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UMW Magazine – Class Notes1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
1966
Katharine Rogers Lavery
hlavery1@cox.net
Barbara Bishop Mann spent Thanksgiving in Mesa AZ with her “tiny Bishop clan”
and capitalized on being close to Midge Meredith Poyck by having several long
phone visits. Bobbi has been a student of yoga since 2012 but still hasn’t
mastered the “tree pose.” She was hurrying to class one snowy morning in
December when she received her very first speeding ticket. The judge assigned
her time at Defensive Driving School, where she was the “only silver-haired
participant” and she shocked and amused the inquisitive young folks there by
admitting she had gotten caught speeding! Bobbi remains very active in Virginia
politics. She has lobbied at the General Assembly for decades as an advocate for
public education. She and Anne Meade Clagett enjoy many political discussions
and both are fans of Vince Flynn and his novels. Bobbi was honored in March with
the VEA-Retired Distinguished Achievement Award for many years of service to
teachers, students and public schools. Bobbi attended the amazing research
presentations of UMW graduate students on the Stafford campus, traveled to
Charlottesville the next day for the DKG Virginia State Convention, then followed
up with Temple Grandin’s presentation on autism at the Richmond Forum. Bobbi
wonders, “Who says retirement is easy?” Bobbi and Robert recently celebrated
their 52nd wedding anniversary.
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Diana Hamilton Cowell celebrated her son’s Master’s degree in political science
from WVU in May and looks forward to his working for the State Department
Foreign Service. Diana and husband Dan celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary in June with a “big shindig” in Bethany Beach. In July Diana t
raveled to Periers, France, for the dedication of their museum, which is named for
her father, the commanding officer of the army unit which liberated Periers in
- The museum also honors Henri Levaufre, her father’s friend, for whom
Diana had earlier delivered a eulogy stating his importance to her family, the
town of Bethany Beach (sister city to Periers) and the 90th Army Division. Other
than hosting family and friends Diana is involved in her church’s hospitality
committee, the South Bethany Women’s Club, Property Owners Association and
Neighborhood Watch. She also continues serving as Secretary of the Auxiliary for
the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Co. and participates in the Inland Bay Fish
Count from April through October each year.
Judy Wells Clark honored veterans by playing a D-Day Commemorative program
with tenor Scott Williamson. Judy remains very active serving as church organist,
piano teacher, voice instructor and performing at various programs in the
Roanoke area.
Katie Green and her choir, The Houston Choral Society, performed Haydn’s “Lord
Nelson Mass” in June 2018 at Carnegie Hall in NYC. It was inspirational to sing
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with over 120 vocalists plus orchestra in such a grand hall, with tourist-y time for
sightseeing in between rehearsals and the performance. In September Katie met
her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Paris. Their airBnB was within
walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, museums, restaurants with fantastic foods
and wines. They took the Eurostar back to London, then on to their home in
Cardiff, Wales, where Katie finished out her vacation. She returned to Cardiff
again this June for a long visit, taking short trips with the family to the north
western region of Wales to see the rugged terrain and lots of castles. It’s difficult
for Katie to have her family oversees except for the travel opportunities when
visiting.
Sandra Hutchison Schanne celebrated grandson Riley’s graduation and proudly
mentioned his acceptance to Embrey-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona
Riley’s lifelong ambition of becoming a pilot is finally becoming a reality.
Terry Caruthers celebrated her mother by publishing her second book,
“Memories of My Mother Mabel” with poetry contributions by her cousin, Jim
Hines. The initial essays plus photos Terry shared on Facebook were fascinating
and both of her books contributed much to the local history of Highland Co. VA.
Kathleen Crawford Hoffman has written a book, “Little Papers Are Journalism
Too,” about her newspaper career in the 60s, 70s and 80s, mostly in Culpeper VA.
Of course, Mary Washington is mentioned. The book is self-published, available
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on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and various other places. Kathleen was a year
ahead of Mary Carter Bishop ’67, whose book, “Don’t You Ever,” was recently
featured in the alumni magazine, at Albemarle High School near Charlottesville
VA, and at Mary Washington. Kathleen and Mary, though they never knew each
other, shared the same journalism career, Kathleen with local newspapers, Mary
Carter with larger publications.
