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UMW Magazine – Class Notes
1301 College Ave.
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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

  1. 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