Class Notes

From Connie: Mary Hatcher, Elizabeth Stewart Grenzebach, June Walton Lederle, and I had lunch in Wilmington, N.C., in August and have been trying to find another date to get together. Mary and I had lunch in October. She and significant other Bill travel a lot to places like Williamsburg and San Francisco using their timeshares. When she’s in Virginia, she sees Betsey-Ellen Hueston Hansen, who lives in Stafford County.

Andy and I escaped the heat, and Hurricane Irene, by spending a couple of weeks in the Pacific Northwest, visiting Seattle; Olympic Peninsula; Victoria, British Columbia; and the San Juan Islands. We got together in October with Lynne Williams Neave in NYC; Barbie Upson Welch in Wilmington, Del.; and Clara Sue Durden Ashley and Bitsy Glasscock Duperior in Washington, D.C. Barbie was continuing flying lessons for the instrumental part of her pilot’s license. Husband Chuck had just had back surgery, relieving long-standing pain. While in Washington, I went to the centennial celebration of my elementary school and who should I meet but Kathleen Amouri Sheridan, who was in our Mary Washington class freshman year. Kathy teaches yoga in Bethesda, Md., and has two daughters in Delaware. Small world … love these reunions! I ran into Eleanore Saunders Sunderland in September at the Falls Church funeral home where Clarence and I had gone to pay respects to a friend who had lost her husband and who is neighbors with Eleanore. We just never know where we might connect with classmates.

Hilda Corker Kelly of Ashland was sorry not to have been able to attend the big reunion. She had planned to come but her husband, James “Buddy” Kelly, passed away on March 10, 2011, and she just wasn’t up for it. Hilda roomed with Eleanor Knight and Judy Givens in Cornell freshman year but left after her second year to marry Buddy. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work at VCU and retired as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Hanover County Public Schools. She taught for 16 years at Randolph-Macon College, and she taught graduate and undergraduate courses as an adjunct professor at VCU. When she retired, she was offered a part-time job with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits public and nonpublic schools and school districts. Since Hilda joined the company, they have unified with several other accrediting groups and are now known as AdvancED. Hilda is director for Virginia, works with educators across the state and in other states and countries, and enjoys the flexibility the position affords her. She and Buddy have two children, Cheryl, an educator, and Greg, whose field is economic development. Their grandchildren, Amanda, Trent, Greer, and Parker, were preparing to enter college or begin graduate work. Hilda volunteers in her daughter-in-law’s classroom, reads, golfs, cooks, and spends time with family. She and Buddy enjoyed traveling and took trips across the U.S. and in Europe. She made wonderful friends at Mary Washington, has stayed in touch with Judy Givens Smith and Sue Olinger Shaw, and has met Sylvia McJilton Woodcock in Williamsburg a couple of times.

Eleanor Knight Jensen and Cliff completed their first transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 in August and were in Canterbury in the United Kingdom before starting a 27-day cruise back to New York on the Seabourn Sojourn via the North Atlantic, including Iceland and Greenland. Mary Kay Garnett Montgomery, who only attended Mary Washington for two years, said it is fun to read about classmates in the alumni magazine. She is retired in Bluffton, S.C., and noticed that one of her freshman roommates at Trench Hill, Sandra Williamson, lives in Columbia.

Ellen “Grum” Grumbly de Gail moved to Wisconsin from Georgia in July to be closer to family. Before leaving Georgia, she visited her younger son in Maryland and had lunch with Joan Gibson Lippold and Nancy Wright in Annapolis. She is sorry to have missed the reunion in June but was in the throes of moving, so Nancy and Joan brought her up to date. Ellen enjoys life in Wisconsin and has spent lots of time with her oldest son’s family. Her Maryland son was to relocate to Chicago, putting them all in the same area for the first time in more than 25 years. She was looking forward to getting back to her newest undertaking, the genealogy of her Irish grandparents’ families. Since starting in 2005, she has made three trips to Ireland to gather information and meet cousins who live there, and she plans to return soon for fun.

Gene England Simons, Anne Jinkins Bird, and Kitty Davis Wade, who all grew up in Ashland, Va., had a wonderful time at the 50th reunion, as did their husbands. Gene said she’s grateful for all that Mary Washington did for her and that it was fun to see the campus and classmates. Gene and husband Harrison T. Simons, who celebrated their 25th anniversary in August, attended a recent gathering of UMW alumni in Durham, N.C., with President Hurley, wife Rose, and others. Sadly, Harrison died in late August at their cottage in Westmoreland, Va., near Coles Point, after suffering a massive heart attack. They had been joined at the cottage by Anne Bird and Harry and were there for a two-week vacation, when Hurricane Irene caused them to lose power and stay with friends for several days. Harrison died the night they returned. Gene had no warning and was shocked. After two years at Mary Washington, she was 18 when she married Harrison and went to Gambier, Ohio, where he entered divinity school at Bexley Hall, graduating as an Episcopal priest, and she worked as an assistant to the card cataloger in the library at Kenyon College. Son George Edward Simons and wife Georgia have three children. Daughter Deanna Simons Hollis of Birmingham, Ala., has six children; the oldest, Grace Ann, is a junior at Auburn. Gene closed her studio in 1998, after 20 years teaching ballet, tap, point, jazz, and ballroom dancing. She now teaches line dancing at the Granville County Senior Center and music and movement at Granville Health System’s adult day center. She has her own sewing business called “Sew What? by Gene” and makes window treatments and items for the elderly, such as walker bags. She was staying at the same address in Oxford, would love to hear from classmates, and asks that we keep their family in our prayers as they adjust to Harrison’s death.