Ginny Bateman Brinkley celebrated the publication of her novel, “Goddess-A
Child of the Sixties” and reveled in the positive response it received, especially
from MWC classmates. The story borrowed largely from the undergraduate life
we all experienced! Ginny proudly announced in May that her book had been
named as a finalist in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Ginny’s
granddaughter Brittany, during her third year at Julliard in NYC, performed in the school’s opera “Dido and Aeneas” (as the only underclassman in the cast) and
traveled in June with the group to do more performances in London, Versailles
and Greece. Brittany spent her summer as an actor in “Macbeth” at various parks
in the Adirondaks.
Kitty Downs Gregg and husband Don traveled to NC to visit her roomie, Terry
Caruthers and her husband Don and to attend a gala Terry was chairing at Lake
Norman. Next was a lunch in the clubhouse of the Trump National Golf Club near
there and a stay at Terry’s lovely lakeside home. Kitty and Terry were
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maid/matron of honor in each other’s weddings and have stayed close ever since.
Next was a stop in Orlando to see son Chris and his girlfriend Debbie, who were
taking a long weekend there. Chris, who used to live in the same Arlington
apartment building Kitty and Terry did in ’66, bought a house in Springfield and
commutes by train to DC for his job as an FAA financial analyst. Daughter Cindy
and her husband Tom live in Castle Rock, a haven for young folks, a half hour from
Kitty and Don’s Denver home. Cindy and Tom both telecommute for Accenture;
she as a manager, he as head of computer security.
Marty Spigel Sedoff, though living in Minnesota, annually scores comprehensive
English tests for Mississippi sixth graders, sometimes six days a week! Marty still
enjoys dancing with Rhythmic Feet, a tap group which regularly entertains
multiple times a month at places like the VA Veteran’s home; at Friendship
Village, a senior community in Bloomington MN; and at the Como Pavilion in St.
Paul for National Tap Dance Day. The group has ten members ranging in age from
60 to 80, who all take tap classes at Sweet Feet Dance, and perform in the
studio’s June recitals at a local nursing home. Participants and audience alike find
much joy in their dancing. Marty also coordinates theater trips to NYC for the
Edina High School theater students and staff. This year (her ninth trip) included 35
members with admittance to workshops with NY performers followed by a
Sunday matinee of “Hamilton.” In December, while at her brother’s funeral in
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Roanoke VA, Marty spent some time with her MWC roommate, Shirley Dulaney
Gearheart and husband Rodney. It had been many years since they last met and it
was wonderful to catch up on the family’s news.
Pat Lewars Pace and Linda Glynn Hutchinson spent two weeks in September in
Iceland, marveling at the unique landscape and seeing the area where the
European shelf is separating from the North American one, thus dividing Iceland.
Pat spent the March Madness season in Seattle with her brother and sister-in-law,
enjoying the early broadcasts of all the games. In May Pat and daughter Liz toured
England and Paris, where they saw Stonehenge, enjoyed Evensong at St. Paul’s
Cathedral with the marvelous acoustics of Christopher Wren’s dome. They
happened to be at Windsor Castle when the first public picture of baby Archie
was taken! Pat and Liz celebrated Mother’s Day in Paris and dined at night on the
“first floor” of the Eiffel Tower, about 20 stories high. After a June Alaskan cruise
and glass-top train trip to Denali with her brother, Pat took a month-long
excursion with Linda Glynn Hutchison to Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and
Scandinavian countries. When at home Pat keeps busy with grandchildren, church
work, home and garden maintenance.
Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner and husband Charlie emptied their Alexandria home
in December and sold it in March. They spent the winter golfing and socializing in
Naples FL but haven’t found any MWC goats or devils there yet! Because their
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NoVA condo was rented they stayed in Florida until July, then returned to
Alexandria until mid-October. Mary Kathryn really enjoys the freedom of living in
two small places without the 50-year accumulation of “stuff!”
Pam Kearney Patrick, our accomplished water color artist, sold two paintings at a
show at Strathmore (Bethesda MD) and has six others on display in the Cape May
NJ SOMA gallery. Pam keeps in touch with Pam Hughes Ward and in April visited
with her art buddy, Carol Bingley Wiley, and husband Pete. Pam and husband TaB
have finished their renovations at their Cape May house and, after living in small
quarters for several years, they have finally unpacked all of their household
goods! Pam said it felt like Christmas but then they had to start the process of
sorting and thinning out.
