; England, Wales, and Iceland in April; California and British Columbia in June; to Idaho and Washington in September. Lila still enjoys being involved with Girl Scouts and received her 65-year pin last year. She is active with her church and several other non-profit organizations.

Anne Rasmussen Lyles shared that on June 20, five alumnae from the classes of 1962 and 1963 gathered in Charlottesville for a reunion! They had lunch and spent almost three hours together. Those attending were Rosalyn Lester Murray, Clara Middleton Leigh, Lillian Ann Dix Smith, and Georgianna Malloy Hull, along with Anne. They were all home economics majors at MWC and went on into teaching fields at high school or university levels. Some of them had missed their 50th reunions recently, so they really enjoyed talking about fun memories, current-day happenings, and sharing pictures, etc. It was a wonderful time together and they plan to do it again soon.

Kay Barret Bilisoly had just returned from a week-long plein air painting trip to Spain. Their group was in Barcelona for two days then stayed five days in a beautiful seaside town called Calella de Palafrugel on the Costa Brava. What a rewarding experience! After being home for five days, Kay and Win were off to Charleston, South Carolina, to see their only grandson graduate from high school. Great family time!

Nancy Slonim Aronie continues to teach writing workshops on Martha’s Vineyard, at Esalen, Omega Institute, and in Costa Rica! She organized a tribute gathering for 107-year-old poet Peggy Freydberg in April, and Nancy was featured on NPR and in an article in Vanity Fair.What an inspiring story about an incredible woman!

Pete and I had a wonderful visit with Susan Rutan Joehnk and her husband, Karsten, in Seattle in June as they were headed to Alaska on a cruise. Pete and I will celebrate our 45th anniversary while sailing to Alaska through the Inside Passage in July on a large boat with five friends. The scenery should be spectacular! Between working part time, twin grandsons—who at eight months are thriving after a very difficult beginning—granddaughters, my mom—who is now 97 and has macular degeneration, deafness, and dementia—I, like so many of us, am trying to balance my life.

I recently began a program called Strolls for Well-Being at the Bloedel Reserve, which is 150 acres of gardens and forest trails on Bainbridge Island. The program was developed in Florida at the Morikami Gardens, with twelve healing walks incorporating themes such as Awareness, Connection, Transition, Forgiveness, Joy, Gratitude, and Fulfullment. I love that our generation is working at aging mindfully. I’ll also go on a week-long annual retreat in August with my women’s group of 10 women—we’ve been getting together since 1995! It’s hard to get us all together, as we live in such places as Cook Islands, Namibia, Portland, Oregon, British Columbia, and Washington State.

Just FYI, some things are changing with the UMW Magazine due to the rise in printing costs. For those of you who have email addresses registered with the Alumni Office, you will receive Betsy’s and my uncut class notes. The Alumni Office will be shortening what is printed in the magazine. So, if you don’t have email, you may want to get it. If you’d like a reminder with some photos of class members emailed to you before the next deadline, email Betsy. We won’t inundate you or send anything else. Thanks to all who sent news. Let’s hear from more of you!

Thank you to all who attended our 50th reunion. There were 75 registered from our class, which was the most of any class attending.  In all, 700 attended Reunion Weekend, which was the largest number ever! Penny Partridge Booth and Margaret Winton Engvall coordinated all of the events for the reunion with the staff. Their efforts were wonderful and it was truly an outstanding weekend. Penny built a telephone booth with the help from a contractor in North Carolina and had two mannequins dressed like ladies from the 1960s, including one wearing my MWC blazer. They represented the student who had phone duty and the one getting a call. There was a Maxine character with an iPhone representing how we look today! In addition, she made poster boards with all of the bios and selfies our classmates sent prior to the reunion. There was a huge banner on the front of the tent saying, “Connecting with the Class of 1965.” To no one’s surprise, our tent won first prize in the competition.

