Class Notes

I am excited about the number of responses from you for this issue!

Bub’s and my 11 grand-children range in age from 9 to 32, and our children all have some gray hair. Fortunately, none of them lives far away, but their busy lives (and ours) keep us from getting together as often as I’d like. Son Chip and his family of Harrisonburg, Va., were to host Thanksgiving, and everyone was to come here for “Harvill Christmas.” Chip’s wife, Karmen, has the genealogy bug, and we all enjoy her efforts. Several weeks ago they took me to Nottoway County, Va., where I was born in Burkeville almost 80 years ago. We tramped through the Redford family cemetery and examined what was left after the family home burned years ago. I brought back a charred brick with wonderful smoke marks that’s now on our mantel.

Peggy Ellis Gill’s husband, Paul, sent word that she remains in a nursing home; a fall three years ago left Peggy with a spinal-cord injury and quadriplegia. She is alert, Paul said, and could participate in a conference call.

Anne Berkeley Doherty and husband Don moved to the country of upstate New York about 23 years ago and built a home in Cazenovia, a village in the Snow Belt east of Syracuse. Anne enjoys doubles tennis, golf, garden clubs, and church, where she is an advocate for a church-sponsored Burmese family with four children. Son David moved to Georgia to escape the cold. Son Don lives in Brooklyn, teaches at Pratt Institute, and visits often with his two boys. Anne keeps in touch with Anne Mattingly and Joan “Honey” Kerrins Friel, whose husband, John, passed away in May. Honey talks weekly with Anne Gorman Mattingly of Annapolis, Md.

Betsy Dickenson Surles and Lenny have enjoyed life since his sudden heart-valve replacement a year ago. In accounting since 1953, Lenny was back at work in a month. Betsy teaches senior adult Sunday school; facilitates the Sojourners senior group, which Betsy began when her Class-of-’29 mother died in 2002; and planned a bus trip to Washington, D.C., for the annual Spirit of America show. Assisting the elderly keeps her active in the kitchen and in nursing homes of longtime friends. Betsy’s elder of the well-liked UMW President Richard V. Hurley. Peg is a friend of Charles Reed Jr. ’11, who rode the PBS 2011 Freedom Ride bus. Peg planned a Thanksgiving trip to visit her nephew in Sacramento, Calif., and a February trip to the Keys. She visited the Picasso exhibit with a local group, took a cruise on Smith Mountain Lake, and spends several summer weeks at the family cottage. At a recent funeral, Peg saw Betsy Dickinson Surles and the stepdaughter of Ruth Williams Taylor.

Ginny Poole Kinniburgh said Mary Washington “has come a long way since our uncomplicated days of Devils and Goats.” She misses her dear friend, Joanne Harris, and their monthly luncheons. Ginny and her husband, who live in a retirement community near Dulles Airport, escaped the worst of Hurricane Irene. They try to visit their three great-grandchildren in Orlando often to observe their grandchildren as parents.

Adele “Punky” Crise Thomas’ husband, Buz, had a small stroke in May, got pneumonia, and was in Johns Hopkins in Baltimore until August. His dog died the day he went to Hopkins. Buz has had dementia and short-term memory loss for a few years. Their daughters were great and gave Adele plenty of advice, which they are fond of doing. Adele found a 5-year-old yellow Lab, a ringer for Buz’s dog, and adopted him and his sister, a chocolate Lab, from the rescue association. Adele sent a picture of Bennett II sleeping with his head on Buz’s shoulder, their regular nap routine. Punky, your selfless devotion reminds us what life, marriage, and love are all about.

Polly Stoddard Heim and Ken were back in Tucson, Ariz., but planned a Thanksgiving trip to Mission Viejo, Calif. After the earthquake, Hurricane Irene, and torrential rains, Sally Hanger Moravitz and her husband had the most beautiful fall leaves she’d ever seen. She and granddaughter Madeline were having fun comparing the differences in Madeline’s UMW and Sally’s MWC.

Charlotte Fisher Klapproth had just sat down to read when the earthquake tickled the bottoms of her feet. Her husband had been mowing the lawn and didn’t believe that the lights had swayed and the wind chimes had rung. The hurricane was about 80 miles off the coast of Ocean City, and they slept through it. They were without electricity for 17 hours, but their generator served them well.

