If you prefer to submit Class Notes by mail, send to:

UMW Magazine – Class Notes
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

1971

Karen Laino Giannuzzi
kapitankL11@yahoo.com

From KATHRYN LINDSAY MCMICHAEL Class of 71.
Hi.  I have been meaning that send you my life info but just returned home from another cruise to the western Caribbean !!!  I am retired and living in SWFL for the last 15 years and loving paradise here.  And I have been cruising all over the world on Princess Cruise lines and now am up to their elite status which gives me all sorts of awesome benefits.  Recently took their World cruise from South Africa back to Florida after going on a 10 day safari out to the bush country where we saw a lot of wildlife and it was marvelous!!  When I am not away traveling I am very involved in politics and my church.  I am enjoying my life!

From Libby (Andrews) Wasem
Hello to all 1971 Alumnae,
Life remains busy for me.  I generally teach yoga classes a couple of days a week and workout with weights also.  Walking the streets of Fredericksburg is still more comfort than excitement.  Luckily I walk with girl friends so the miles pass quickly.  I still do back up day care for my 4 year old granddaughter in DC.  I enjoy trimming and planting trees as a Tree Steward for the city.  This past March I traveled with a girlfriend from the 4th grade.  We spent a month out to see New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji.  This was very educational.  Who knew that one of Australia’s major exports is camels to the Middle East?
See you in 2021 for our 50th reunion.

Below are the notes from class agent Karen Laino Giannuzzi.

I have heard from so many from our class for this edition of notes. This also seems to be the year of travel for many of us whether to lands faraway or close to home.

Kathy LEWIS Newbold spent 10 days in Spain recently and will have cruised the Danube with Greg sailing from Vienna to Munich. Kathy has been four years in remission and feeling fabulous. Closer to home, Cam and Kerry are doing great in their respective careers.

Many of us turned or will turn 70 this year as Jan Hempson Floom reminded me. She and Marv are active in church ministries and volunteer work but have found time to cross the Arctic Circle, visit Alaska to discover where her grandmother lived and travel throughout Europe. They also ventured to New Zealand and Australia to work their way around the world. They are grandparents many times over with a Marine in the family as well as lawyers. Hard to believe but their youngest son, Chris recently retired from the Marine Corps.

Susanna ATHEY Warner wrote for the first time. She retired recently after 35 years as a computer systems engineer for NASA, having worked across from the wind tunnel seen in Hidden Figures. She has taught math and physics; worked at Wallops Island and specialized in all areas of launch process and embedded flight systems. Susanna has been part of the space program from an early time. She now lives in Fernandina Beach, Florida and has done some traveling including a 15 day cruise to Panama. Her daughter Caroline is an architectural historian in Greenville, N.C.

Hearing from a friend I haven’t heard from in years was a wonderful surprise when Kim WARREN Noe wrote catching up after so many years. Kim and Bob have been married 46 years with two children who are Clemson alum. Kim and Bob have several grandchildren and live in Columbia, S.C. staying very active with church, community and retiree groups. They both taught school at all levels including college. Kim reminisced about our years at Mary Wash and I will keep those for our 50th. She did mention Susie SOWERS Hill, now in Macon, Ga., Jan REYNOLDS Cooke, living in New Orleans, and Susan TAYLOR Frank who now lives in Roanoke, Va.

I caught back up with Marie DROSTE Martin and learned that after teaching French and Spanish in Roanoke for many years, she retired a couple years ago but did find time to do some substitute teaching of Latin. Sadly she also lost her husband Darrel a few years ago. Condolences Marie. Her daughter Laura was ordained in the United Church of Christ and is an assistant Pastor in Arlington, Va. Her other daughter Erin lives in Blacksburg, Va. and is an artist, jewelry maker as well as a poet and writer.

Pat NAYBOR Whitehead, artist extraordinaire, and full time artist now, did have a graphic design studio in Georgetown, Washington, D.C for 25 years but along with her artistic talents, she and husband renovated and built houses in St John, US Virgin Islands for almost 10 years. She now has a studio in Alexandria, Va. doing oils, pastels and graphite along with two galleries. She and her husband continue to travel and will be in England this year.

After graduation, Gayle FRANKLIN Hawkins taught in New Castle Delaware and in 1977 with her husband Sam (former Marine), they traveled all summer in search of a warm climate and landed in Austin, Texas. Starting at the bottom of the banking industry, Gayle retired in 2016 as the Regional Manager of the Austin Frost Trust Department. Sadly, Sam passed away suddenly in 2017 but with support of her family and friends, Gayle has been working through her grief journey. She stays active running 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons and completed the Marine Marathon in October 2016. She has her sites set on a half iron distance triathlon in 2020. Whew! Well done Gayle.

Eleanor TYNG Schoonover reminded me of our crazy German classes together and she went on to get a second BA in German. Eleanor retired after 40 years from the Navy Reserve and has been married 45 years. As well as being a part time middle school teacher and real estate developer, Eleanor was a defense contractor for and retired from Northrup Grumman. In June of this year, she made it back to Hamburg and Berlin Germany after a 50 year hiatus.