Elaine Gerlach McKelly and husband Tim took a wonderful 15-day land and sea
trip to Alaska. They saw beautiful Denali National Park, flew over glaciers in a very
small plane, visited native villages and museums before boarding a Princess cruise
ship to sail the Inland Passage to Vancouver. This “trip of a lifetime” was followed
by several short trips to Key West FL, Ocean City MD, Lancaster PA (their
homeland) plus visits to grandkids’ colleges. Elaine and Tim have three
grandchildren at UNC in Wilmington, one at Christopher Newport in VA. Three
more graduated high school in May and one granddaughter is attending UMW.
Elaine and Tim sorted out years of accumulated things, put their house on the
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market and prepared to move to a retirement community in Durham NC in
March. They are excited to be living in an “adult Disneyland,” as the community is
fondly called.
Annette Maddra Horner and husband John continue to settle into their new life
in Richmond. They are renovating and restoring the neglected gardens in their
1895 home; he doing hardscape and grass, she doing landscaping and planting,
with minimal help from professionals. Annette and John enjoy frequent visits with
their two Richmond grandchildren plus two others near Charlotte NC. They take
days off to enjoy the offerings of the New Richmond (RVA) such as James River
activity, parks, farm markets, art and music, restaurants and wineries. Annette
attended a Mary Washington reception in Richmond and was pleased to meet
Bobbi Bishop Mann, Pat Lewars Pace, and Susan Bogese MacLaughlin there.
Ryan Stewart Davis and husband Roger moved from Port Townsend OR to a
retirement community in Seattle to be near all their children. They celebrated
their 51st wedding anniversary, but only a few weeks afterward, Roger became
seriously ill and passed away. Ryan is still adjusting with a lot of support from
family and friends, old and new. Patty Bergin Bergman lives nearby and has been
very helpful. Ryan and family traveled to Arlington National Cemetery in July for
Roger’s inurnment. We extend our sincere heartfelt condolences to each one.
Anne Powell Young and husband Virgil have created their own cozy retirement
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spot after moving from Tennessee to Stafford VA. They are enjoying their new
home in a wooded area and Anne is looking forward to participating in UMW
activities and seeing more of our classmates. She keeps in touch with her long-
time Tennessee pal, Betty Birkhead Vickers, who at last report was on a ten-day
trip to Greece. Anne also sees Carolyn Eldred, who is actively involved with UMW
events and excursions.
Carolyn Eldred has her “ear to the ground” regarding possible plans for our 55th
reunion. She mentioned that the 1908 Society, to which we now all belong, will
have a tent offering a table for each class represented. We will have to plan our
own separate activities and several classmates are already looking into that.
Carolyn was inspired by an alumna from the Class of ’50 who led the singing of
the Alma Mater at the UMW donor luncheon last spring. Besides her UMW
Theater activities and 1908 Society functions Carolyn volunteers with the Historic
Fredericksburg Foundation. She also participated in a snowy winter’s day MWC
Lunch Bunch gathering in Fredericksburg with Barbara Bishop Mann, Sheila
Denny Young, Pat Lewars Pace, Annette Maddra Horner and Anne Powell
Young.
Linda Mitchell Spiers retired at the end of May from her 15-year position as
rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Collinsville CT, and soon after left for a two-
week pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine. Her group was 35 travelers from the
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Episcopal Diocese of CT, including two bishops. Linda then took some personal
time before looking for a part time or provisional priest-in-charge position in one
of the local parishes. In the fall Linda traveled to Virginia and Rehoboth Beach to
visit family and friends. Our 55th reunion is also on her travel list.
Ann Kales Lindblom claims that her bucket list is spilling over! In March she and
husband Steve cruised through the Panama Canal plus five other Central
American countries. In April Ann flew to Paris with daughter Beth and
granddaughter Ellie for a three-generational fling and recommends it highly for
the rest of us. Ann is also eager to re-energize our reunion effort.
Genie Hobson McClellan is retired but still maintains emeritus status at
Nemours/Alfred DuPont Hospital for Children. She goes to her office part time to
finish up publications and assist in the Molecular Diagnostics Lab. Genie and Don
bought a 25-foot Winnebago View motorhome in 2016 and have enjoyed touring
the US. They joined their daughter’s family for a week on Mullett Lake in
Cheboyan MI, crossed the Upper Peninsula (the beautiful Mackinaw Bridge), took
a sunset cruise at the Pictured Rocks of Lake Superior and hiked around trails and
waterfalls. In Wisconsin they cruised the Wisconsin Dells, saw the Ringling
Brothers Circus Museum plus a show in Baraboo. Their summer journey was a
long, adventurous trip out west (details later!) and our reunion is on their
calendar.