The weekend was full of great activities and we were thrilled that Nan Grogan Orrock was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the UMW Alumni Association for her work as a civil rights activist and senator in the Georgia State Assembly. As far as who traveled the farthest to attend, Susan Hand Longfellow came from Seattle and Pat Hartman Brownlee came from near San Jose, California—we weren’t sure which was farther from Fredericksburg. As those of you who are on my mailing list know, I had solicited bios with selfies prior to the reunion. With the help of the Mary Washington staff, Penny and Margaret produced booklets of these for everyone who came. When we read them, we were all amazed and proud of the accomplishments of our classmates! I will send the pdf file of that booklet to everyone on my mailing list. If you are not currently on the list, please email me so that I can send it to you, too!

Barbara “Bobbi” Bishop Mann and her husband, Bob, were on the road for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. They attended a gathering of the Bishop Clan at Bobbi’s brother’s home in

Greensboro, North Carolina, where they had dinner on their mother’s old dining table—sweet memories! In mid-December the Manns visited Bob’s sister and brother-in-law in Huntsville, Alabama, and enjoyed dinner with Bob’s nephews and their families. From there they went to Bob’s other sister’s home for more Christmas festivities, food, and conversation. After a long ride back home, Bobbi and Bob ordered take out for Christmas dinner, probably starting a new Mann tradition: Christmas burritos!

In January, Bobbi met with Linda “Toddy” Puller ’67 in her office in Richmond’s General

Assembly Office Building as the Virginia General Assembly was convening. Senator Puller served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992–1999 and was then elected to the

Virginia Senate in November of 1999, where she has since represented parts of Fairfax and

Prince William Counties. After turning 70, with her family’s blessing, she announced her decision not to run for re-election. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine commended Toddy for her “tireless advocacy for initiatives such as property tax exemptions for disabled veterans and Virginia’s Wounded Warriors Program.”

Bobbi also received a nice letter from Milena Van Sant, our beloved Dr. George Van Sant’s widow, in which she commented on the Virginia General Assembly, adding that Dr. Van Sant had been honored posthumously by a group of Virginia Republicans. They had sent her a commendation citing his serving as the Chairman of the Fredericksburg Area Democratic Committee. She responded with a note of thanks plus a wish that their welcome bi-partisanship could continue in the future. Mrs.Van Sant continues to enjoy life with many family members and friends, one of whom is the retired Episcopal Bishop of Texas. At age 91 he was performing the baptism of his great-grandson and included Milena as a family member. She was certain Dr. Van Sant was smiling down on the ceremony. For Christmas, Mrs. Van Sant visited her family in Roanoke and is eager to see the entire clan in the Outer Banks next summer.

Carolyn Eldred has become part of the second fastest growing area in Virginia—Fredericksburg—which has seen a 15 percent increase in population this past year. Carolyn contracted a new home near the UMW Stafford Campus and has been quite excited with the home’s construction, enjoying the progress of roof, walls, windows, doors, plumbing, electricity, and HVAC. The closing was scheduled for mid-February and Carolyn was all set to move from Silver Spring, Maryland, to her new home in Fredericksburg.

Nancy Dean Wolff wrote from Seattle, Washington, that she enjoys reading about her classmates almost as much as she loves following the Seahawks. Her husband of 42 years passed away in 2010 from cancer. The following year Nancy was in line for a knee joint replacement, foot surgery, and was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. She is recovering from the surgeries and is looking forward to walking easily again. Nancy is planning to come east next summer to visit her Virginia relatives.

Ann Kales Lindblom joined the Senior Fitness “Never 2 Late” class at Joint Base Fort

Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, and was surprised to find Katharine Rogers

Lavery and her husband, Hank, there also. Ann took a couple of weeks off in January to travel to San Diego, California, to help a dear friend celebrate her 90th birthday. The weather there was “perfect” as opposed to the unseasonably cold weather at home. About that same time, Katharine’s niece Lacy Katharine announced her engagement with plans for a summer wedding. Since Katharine makes bridal gowns for family members, she and Lacy are already designing a unique custom creation. In December, Katharine treated her North Carolina daughter and three granddaughters to a trip to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. After touring the premises, they attended The Gift of Nothing, a creative musical in the Family Theater based on the book of the same title by the cartoonist Patrick McDonnell. The cartoon characters from Mutts came alive onstage and delighted the entire audience.