Mary Margaret Papstein Carter and George met Ann “Miss” Hungerford McKinlay and Carol Cooper, who came from Virginia to sightsee and visit, in New York. They wanted to have lunch at Eataly, an Italian restaurant that’s part of Chef Mario Batali’s empire, but it was packed, so they walked several blocks to the Blue Water Grill, where a jazz trio promptly took its place beside them. They visited the High Line, a city park built on the remains of an elevated railway. Carol attended the inauguration of UMW’s new president, Richard V. Hurley, and said the faculty is thrilled with him. Mary Margaret and George survived Hurricane Irene and the early snowstorm. They lost power and lots of trees but had no water in the basement.

Ginny Marco Hancock reported of a pre-nursing group at Mary Washington. She has kept in touch with several classmates, including Barbara Gill Beeman, Pauline Hamilton Burn, Mildred Corum Campbell, Emma Coleman Chapman, Fran Moorman Hawkins, Sally Rexrode Hiner, Ann Turner Gray Norris, Nancy Calloway Peery, Doris “Mickey” Arrington St. Clair, Sarah Nissley Woody, and Maydene Hoback Young. Kathryn “Kae” Engquist Brown died last August. Several members of the Class of 1956 attended a May reunion. Ginny, who attended her high school reunion in May, saw a picture of the group and said they looked great.

Put me on your list, and send notes or emails for the next edition.

I am here to pass on news you’d like to share but haven’t heard from anyone recently. I got an invitation from June Tingler Buie to join Facebook, but I am not yet a subscriber because high-speed Internet isn’t available in my rural location and my system is cantankerous. I had lunch with Anne Mitchell Wood at Carole Petley Toone’s house last summer, and I heard that Turner Christian Richardson has moved from Williamsburg to Atlanta. Hope someone will call or write to me between now and the next Class Notes deadline.

Hello, ladies! I apologize for missing the deadline for the summer issue! Being a caregiver leaves me little time of my own, but I shall try to improve.

Nancy Hallett Guest and Harry spent the summer in Albany, N.Y., went with the family to Martha’s Vineyard in September, and planned to go to Vail, Colo., for the winter. Harry had the ACL replaced in his knee and was to be ready to ski in February.

Mary Montague Hudson Sikes had five new books released in the last half of 2011. Her publisher decided to create little hardcover books for some of the places in her Hotels to Remember coffee-table book in the Snapshot in Time series. The first three are The Jefferson Hotel, The Homestead, and Hilltop House. Mary’s adventure novel, Jungle Jeopardy, was released in August, and a romance, A Rainbow for Christmas, was due out in December. Because Jungle Jeopardy is set in Central America and in Mayan ruins there, she planned a December show at the West Point, Va., fine arts center of some of her large acrylic paintings of the ruins. She enjoys yoga, Tabata classes, and tennis.

Remember our upcoming reunion weekend June 1-3 for all classes with years ending in 2 and 7. Mark your calendars and plan to be there!

Kay Martin Britto and husband Nelson of North Carolina celebrated their 80th and 75th birthdays with a two-week Baltic cruise. They get back to Virginia to see their four children and four grandchildren. They went to a medical convention in Denver in May with daughter Maria, who spoke there. Kay talked with Bonnie Hatch Bowden, who lives nearby, is busy working with the Democratic Party, is a potter, and is a volunteer usher at a local theater. She took her three grandsons sightseeing in Washington, D.C. Kay saw Anne dePorry McGrath recently in Fredericksburg, and they walked around campus, walked a pedestrian bridge that spans U.S. Route 1, and marveled at the new dorms across the way. Anne took a trip to Africa, has been involved in classes for seniors held at UMW, and enjoys photography. She has six grandsons and one granddaughter.

Martha Kimball Hearn Johnson of Fredericksburg is involved with UMW activities. She was to leave in October with President Richard V. Hurley, wife Rose, and other friends of UMW for a Mediterranean cruise on the Sea Cloud II, which was to include Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta, and Teresa Kennedy of UMW as their lecturer. Martha’s daughter and family returned from living in London several years ago, and her daughter is employed by the Leon Levine Foundation in Charlotte, N.C. They have a daughter at Georgetown University and a son at Charlotte Country Day School. Martha’s son, who has a design-build company in Richmond, has a son at U.Va., another son at VCU, and a daughter at Byrd Middle School.