Cynthia Scott Morcott, Gene’s Mary Washington roommate and a bridesmaid in her wedding, was saddened by Harrison’s death. They had horrible weather this summer in Scotland at Cynthia’s home in Dornoch, on the coast of the North Sea. She and her husband sold their place in Hilton Head, S.C., and live in Hobe Sound, between Jupiter and Stuart, Fla. Two poets with UMW connections read at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in September on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Claudia Emerson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and UMW English professor, was featured Saturday, and the prolific Kelly Cherry, the current Virginia Poet Laureate, was featured Sunday. We enjoyed hearing them read at the reunion.

Bev Carlson Shea’s 9-year-old grandson, Eric, stayed with them this summer while his mother, Heather, and her husband relocated to California, and Bev was delighted to have lost 5 pounds while he was there! The freak October snowstorm left them without power for six days in Bethlehem, Pa., which got 7 inches with leaves still on trees. It was no fun to be without Internet, TV, microwave, heat, and hot water, and even Jim was cold, but he kept taking cold showers and insisting that the water was warmer than the house. Clara Sue Durden Ashley’s husband, Clarence, was pleased to connect with Dr. George Van Sant at our reunion in June. The two exchanged books they’d written and have since read them and exchanged letters.

Elizabeth “Bitsy” Wright Coxe enjoyed our 50th reunion and a couple other mini-reunions. Douglas and Diane Doran Cairns were in Washington for an October meeting, and Bitsy and George met them for dinner. A couple weeks later, Andy and Connie Booth Logothetis were in Washington and Bitsy and George visited them and Clara Sue and Clarence, who gave them a tour of the Library of Congress and Great Falls Park, Va., near where they live. September found George and Bitsy in Greece for 15 days, visiting Athens museums and spending time on a private yacht in the islands, enjoying blue skies, clear seas, and Greece’s archaeological wonders. Late October brought the season’s first two operas at the Met in NYC, which happened to be during the weekend of the amazing storm, and they maneuvered through New York in the wind and snow that brought down more than 1,000 trees in Central Park. Bitsy planned a November trip to Norfolk to hear her only grandchild, Alice, 6, sing in her first performance with the Virginia Children’s Chorus. Janie Riles and husband Jim Dietz took a 30-day October cruise in the South Pacific, had a sea dive in Bora Bora, and visited the island of Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia. Janie hosted a November art show featuring her students’ art at her San Diego home.

Here’s some older news that I forgot to report. Mary LeBlanc Ingle lives in San Diego, her husband is a ’58 graduate of the Naval Academy, and they have a son and daughter. She keeps in touch with Nancy Kelly Bliss, Meta Degenhardt, Ann Bodie Sweeney, Judy Finn Wiezbicki, and Gail Rilling Stockton, who lives in Tarrytown, N.Y. Mary sent greetings to all and was sorry to miss the reunion.

From Renee: I had a lovely August visit from Carolyn Crum Pannu. We saw a play at the Kirk Douglas Theatre with Gilles Marini of Brothers and Sisters and Dancing with the Stars. Afterward, we went to my favorite French restaurant in Culver City, Calif., and guess who showed up … Gilles Marini! I know the restaurant’s owner, so somehow Gilles found his way to our table, kissed us on the cheek, and couldn’t have been warmer. My precious “faux grandson” turned 3 in November and loved his Spiderman action figure I (“Nee Nee”) gave him. The day before Carolyn arrived, I banged my left ankle into an iron patio chair. Worse, I did it again! An X-ray and MRI showed that I needed surgery to repair a torn tendon. Not to be outdone, my tennis elbow started acting up again, and I started physical therapy to try to avoid surgery. I planned a March cruise to the Panama Canal with Syd Collson Chichester ’60.

Since our reunion, Nancy “Pepper” Jacobs Germer and husband Hank have been to Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Russia, and they’ve driven their Earth-conscious Prius to Houston and Nashville. Pepper has taken up crocheting, meets with a group at the library, crocheted a wool scarf for Hank’s daily walks, and was working on a posy scarf for herself. She has played piano for 26 years for her Special People Ministry; continues to work in her church with Special Ministries, which will present a spring concert with singing and choreography; and drives a blind member to voice lessons. Pepper was to have played Mrs. Dilber and Hank was to have played Old Joe in their community theater’s A Christmas Carol.