Peggy Beeler Burns manages to “keep busy and stay out of trouble!” She travels from

Florida to Washington, D.C., every three months to visit her young grandchildren and she catches up with roomie Pam Kearney Patrick while there. Last fall Peggy became a

Guardian Ad Litem, a court-appointed spokesperson for neglected, abused, or abandoned children. She has found it to be a very rewarding and eye-opening experience to learn how many children exist in pathetic, sometimes dangerous situations, and she hopes to be able to speak strongly and effectively enough to give her children/cases a chance to overcome their plight. Because there are twice as many at-risk children in Florida as there are Guardians, Peggy hopes this national program will grow to meet its great need.

Linda Mitchell Spiers continues to serve as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church,

Collinsville, Connecticut, and she maintains a very busy schedule there. Besides her regular duties and activities, she is chair of the Connecticut’s Deputation for General Convention, which will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, in July. After the General Convention, Linda will begin a three-month sabbatical and will travel to Virginia and Maryland to visit family and friends. As part of her sabbatical, she will also study in Jerusalem at St. George’s College for 10 days doing coursework called “The Children of Abraham,” in which she will learn more about Christians, Jews, Muslims, and interfaith dialogue. Linda also plans to spend some time on retreat and then to work on her project for her Doctor of Divinity degree. She completed all of her D.Min. courses at Hartford Seminary a few years ago but must complete her project and thesis to receive her degree.

Annette Maddra Horner had a quiet, domestic year in 2014, spending lots of time with friends, family, and especially their young grandchildren, ages 16 months to seven years, while living in Mooresville, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia. She routinely sees Mary Parsons Black, another resident of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and the two couples enjoy happy times together. Annette and John took two trips last summer, both for weddings; one was in Durango, Colorado, and the other in Prague! Although Prague was a beautiful European experience, Annette would prefer a return trip to Durango, where she can enjoy the wild west, now civilized with a good French restaurant and close enough to another favorite city, Santa

Fe, New Mexico, for a fun visit.

Dianne Twiggs Woodworth had a big year 2014, mostly revolving around the celebration of her 70th birthday in September. In March her wonderful husband, Chuck (aka Mr. Master of Surprises) promised her a birthday gift she had been wanting for years. They spent months planning a magnificent trip to Heidelberg, Germany, where Dianne and her Army husband lived when their son, Scott, was born. Dianne has always wanted to take Scott there to see his birthplace, so Chuck arranged for Scott and his wife to travel with them to Heidelberg, Rome, Venice, Munich during Oktoberfest, and Paris. They collected many memories and mementos over a grand two weeks. In August, close to Dianne’s actual birthday, Chuck took her to a wine tasting which turned out to be a total surprise party with her dearest friends and relatives. A high school classmate and an MWC classmate, Diane Sheehan Green, were also in attendance for a wonderful evening of fun, food, laughter, and dancing.

Terry Caruthers spent an eventful 2014 loving life at Lake Norman, North Carolina, where she is president of the Golden Girls, a social club with 250 members. Her husband, Don, still plays the saxophone with the Lake Norman Big Band Jazz Band. They took time out last summer for a fantastic trip to Russia. A good friend from high school, Henry, was widowed and then did a series of mission trips to Russia, where he met and married a Russian professor, Ludmila. Henry and Ludmila arranged a wonderful, inexpensive, two-week, adventure-packed trip for a group of their high school friends. Terry and eight others spent 10 days in Moscow and

St. Petersburg. A highlight of the trip was attending the Swan Lake ballet in the Winter Palace.

