Class Notes

It was wonderful to hear from some classmates we have not heard from in a long time, if ever.

Pattie Auray Walker and Bobby married in July 1979 and have lived in San Antonio, Texas, ever since. Their eighth and youngest child graduated virtually from the University of Texas Austin in May. Pattie has started scaling back from her job as a broker associate with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty, and Bobby was looking to retire in two years as a project executive for the Guido Bros. Construction Co. Their children live in cool cities including London, Seattle, Houston, and Austin. Patti, an avid runner, tries to run at least one half marathon per year.

Patti and her sisters get together once a year for a girls’ trip. Maryanne Auray Guido ’74 lives just five miles from Patti. Barbara Auray Hampden ’77 lives in Orlando. Laurie Auray Gobillot, who attended Mary Washington before graduating from the University of Texas in 1983, lives in Houston. And Susan Auray Schulz, a 1988 University of Virginia grad, lives in Atlanta.

Patti keeps in touch with Class of 1980 friends Ann Cary Nelms Carr, Betty Kay Williams Manzi, and  Sue Carr Sabo.

In August 2019, Lorenza Amico went to Peru for a week and saw Machu Picchu. Lorenza also joined the Mary Washington group trip to Morocco in February 2020, returning just as the pandemic was shutting things down. Lorenza works in acquisitions and cataloging for the University of Virginia Library.

Kathy Shelton Sieg would love to connect with friends from Marshall Hall, Trench Hill, the volleyball team, psychology classes, and the Baptist Student Union. Kathy is a private tutor. She and husband Sam, a pastor, have four children and six grandchildren. A son and his family are missionaries overseas, and three other children live in the Maryland and Washington, D.C., area.

Ron Bennet ’80 graduated in December 1979 and sent an update to our Class of ’79. He and Barbara Swank ’80 married a few years after college but later divorced, and sadly, Barb passed away in 2006.

Ron wrote that he and then-girlfriend Barbara came to UMW together from Long Island. Ron worked part time at Hazelwild Farm, where the equestrian team trained. Ron lived in Bushnell Hall with Mike Garst, Larry McKenzie, and Tom Mazzarella. His last semester he lived off campus with Steve Jones of the administrative office. Ron served in the Navy from 1981 to 1985 and served two more years as a reserve, stationed in Virginia Beach.

Ron worked in computer programming and analysis in North Carolina. He and Barbara also leased horse farms and had horses, and Ron ran a business building horse-show jumps. The couple divorced in 2002.

Ron moved to Port Orange, Florida, in 2011, where he does computer systems work for a dialysis lab. He enjoys riding his 2015 Harley Davidson Ultra Limited.

Finally, a big shout-out to Gayle Weinberger Petro for her entertaining videos. Titled Positively Petro and posted on Facebook, they have focused on the bright side during the pandemic.