Martha and her college roommate, Elinor Runge Vitek, visit several times a year in Fredericksburg, where Martha introduces Elinor around town. Elinor’s son is bemoaning current and future college expenses.

Jerry Sample Stocks and husband Ray of Beaufort, S.C., attended an August UMW brunch and program at the Mills House Hotel in Charleston. Irene Goldman Taradash, whose granddaughter is a Mary Washington graduate and whom Jerry had not seen since 1956, was there. Also there was Carol Cobert McGill ’66, a Charleston artist from whom Jerry took an art workshop several years ago. President Hurley sat at their table, and Jerry now has a license tag holder that reads, “University of Mary Washington,” a favor from the brunch.

Jerry and her roommates had their annual reunion in Norfolk, Va., in October at the home of John and Mary McCardell Furr. Jerry and her husband were there, along with Carol Ann Lassalle McMahon Roberts and husband John from New Orleans, and Frances Karins Updike and husband Bud from York, Pa. They started the reunions after our Mary Washington 35th, and this is their 19th. Jerry is a full-time college student pursuing a studio art degree at the University of South Carolina in Beaufort. The school gave her full credit for the courses she took at Mary Washington, so she’s considered a junior, and she hopes to attend our 55th reunion with that four-year degree in hand.

Sara Daly Rothenberger and geologist husband Jay live in the country just south of Charlottesville. She takes classes from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, many of which are taught by current or former U.Va. faculty, and occasionally Sara acts as coordinator of the theater class. She lives a half hour from son Bruce and his family and enjoys seeing them often. She gets together regularly with her roommate, Fran Ferguson Rowan, who lives three hours away. They meet suitemate Loretta Hitchings Tate for lunch in the Virginia Beach area and exchange photos of friends and family. Sara also is in touch with their fourth suitemate, Mary Virginia Garrett Wadsworth.

Nancy Lunsford Singer has had the good fortune to live her entire adult life in Fair Haven, N.J., a little town that is between two rivers, three miles from the ocean, and home to Bon Jovi and “the Boss.” After her divorce, Nancy became a “blushing bride” in August, marrying Steve Spero. The small wedding included her daughters, Laurie and Allison; granddaughters Bonnie, Jenna, Lilly, and Isabelle; and a few friends. Nancy retired as an assistant to the president of a small local bank, and she and Steve moved to Bonita Springs, Fla., where Nancy misses her longtime New Jersey friends. She would love to hear from any MWC girls in the Naples area. Nancy said her roommate, Patti Yearout Wharton, passed away in the spring. She and Ned had lived in Maine for a number of years, and Sara and Patti had kept in touch.

In April 2011, Joyce Lee Smith, Joyce Corbitt Faison, Peggy Saunders Burroughs, and Charlene Creekmore Wise took their suitemate-roommate, Pat Simmer Bishop, who lives in a retirement home in Farmville, Va., to lunch. Except for Charlene, the group lived together in Mason and Ball halls. Joyce’s husband’s son is with W.M. Jordan Co., which is doing the Mason and Randolph renovations, and they go to Fredericksburg to have lunch and watch the progress of the work

Ruthie Ridge Griggs recalled the autumn leaves at Mary Washington. She enjoyed our 50th reunion in 2008 and looks forward to our 60th. She hears from suitemate Nancy Snook Miller; the two were transfers to Framar their junior year. She was expecting Phyllis Myers Thurm to arrive from Georgia in October. Alicia Ann Cox and Ruthie had a 57th high school reunion. Phyllis was on a cruise

Joyce Butler Allen’s son took Carol Lehmann and her garden club of Ridgewood, N.J., to his home during their garden tour. John Allen has written a book, Uncommon Vernacular: The Early Houses of Jefferson County, West Virginia. Joyce and Carol reconnected at our 50th class reunion in 2008, which started the planning for the tour and visit with John. Cynthia West Benney’s husband, J. Neil Benney Jr., died in February 2011. We send our condolences to Cynthia.