Later, Terry and Don spent a week in Marco Island, Florida, with neighbors and a week in

Hilton Head, South Carolina, with family. Terry’s big excitement there was getting caught in a rip tide, being carried 450 yards out into the ocean, and narrowly escaping drowning. She recovered from the scare and is looking forward to her grandson’s early high school graduation in January, thinking that must be impossible since she feels as if she only just graduated! Life is good.

Diana Hamilton Cowell and her husband, Dan, have at last sold their great home in

Huntington, West Virginia, and count their 15 years there by the many blessings and friendships they still have. Both Diana and Dan served on the Board of the Parents’ Club at WVU while their son was a student there and appreciated the openness and involvement of the professors plus the quality of education. Now in Bethany, Delaware, they have filled their calendars with volunteering, community activities, and travels, although they are now fully retired.

In May they attended the 75th reunion of the USMA Class of ’39 with Diana’s MWC roommate, Margaret Winton Engvall ’65, and her family, commemorating their fathers’ time as West Point cadets and reliving many memories of going there with them. Diana traveled to France in July for ceremonies pertaining to Bethany’s sister city, Periers, and afterwards she and Don took a vacation out west with friends to visit the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Yellowstone Park, and Salt Lake City.

A few days before the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust, Susan Roth Nurin had a unique experience as a volunteer at a luncheon for Holocaust survivors in Brooklyn, New York. It was hosted by several organizations which support the Jewish elderly. Susana was there to help serve the food and interact with the survivors, who are often lonely and, in many ways, needy. She was very aware of passing out plates laden with all kinds of tasty foods to those who had lived close to death in Nazi camps with agonizing hunger and deprivation. It touched Susana deeply to listen to their chatter in Yiddish, a language she hadn’t heard conversationally since her childhood. She found herself calling out to them “Es, es (Eat, eat). We have plenty of food,” surely words they never heard in the camps. Soon the musicians came and struck up all the Yiddish songs from everyone’s childhood and the elderly survivors slowly rose from their chairs and began to dance! Susana was moved to tears to see that after all the unthinkable horrors of their earlier lives, they could still find happiness in dancing. She kissed them all and wished them many years of health and joy ahead.

Nancy Shackelford Jones and her husband, James, celebrated the marriage of their daughter Alexandra this past June. Alexandra Shackelford Jones and Nicholas Yates Thorne were married on June 6 by The Rev. John E. Miller, Rector, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. Alexandra is a Master of Business Administration candidate at Harvard Business School, having spent her early career at Lazard Freres and NBC Universal. She graduated from Yale University, where the couple first met. Nicholas is the CEO of Basno, Inc., a business he founded in 2010 to change the way learning, skills, and accomplishments are certified. He graduated magna cum laude from Yale University.

Nancy is a docent emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a past President General of The Colonial Dames of America. James is a senior counsel in Richmond for Hunton & Williams, LLP, and was formerly the founder and managing partner of the law firm’s New York City practice.

Cary Jones Carlson writes that she and her husband, Ed, have been retired from the National Park Service for over twenty years. They met at the Grand Canyon where he was a ranger and she was a naturalist; then they worked at Sequoia, Joshua Tree, and Pinnacles National Parks. They retired to Santa Fe and after a dozen years moved to Salida, Colorado, a small, artsy, outdoor town in the Rockies. Cary has become a landscape oil painter. She hikes all summer and skis in winter. She says that sometimes she’s reminded of the fun MWC Outing Club activities (hiking, skiing, canoeing, and caving) that shaped her love of the outdoors. Before and during retirement, she and Ed owned motorcycles and campers for touring all over the country, mostly to national parks. In September 2014 it was wildlife quests in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.  In early 2015 it was bird watching and beaches along the Texas gulf coast. Unfortunately, now Ed is fighting cancer, so they are traveling a whole new and not chosen road. Cary encourages others from our class who haven’t done so to send in a note with updates.