The mountains of Linville, N.C. and the beaches in Sunset Beach N.C. occupy Debbie OJA Tuttle and her husband Ed of 37 years where they have many friends and play lots of golf. See you at our 50th!

Although I didn’t hear directly from Margie McDONALD Clagett directly, Terry TUCKER Young keeps in touch and has passed on some great info. They were roommates in in Bushnell. Margie recently retired and was the longest sitting judge in Calvert County. Her children are also accomplished. Margie’s son is an officer in the Navy, one daughter is a physical therapist and one is a managerial programmer for AT&T.

The toy shops Doodlehopper 4 kids in Arlington, Va. owned by Terry TUCKER Young, were voted the number #1 toy store in the DC area. Kudos for sure!!! Terry has not yet retired but she hopes to pursue a passion in ceramic art and has taken time to cruise the Danube, do a safari in Africa (a popular destination for some in our class this year), and head to Sweden and Iceland this year.

We have classmates all over the world and Sally REICHNER Mayor after many years is still yodeling in the Swiss Alps with the Cambridge English Examinations and with Les Roches Global Hospitality School. She works with English qualifications as well as Marketing and PR with the Hospitality school. Her daughter Patricia works for the International Skating Union working major events including the upcoming Olympics. Daughter Adrienne is an event planner for Vacheron Constantine Luxury Watches. Sally is a grandmother of 2. Sally does manage to get back to Florida and recently met up with Tish STONER Sawyer who lives in Spokane, Washington. Seems the chorus of “High on Marye’s Hill Top” was sung and could be heard around Palm Beach Gardens! Maybe they’ll repeat the song at the 50th!

Mary Jane CHANDLER Miller and Fred still enjoy Vermont and she plans to retire next year from the Council on Aging but continues to stay active with kayaking, golfing tennis and pickleball. Their children and grandchildren live nearby and daughter Natalie owns The Vermont Comedy Club in case anyone is in the Burlington area.

At the end of 2017, Susan BROWN Lohin retired from Wellesley College after 20 plus years of marketing and development there including reunions. She said she was looking forward to our 50th as a participant and not as an organizer. She enjoys long hikes and walks with her dogs and realizes she doesn’t have to account for time as she did while working. She mentioned health issues in her family and so many with our friends and admonished us all to enjoy what we are doing since getting older is a challenge. The words ring true as we approach a 50th reunion.

Mary “Fred” MACPHERSON and I served as members and then co-chairs on the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee but were recently “termed” off and Mary took advantage to sell her house, move permanently to Wilmington, N.C. She plans to spend time in Bratislava, Slovakia and will visit back and forth but will move back to N.C. permanently April 2020. Mary has received several awards from Slovakia for all her work with them on a national level.

My freshman roommate, Nancy MCALLISTER Bishop and I had a wonderful mini-reunion in Ko Samui, Thailand in January while I was cruising in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Sainan, China. Nancy had worked for SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) documenting and helping to create a written language for some of the peoples there and bringing the Bible to them. She has lived and recently retired there. We had a great day catching up on Mary Washington and each other.

Although I have not heard from Penny FALKOWITZ Goodstein, I found out that we crossed paths in SE Asia in Cambodia and Vietnam. That must be the destination de jour for many this year.

Liz KEITH and I spent a couple of years as roommates in college and she has been in San Diego for decades. We have reconnected a few times as I passed through on the way to and from cruises and the last time was in February on my way back from the above-mentioned trip. As it turns out, she has been done many river cruises in Europe and recently returned from a safari in South Africa to include the majestic Victoria Falls, game drives in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia.

I recently returned from a similar Safari with the Mary Washington Travel Club and traveled with retired professors, former Rectors and members of the Board of Visitors and friends of Mary Washington. The President Troy and Kelly Paino were part of the group as well. Mona DAVIS Albertine, owner of Jabberwocky, a children’s store in Fredericksburg, and I reconnected and had a great time on game drives, boat safaris and visiting various small villages and towns from Johannesburg, South Africa to Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. She and Jack, her husband, and several others continued on to Capetown, South Africa where in good tradition, they visited sites and vineyards. The weather was dry and cold in the mornings. Dr. Terry YOUNG Crawley ’77 and Bill as well as Kathy MEHFOUD, ’70, and Lisa JAMISON Bowling ’89 were all part of the travel group. Lisa really kept us all together and took good care to make sure we were all where we needed to be.

It has been a great time traveling and catching up with so many classmates in person and in e mails. I know as a group we have all had ups and downs both personally and health wise but from the notes, we are all doing everything we can to be active and to travel and enjoy our friends, families and places far and near that give meaning. Our 50th will be a great chance to catch up and look forward to next adventures.

Keep those notes coming for the next editions of the magazine. Some of your e mail addresses came back so please make sure you update your information both with me and the Alumni office.