Ebie Breeden McKnight never expected to land in Michigan, but her children talked her into moving north when they relocated to Chicago and were concerned about Ebie’s health. Daughter Meg and her family were in Naperville, Ill., and Ebie was in another Chicago suburb 12 miles south. After nearly seven years in Illinois, they headed to southeastern Michigan, near Ann Arbor, where Meg’s husband, Chip, had taken a marketing management position. Meg and her family are in a small picturesque community steeped in more than 200 years of impressive history, and Ebie purchased a comfortable apartment in the independent living wing of the Silver Maples retirement community, where she loves the food, trips, well-stocked library, weekly housekeeping, and pool. She drives and enjoys programs at the university and the restaurants in the area. Meg stays busy with her eldest, a son who is autistic and very bright; identical twin girls in third grade; teaching Sunday school; and leading Brownie Scouts.

Dot Dalton Crossan spent a September week in Williamsburg, playing golf and taking a schooner down the river from Yorktown. They went to Woodstock, Md., to watch grands play football and soccer, then traveled to Long Island to watch two grands in varsity high school football games. Their kids gave them a Thanksgiving golf trip to Pinehurst, N.C., for their 50th wedding anniversary in 2010, and they planned a March trip through the Panama Canal. Dot is involved with Tai Chi, bridge, book clubs, an investment group, golf, library friends, church, and agility training of their 2-year-old Cairn terrier. She sees Margaret Dunne Zebrowski often and keeps in touch with Harriet Ayres Chamberlain and Martha “Sissy” Collier Scruggs, who all are well.

Julia Harris Porter lost her husband of 41 years, David T. Porter, in July. He was swimming, as he liked to do. He was a 1956 Yale graduate and had a non-stressful technical job that allowed him to run with friends at noon. Julia’s grandson, Alexander, is 2 and lives about an hour away. She has been on the Mystic Area Ecumenical Council for 30 years and enjoys playing bridge.

I want to thank everyone who responded to the postcard and submitted additional information about classmates: great networking!

Jane Tucker Broadbooks has a powered wheelchair and spends time chipping paint from her doors and walls but says that John and the dog are safe. In June, son Jon Karl and family gave her a plane ticket to spend several days with them in Springfield, Ill., to celebrate her 75th birthday. John continues to work, and they spend weekends roaming the mountains and antiquing. Jane heard from Sue Horan, who lost her sister in 2009 but is well and active in her community. Mary Stump Harrell lives somewhat close to Jane, and they phone frequently. Mary is well, and she and Ray are doting grandparents to her daughter’s two children. JoNeal Hendricks Scully was rebuilding her house after an April fire. Molly Bradshaw Clark lost her husband, Jade, in September. Jane and Molly are ready for our 55th!

Mary Fredman Downing and Glenn endowed a bench at UMW for our class. What a wonderfully generous gift! Several alumni were there for the November dedication, including Emily Babb Carpenter and Tom, Dodie Reeder Hruby and Dale, Edith Sheppard Ott and Matt, Kay Rowe Hayes, Marcia Spence Harrison, Marcia Phipps Ireland, Cecelia Bergen Robbins, and yours truly. It was a delightful occasion with great company and good food. Dodie continues to enjoy portrait painting, Edie is a master gardener whose garden is included in the Richmond Ginter Park tour, and Emily has a florist business, you can see her work at Maymont.

Jayne Linton Ely of Nashville, who only attended Mary Washington for two years and remembers few of the girls, matches names with yearbook photos when she receives our monthly newsflashes. She said it’s interesting to read what women her age are doing and has realized what an active group we are as we push into our 70s. Jayne has belonged to a tennis-lunch bunch-bridge sisterhood for 20 years, and the members spend a week together at Hilton Head Island, S.C., each year. Jayne is in constant communication with her son and daughter, who live in Houston and Denver, but these ladies and their husbands have become her local family, even vacationing together in Europe. She stays in touch with Barbara Ashburn Rodriquez ’61 through Betty Lewis but lost track of her freshman roommate, Sharon Rogers, who transferred to Katharine Gibbs in New York.

Katie Quintus Stanton of Purcellville, Va., is retired. Husband Chick died in 2007, but daughter Kasey lives just six miles away in Bluemont, and Katie sees her and her two children often. Sadly, Patricia Whittaker Hanscom and Willie Burton Calhoun left us last fall.