Yvonne Milspaw writes that she is finally retiring this year after about 42 years of teaching college. She’s looking forward to practicing the three Ns—Novels (reading them), Napping (taking them whenever), and kNitting. She and her husband, Doug Evans, are looking forward to some leisurely travel and quiet visits with their grown children. Yvonne’s new email address is yvonnemilspaw@yahoo.com.

Nancy McDonald Legat and her husband, Dan, celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary in June 2015 and are enjoying so much being retired together. Their three daughters, three sons-in-law, seven grandchildren, grandson-in-law, and two great-grandchildren all live in South Carolina, so they get to spend great times together often.

Carol Muldoon Martel was the keynote speaker for the UMW Scholarship Donor Appreciation Luncheon in April. She spoke about her experience as a student living abroad as well as her career in international business. Carol and her husband, Carlos, have established a UMW scholarship for International Studies.

Rhoda “Dodo” Fisher Roberts has lived in Wilton, Connecticut, for 43 years and is still fully employed at UBS. She enjoys traveling for both work and pleasure and spends as much time as possible on Nantucket. Her daughter Nell was married in June. Both daughters live in New York, so she sees them often. If Plan A happens (retiring at age 70), Dodo looks forward to downsizing—despite the frightening thought of clearing out the basement—and having more time to travel.

After many years of leadership roles in the Garden Club of Alexandria, Sally Guy Lynch Brown was awarded the Massie Medal for Distinguished Achievement at a ceremony in Norfolk last May. She has previously served as president of the Garden Club of Virginia and is now a board member of Preservation Virginia as well as a benefactor and volunteer for Mount Vernon, Stratford Hall, and Menokin Plantation. She has also won numerous other horticulture awards. Congratulations, Sally!

Pam MacPhee Gibert and Paul are head-over-heels in love, not just with each other but also with their first grandchild, Caroline, born in April. They were sure they would never be grandparents so they had “adopted” a few grandchildren of friends. Then their son met and married the love of his life, and they delivered this beautiful baby girl. Pam says, “Life is good!”

Suzy Blankenship Capone and her husband, Cap, work in Boston at their insurance companies and head to Connecticut on weekends to play golf and see friends and family, especially their favorite 10-year-old grandson. Cap is a grateful survivor of 9/11; he was in the second tower of the World Trade Center. The Capones have built a house in Southport, North Carolina, to escape the Boston winters. They travel frequently with friends, and are amazed at how many beautiful European countries there are where one can play bad golf! Suzy wishes all classmates many more years of health and happiness.

Jill Robinson Burkert is an Associate Professor and Program Director in Special Education at the University of Alaska Southeast, and her grandson is finishing his degree there as well. She flies throughout the state providing support to teachers in remote Alaskan native villages. She is chronicling her adventures, which may be compiled into a future book. Jill was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Disabilities—a statewide advocacy group—and volunteers as a court-appointed advocate for kids going through the judicial system. She loves her work and plans to continue as long as she can still climb into those small planes.

Susan Blosser Wight and her husband, Richard, are world travelers—New Zealand and Capri in 2015—and devoted golfers. She is a longtime member of the Garden Club of Virginia and is also a flower arranger and a flower show judge. Susan graciously hosted a small gathering of ’68ers in June at her home in Virginia Beach.

Anne Tooke’s big news is a new puppy—a Gordon Setter—and she finds her new life to be “exhausting, but joyous.” Anne and Brooks are retired and live in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Judy Boyce Perry and Steve live in Portsmouth and enjoy traveling, most recently to Italy. Judy has had her own interior design business for 15 years. She is on the Board of the Elizabeth River Project and on the Garden Club of Virginia Restoration Committee, which oversees landscape restoration of historic Virginia gardens. Judy loves to garden, arrange flowers, and get together with Mary Washington friends.