Judy LaRoe Hare hoped to have news to share after the holidays. Becky Paris Spetz and Wayne enjoyed a hot, dry summer and traveled to Tuscany, where they met beautiful people and enjoyed the sights, food, and wine. We were sorry to learn from Marcia Minton Keech that Bill, who did a fine job of making CDs of the reunion, has been diagnosed again with cancer, this time of the bladder. They are learning to be thankful for each day. Peggy Howard Hodgkins planned to take a three-week November trip to China with a recently widowed friend and be home in time for Thanksgiving. They planned to stay in Ritz- Carltons and the like, and Peggy, who has lost a good bit of weight, was struggling to assemble her travel wardrobe.

Keep well, everyone. I think it would be a great idea if more of you responded to my request for news next time!

From Lynne: Sandy and I were fortunate to be able to attend President Hurley’s inauguration at UMW in October; it was magnificent, and I was delighted to spend time with Art and Lloyd Tilton Backstrom, as well as Stuart and Sylvia McJilton Woodcock. We wandered around downtown Fredericksburg and went into a shop owned by a UMW graduate, where we met a lady from San Antonio. It turns out that Candes Parker Chumney had been her Sunday school teacher. Pat still has his architecture practice, and Candes is his bookkeeper. Her primary job, however, is tending to her grandchildren (three boys and one girl, Lulu, who is in kindergarten). Candes is in touch with Aggie Welsh Eyster and Bitsy Glasscock Duperior, who still enjoys her opera music. Connie Booth Logothetis and Andy were in New York in October, and I enjoyed visiting Governors Island with them to see where Connie lived in the late ’50s. It was a treat to hear her memories of each room and see the sparkle in her eyes. Sandy joined us for dinner at the University Club. I spent a weekend at my little Boca Grande, Fla., condo with Patty Cairns Hourin and our high school friend, Marcie Moore.

Judy Saunders Slifer’s husband, Robert, passed away in October from myelodysplasia, a cancerous blood disorder. Once again, her twin sister, Eleanore Saunders Sunderland, gave her wonderful support. Becky Turner Perdue lost her husband, Wayne, in September due to cardiopulmonary arrest. He had heart problems and diabetes for years, and when they attended our reunion, he wasn’t strong enough to come to all the functions. Lloyd Tilton Backstrom learned a lot about Becky when they attended a Richmond UMW event together. Wayne had two sons, and Becky is an adoring grandmother. One grandson is a UMW graduate and about 25. The other is at Longwood. As a lab technician at MCV, Becky oversaw a number of labs and was put in charge of a lab that oversaw terrorism. She retired when she got breast cancer.

Kay Slaughter is a great-grandmother. Grandson Ian and wife Samantha McNett had a baby boy, Ian IV, in October. Step-granddaughter Brittany and husband Marc also have a 1-year-old son, MJ. Marc was serving in the Army in Afghanistan and Ian was stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Kay plans to start teaching three environmental law courses in September with U.Va.’s Semester at Sea Program, with stops all around Europe, Africa, and South America. In October, Kay saw Suzanne Stafford, who has lived in San Francisco most of her life but now lives in Bethesda, Md., and is being treated for cancer. Kay has details on how best to reach Suzanne.

Pat Scott Peck stopped in Hastings-on-Hudson in New York in October before flying to London to visit a friend from Calais, Maine, whose granddaughter was in London for the fall semester at Smith. Before leaving, Pat emailed Bobbie Brookes Nation in London, whom she had not heard from since 1961! Bobbie invited Pat to her flat and to lunch in Chelsea. Bobbie had worked at the United Nations in NYC, where she met her husband. They lived in Paris for a couple of years and have been in London ever since. She has two married daughters (one to a duke!) and three grandchildren, with another on the way. Bobbie ran an interior design business in London for 26 years and is now immersed in the cultural scene. Her mother, who is in her 90s, and her sister live in Virginia and she visits as often as possible. Pat told her what a grand time the reunion was, and she regretted not being able to attend.

Jean Ryan Farrell and Frank planned to be in China for three weeks in May with Overseas Adventure Travel, their favorite tour company. They continue to ski, dive, and, obviously, enjoy good health! Judy Youngman Wigton sent a message about our reunion: “I’m greatly indebted to Carole Grant Lemay for encouraging me to attend what turned out to be one of the very best weekends of my life. It was wonderful to be back with our amazing, fun, bright, kind, and impressive class. I’m especially grateful to Peggy Howard Hodgkins and Lloyd Tilton Backstrom for taking me in and bringing me up to date. The campus was stunning, the old sensitively kept and restored, with the new fitting in beautifully. I’m urging anyone who hasn’t attended a reunion to not miss the next one. It was good to be reminded of how very fortunate we were to have attended Mary Washington.”

Polly Updegraff Champ dressed the girls’ ensemble for the national tour of Wicked in August and September then was busy the next two months repairing storm damage on their properties. Irene hit their cottage on the Connecticut River in Haddam, and there was a second flood in the aftermath. Winter Storm Alfred dumped nearly a foot of snow on their home in Cromwell, pulled down trees, and caused lengthy power outages. (I can relate to Polly’s frustration, as Litchfield received almost 2 feet of snow, and some of our friends were without power for more than a week.) Sadly, Polly’s sister-in-law lost her husband unexpectedly from a fungal infection, which delayed their planned departure for Florida until mid-November.