Page Shafer Frischkorn and Jim, who live on the Chesapeake, weathered the big storm without major repercussions. Page hoped to see Jan Rutan Wright and Joyce Neil Krost at her 55th high school reunion in October. Afterward, Page, a veteran traveler, was to join a small group of close girlfriends, who have traveled together throughout the U.S. and beyond for 25 years, at Bourton-on-the- Water in the Cotswolds, where they rented a cottage. Cyd Day Getchell is raising and training a German shepherd that recently earned Canine Good Citizen and Herding Instinct certifications. Cyd chatted recently with college chums Syd Chichester and Natalie Robins Lehmann-Haupt.

Jane Denslow McCrohan remains bicoastal, due to the continuing state of the housing market, and spent the summer in Kingston, Wash., rather than Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., due to high airline ticket prices. Their New Jersey beachfront property weathered the storms well, and Jane said she has a deal for anyone who’d like to own 50 feet on the Atlantic Ocean close to NYC and Philadelphia. On the other hand, she said, she has an entirely different deal in mind for anyone who’d like to visit the Northwest and bunk for free in the guestroom of their new home with spectacular views of Puget Sound.

Jean Eubanks Holland of Rockville, Md., was bedridden all summer with a twisted pelvis from a fall. During the earthquake, Sarah Forsyth Donnelly of Esmont, Va., thought a helicopter was trying to land on the house, since it was noisy and the house shook. Irene took out their power for several hours but they had no damage and not much rain. Sarah is a genealogy nut, and her family has been diligent in keeping records, except for the French Canadians who immigrated to Louisiana. (Jody, Cyd, and Kay Neese Smith are into genealogy, too.) Sarah’s four grandchildren (and some of their parents) visited during the summer and had a wonderful time, except when the AC went out overnight.

Sandy Poole of Maryland’s Eastern Shore survived the hurricane with less damage than an ordinary nor’easter would cause. Sandy leads a prayer group at a nursing home and hopes to start groups in all four area nursing homes. She planned a short trip to Poland in October with a friend who lives in Sweden. Betty Ditmars Prosser of New York fared well during Hurricane Irene, which struck farther west, but the summer weather was erratic – hot and humid one moment, and cool and fall-like the next. She said she’d take long cold winters anytime over tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, f loods, and hurricanes!

Molly Watson Womble of Clearwater, Fla., has been a widow for seven years, still lives in her house, and feels lucky that no hurricanes have touched them. Molly is a quilter, volunteers at church, does needlepoint, and gardens when it’s not too hot. Her oldest daughter lives in North Carolina, has two boys in college, and is an elementary school teacher. Molly is thankful that her youngest daughter, who has a 16-year old and a 2-year old and teaches in a private school, lives nearby. Molly has talked to suitemates Nancy McGinnis Barto and Shelby Davis Porter and said it doesn’t seem possible that more than 50 years have passed.

Gail Picard Bonifay suffered through one of the worst Oklahoma summers ever but escaped the heat for 10 August days by taking their sons and families on an Alaskan cruise. They got together again in San Diego to celebrate son Brett’s retirement from the Navy. Barbara Wageneck Gardner of Texas has been in the same house for 32 years. Her daughter, who moved back from New England, is close to her, and her son is in San Antonio. Being a widow has been challenging, and she travels a lot less now but still volunteers at the hospital and is in two Bible study groups. Syd Collson Chichester had cataract surgery, one eye at a time. She was terrified the first time, but the second one wasn’t even as bad as being in the dentist’s chair. Syd had news from Patty Morgan Connelly, who visited Jane Choate Lorentz on Cape Cod. Jane had hip surgery but, apparently, is doing well. Syd also talked with Travey Moncure Evans, who sounded good, with her usual upbeat, infectious laughter, and loves living in New York City, going to plays, and having everything she needs within a block or so. Syd said Travey, though born in Fredericksburg, has become a true New Yorker.

Mona Allen Spilo moved from Armonk, N.Y., to Stonington, Conn., in September. Sue Smith Goodrick of North Carolina had to clean up tree limbs and debris and was without power for a couple of days after Hurricane Irene, but a home generator filled the gap. She took a European river barge cruise late last summer and enjoyed the city stops, good food and wine, company, and adventures. Susan Archer Hinzman was checking on their place on the coast in Morehead City, N.C., but hadn’t heard back. Liz Hill Heaney and Tucker Freeman Viccellio, also in North Carolina, were too far inland to experience anything more than rain.