Pam Tompkins Huggins and Jim added a grandson and granddaughter to their fold this year, bringing the total to five. One daughter lives in Virginia, one in North Carolina, and one in California. Jim is now a fully retired radiologist and enjoys his volunteer work with hospice. Pam has been a community volunteer for 32 years. She’s now declining roles that require meetings and is spending more time on the projects she is passionate about–education and advocacy for the underserved in the Staunton area. She is active in her church and is also part of a speaker’s bureau. Pam says, “Like Nora Ephron, I hate my neck, my barnacled skin, my belly… and I’m thinking of removing the mirror in my bathroom. But I’m loving my life and am beyond grateful for my blessings, among which are all of you. Class of ’68 rocks!”

We would love to see your name in this column next time! Submitted by Sally Monroe Kelly (sallykelly521@gmail.com) and Donna Sheehan Gladis (dsgladis@gmail.com).

Mary Wash’s Class of ’69 is still “rocking and rolling.”

Most of us in this class are debating about going to our 50th high school reunion this year. Phyllis Newby Thompson had a blast at hers this past month in Southboston, Virginia, and she has a great photo on Facebook with herself and Carol Greenwood Trejo, Karen Dyer Kessler and Betsy Crews Nelson. They all attended Halifax County High School. You would never know they are grandmothers from looking at the photo!

My spouse of 36 years, Ann Benson, suggested that she and I kick off a Class of ’69 UMW scholarship based on need and merit, as I benefited so greatly from the scholarships I received while attending Mary Wash. So, we are kick starting it and I hope all of my ’69 classmates will participate, no matter how small or large, by 2016 so we can actually meet our first calls of ’69 scholarship recipients when we are at our 50th college reunion in 2019. Now that I am retired and have sold my company to 42 employees, Ann and I are doing folk music concerts again like we did 35 years ago in Dallas before we moved to California. We have a five piece band called “More Joy,” and we sing at least one protest song per concert. It is in our blood.

Regina Sneed is in San Francisco and is excited about the legacy scholarship. She attended the UMW alumni dinner for Northern California just recently. Regina is enjoying her retirement from her position as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education.

Suzanne McCarthy Van Ness went on a two-week Mediterranean cruise with UMW roommate Barbara Macon Sacha and her husband, Tom, last fall. Suzanne and I have been actively involved with a much younger alum in getting the Northern California UMW chapter up and running.

Berry Wade Perry went on a pilgrimage to Guatemala sponsored by the Seekers Church in D.C. They built a library and communications center in a mountain village while staying in Antigua.

Lyn Gray Holmes and her husband, Jim, bravely and without hesitation returned to Liberia after the Ebola outbreak was on the decline. They only evacuated by orders from their employer and returned the minute the ban was lifted. Most of their incredible life’s work has been in Liberia, there to help make a positive difference for the lives they touch.

Anne Witham Kilpatrick and I will be attending our 50th high school reunion in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in October. Anne introduced me to the music of the Beatles just before they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. We knew from first hearing the 78 rpm vinyl record of theirs—I Want to Hold Your Hand—that they were going to be a huge hit.

Anne and her UMW roommate, Jeanine Zavrel Fearns, met Suzie Bender Winterble and Toni Turner Bruseth in Austin, Texas, for their annual reunion. These four women have stayed in close contact for more than 45 years. They had a blast reliving old times.

Anne also went to her South Carolina State Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) conference in March. She happened to sit down next to another Mary Wash grad, Elba Pitsenbarger ’58. DAR discussions disappeared into lively remembrances about men on campus (male alert!), UVA boys, Seacobeck, etc. Elva managed to get her degree with post-WWII government grants by going to college in the summer and working during the winter. Elva is the State of South Carolina Media Historian. Anne reminds us there are always Mary Wash sisters around!

Bev Holt and her partner, Debbie Alpert, celebrated Bev’s mom’s 90th birthday party a few months ago. Her mother is called Willie and she is still beautiful.

Betty Adams’ report was very short: “Life is good.” That tells the whole story for a lot of us fortunate and educated women from the class of ’69!

Any more news? Feel free to contact me at irish@harrell-remodeling.com.