Class Notes

We are living in strange times indeed. Last fall, we were all traveling the world. That was cut short just as we were preparing for Founder’s Day in March 2020. Now we wonder, “What next?” Our 50th reunion is scheduled for May 14-16, 2021. We hope we’ll be able to gather on campus by then. Meanwhile, we do what we can do to make life during the pandemic fun, palatable, and interesting.

Sally Reichner Mayor wrote that Switzerland is affected by COVID, but with so many mountainous regions the numbers are low. Social distancing is easy. Sally plans to come back for our 50th if all goes well.

Elizabeth “Betty” Whichard Robinson has been staying close to home in Indiana and trying to support small businesses. She works out, reads, and Zooms with friends. Betty’s is a recurring theme with most of us.

Along with webinar and Zoom visits to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Lisa Barker hopes for a trip to Ireland next May, postponed from this year.

Cooking every day has become a chore for Bryn Irving Winn Roth, as it has for many. She missed her children, grandchildren, and a great grandson. She also missed a trip to Canada and a high school reunion.

Kathy Lewis Newbold was able to keep golfing with new rules in place, but she was sad that the traditional 19th hole had stayed empty. She was involved in virtual fundraising events. Cam and Kerry were home for the Fourth of July and joined with Kathy’s sister for a family barbecue. Masks were the fashion statement of the day.

Many of you wrote about the excitement of renaming E. Lee Trinkle to James Farmer Hall. You also praised the Alumni Association and UMW in general for online lectures, classes, and trivia nights. Kim Warren Noe and Bob appreciated the diversions. Her family reunion in Marble Falls, Texas, was canceled, and she had not been able to visit her 97-year-young father in San Antonio. Kim’s daughter and family live near her in South Carolina, and they had drive-by and distant deck visits. She used FaceTime and Zoom with her son in Chicago and other relatives.

Kim said Jan Reynolds Cooke, who lives in New Orleans, had recently recovered from COVID-19. Jan’s large family had supported her from a distance. Jan was also in touch with Frannie Sydnor Cook in North Carolina. Susan Taylor Frank, Kim’s freshman roommate, still works part time at the Presbyterian Community Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

Susie Sowers Hill passed through South Carolina last year, and she and Kim had a wonderful catch up dinner. Karen Clark Jones has moved to Marietta, Georgia. Kim, Jan, and Karen were high school buddies in Newport, Rhode Island, and came to Mary Washington together as roommates.

Laurie McIntosh has been homeschooling neighbors’ children, which is challenging but fun. She claims to be numerically challenged (I relate to that!) so will help in any subject except math. With historical parks and trails close by, Laurie treks about five miles a day, meeting interesting people along the way. Gardening remains a passion. She finished a novel late last year, set in 1968, and one of the central characters is a rising sophomore at Mary Washington. The pandemic has slowed her efforts to find a publisher.

Ongoing BLM protests and removal of Confederate monuments also have been in the news. Diana “Diney” Rupert Livingston lives near Richmond’s Monument Avenue and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, so she was in the thick of the protests. Someone threw a rock through the first-floor window of her building and lit up a dumpster in her alleyway. The nearby Methodist Campus Center was also the scene of smashed windows, but peaceful protests had become the norm. Monument Avenue certainly looks different these days. Diney had been auditing Italian at VCU and continued her studies with a private tutor with the goal of returning to Italy when possible.

Beth Fleming Skidmore also lives in Richmond. Son Alex and his wife, Alli, finished five-year medical residences in Pittsburgh and, after a year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, moved to Fredericksburg in July. They have a new son. Beth’s other son was to marry this summer but big plans were reduced to a small, immediate-family-only ceremony. Beth and husband Alex met over 51 years ago at Mary Washington and recently celebrated their 46th anniversary.

Betty Barnhardt Hume retired from the library in Fredericksburg in 2016 but still works part time. Husband Randy Hume ’75 enjoys playing golf.

Mona Davis Albertine’s downtown Fredericksburg store, Jabberwocky, was open with almost regular hours. For some time, the nonviolent but loud BLM protesters marched downtown daily. Mona and Jack were seeing relatives but not friends. Mona had gotten to know the wildlife on her property, including a crow family, cardinals, a snake she named Henry, and visiting bears.

Nancy Belden and her husband run a polling firm in Washington, D.C., focusing on progressive issues such as human, civil, and reproductive rights. Their son, Giovanni Russonello, lives in New York and writes for the New York Times covering politics, jazz, and polling. Nancy has found time to escape to a small house on the Eastern Shore during the pandemic.

Debbie Oja Tuttle and Ed spend winters in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, and summers in Linville, North Carolina. She said golf courses had remained open, and their club served meals at distanced tables. Debbie said that’s better than her cooking!

Diane Mowrey was still at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, in March but she said it was to be her last semester teaching. At that point, classes were moving online.

Susannah Athey Warner reminded me of two happy events in 2020, the appearance of the comet NEOWISE and the successful launch and recovery of SpaceX. Susannah is in touch with college roommate Karen Murray Wood. Susannah had some lovely mementos of Fredericksburg State Teachers College, which she got from her mother. It would be great to display some of these vintage items at our 50th reunion.

Mary Jane Chandler Miller and Fred feel blessed in Vermont, where COVID cases were low. Her office on the Council of Aging and all schools closed in March, and MJ retired in June. Her daughter and son-in-law in Burlington own the Vermont Comedy Club which hadn’t yet reopened. MJ Zooms, reads, golfs, and plays tennis.

Mary Carson, the grande dame of our class, and Roger have been married 62 years and walk several miles daily. In the past Mary served as alumni director and development officer for Mary Washington, and she has wonderful memories to bring along to the 50th reunion. Her daughter is news director of Sinclair News in Washington, Virginia, and Maryland. Her sons are with Verizon and hospital security.

Mary Weaver Mann reported that Jim has been in a long-term care facility for Alzheimer’s but was doing OK. Son Geoff is out of the Army and working as a pilot for a Richmond hospital. Daughter Emily and family live in Washington state. Son Zeph and daughter-in-law Erin were working remotely for a company in Los Angeles. Mary finally retired from the library and did some house renovations.

Penny Falkowitz Goodstein wrote that the infection rates were still skyrocketing in Alaska. She missed seeing her grandsons. Her beloved 12-year-old dog passed away in March and her other dog was not well, so she and her husband adopted a puppy Canaan dog. Penny has taken up sourdough baking. She mentioned that after the online COVID-19 class many of us took, she reconnected with Gloria Shelton Gibson ’69, who was a freshman dorm counselor.

Some of us recently learned that Natalee Spiro Franzyshen was diagnosed with ALS after several years of undetermined symptoms. Her husband also has had health problems, but they celebrated their 48th anniversary in late August.

Plan to attend our 50th reunion. It will be historic celebrating alongside the Goat Class of ’70, so let’s make it a grand and fun affair!