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Kathleen Goddard Moss and husband Tom celebrated their 53rd wedding
anniversary in their retirement community in Oakland CA. When Kathy turned 75,
a big deal to her, her neighbors said she “was just a baby!” Rather than travel to
Spain this summer Kathy and Tom hosted their daughter and family from Spain
and enjoyed having their son’s family nearby to join in the festivities. Kathy finds
Oakland to be an interesting and diverse community with a fascinating history.
She was excited to have Barack Obama come to speak and expressed an interest
in his recommendation of a book, “There There” by Tommy Orange, which
describes much of the Native American life and influence in Oakland.
Eileen Goddard Albrigo flew to Oakland in February to visit the Moss family and
enjoy some much-needed “twin time” with Kathy. Eileen was impressed with all
the friendly, outgoing, congenial neighbors there. At home in Virginia Eileen keeps
busy with 14 grandchildren ranging in age from 6 months to 18 years. The eldest
entered Virginia Tech this fall and the others keep Eileen going with birthdays,
graduations, confirmations, ballet and choir performances plus many sports
activities. Husband John has not retired and is still working long hours.
Betsy Chappelear Tryon proudly announced that granddaughter Maddy accepted
an offer to attend The Citadel in SC this fall to play women’s volleyball. Betsy and
daughter Maureen have spent the last few years traveling to all of Maddy’s high
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school tournaments, the last of which was in Dallas TX. It’s bittersweet that
Maddy will be so far away from California, but Betsy plans to come east
occasionally to see her and will definitely plan to attend our next reunion.
Susan Roth Nurin continues to embrace the New York City life fully with daily
doses of opera, ballet, symphony, plays, museums and Broadway. She manages
this without great expense by using “rush (day of) tickets,” lottery and rehearsal
attendance. She volunteers at the Metropolitan Opera (free attendance), acts as a
tour guide around the city for Spanish speakers, interacts with Holocaust
survivors, visits and assists many elderly residents. Susan also takes frequent
walks through Central Park, which is across the street from her apartment.
Cathe Cantwell Luria celebrated her 75th birthday with a major fiesta at their Ajijic
home near Guadalajara, Mexico. Daughter Sacha (coordinator and teacher at an
international baccalaureate school in Oregon) attended during spring break and
Cathe’s brother came from Atlanta. The local mariachi band was a surprise! Cathe
spends two eight-week sessions preparing for choral concerts with Los Cantantes
del Lago, takes weekly voice lessons from the director and also sings with the
Anglican Church choir. She takes Spanish lessons twice a week to improve her
Spanish conversational skills and has joined the Rotary Club in Ajijic. Cathe and
husband Eric really enjoy living in Mexico but take time to visit the kids and
grandkids in Portland for several weeks during the year. They do not miss the
Portland rain!
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In December Katharine Rogers Lavery and family celebrated grandson Karl’s
mining engineering degree from WVU plus the birth of grand-nephew Eamon and
great-granddaughter Emersyn, followed by the usual holiday gatherings. May and
June graduations included granddaughter Maggie’s commissioning from AF ROTC
at JMU to 2nd Lieutenant with an assignment in nursing to Eglin AF Base in Florida,
her fiance’s UVA graduation, granddaughter Erin’s chemistry degree from George
Mason University and then four grandchildren‘s high school graduations two
weeks later. They’re headed to Wake Tech in Raleigh NC, Univ of Arkansas, NC
State and Eckerd College in Florida. Although most of the family still lives in
Northern Virginia the grandkids are scattering near and far. In August two
branches of the clan rented two houses in the Outer Banks of NC –a welcome
reunion after two summers away from the beach. Katharine and Hank continue to
be active with church, church music, tutoring math, senior bowling league, the
Pentagon Sailing Club, senior fitness classes at Ft Myer VA plus a myriad of family
activities and events.
Grace Marie Bamforth Garriott wrote in January that her dear roommate and
friend, Pat Johnson Orgain, had suddenly and unexpectedly died of an apparent
stroke. Grace Marie and Pat’s families have been very close; shared many couples
experiences and mutual children’s events and activities for many years. Our
sincere condolences to both families.
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In memoriam:
Pat Johnson Orgain, January 2018
Condolences:
To Ryan Stewart Davis on the loss of her husband, Roger, October 2018
To Anne Meade Clagett on the loss of her husband, John Wilcox, May 2019