Keep those cards, letters, emails, and phone calls coming, ladies. Jody and I love hearing from you – and so do your classmates. Please let us know if you want to be on our email list so we can keep you updated every month.

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.

Greetings, Class of 1962! This year holds an exciting and monumental reunion for our class – our 50th. I’ve been asked to share information for the reunion, scheduled for June 1-3.

The Alumni Association is in charge of all reunions, but seven classmates represent us on the 50th reunion committee: Bettie Stewart Kienast, Emily Lewis, Kathleen Sprenkle Lisagor, Margaret Walker MacAllister, Jane Walshe McCracken, Nancy Powell Sykes, and Marsha Lynn Wilkins. They began planning last August and have selected the Quality Inn (formerly the Hampton Inn) near Central Park as our class hotel. By now, you should have received information about schedules, locations, and events. Please consider attending this once-in-a-lifetime event.

This is one of the last columns I’ll write, as we’ll elect a new class agent at the June meeting. I have thoroughly enjoyed being your class agent and reporter and will miss the newsy emails, friendly notes, and delightful phone calls. Thank you for your cooperation. Until June – Pat.

I tried to get together with all the Northern Virginia alumnae to exchange information for this column, but schedules were too full so I’ll try again in the new year! I was looking forward to a mid-November garden tour of Argentina and Uruguay, where we lived for two years in the late ’80s. My husband, Jonathan, and I planned to spend Thanksgiving with my son, Derek, and wife Christine in Columbus, Ohio.

Carolyn Decamps Dunaway retired as supervisor of technical services at Chesterfield County Public Library in 2005 and decided to indulge her avocational interest in archaeology. After several trips with the Crow Canyon Archaeology Center in Cortez, Colo., she became interested in Biblical archaeology. For the past three years, she participated in excavations in Jordan and Israel and planned to return to Jordan this past January for her third time at Tall el-Hammam, an immense mound about nine miles northeast of the Dead Sea that is the most likely candidate to be the ancient site of Sodom. Carolyn is pursuing a master’s degree in biblical archaeology at Trinity Southwest University, sponsor of the Jordan dig. She also is active in her church and community Bible study and enjoys spending time with friends and her two step-daughters.

Janice Powers Stoodley retired as a vice principal in Fairfax County and recently biked with her daughter in India. Her husband is also a bicyclist. Lola Koller Sarsfield retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs and has four grown children, three of whom live in the Northern Virginia area and one of whom is a Mary Washington graduate. She also has 11 grandchildren. Lola saw Nancy Pida Remmers of Florida last summer and frequently sees Annie Rowe. Stella Tsourounis of Alexandria, Va., retired after teaching 30 years in Maryland, loves traveling in Europe and the U.S., and planned to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in Connecticut.

Apologies to all for such a short column this time. To those in Northern Virginia: Please email or phone me about a time for us to get together this year.

As always, you’ll receive our class news many months after sending it! You’ll read this in the spring, with the winter long gone. Our classmates wear many hats, have had many life changes, and have worked – and are still working – at nurturing families, holding down jobs, doing volunteer work, and maintaining busy minds. As your class agent, I find your letters and news interesting and inspiring. What a group we are!

Our deep sympathy goes to Betty Jennings Peterson, whose husband, Melbert, died this summer in Berlin, Germany, with Betty and his Swedish cousins at his side. He and Betty had attended a Kiwanis convention in Geneva, Switzerland, before traveling to Germany.

Janet Bagg Glancy, widowed since 2009, has devoted much time to teaching Advanced Placement English and coordinating the Advanced Placement Laureate Program at her school. In 2010, Janet spent time in Egypt, where two of her former students were working with Dr. Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. She and her friends traveled the Nile, from the Sudan to the Mediterranean, just before the spring 2011 political eruptions in Egypt. She also traveled to Spain, Portugal, the Loire Valley in France, and Cornwall, England. This year, her work at school includes implementing the University of Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education program in Naples, Fla. Janet said staying busy makes life a bit easier for those of us who are alone.

Ilona Dulaski Williams, who has worked in acting since graduation, also does narration and commercials. Last summer she played Clelia in The Nerd and Ouiser in Steel Magnolias at Wayside Theatre in Middleburg, Va., and she was to play Violet in August: Osage County at Barksdale Theatre in Richmond from January to March. She also has a group called The Cantati Ensemble, which specializes in opera, and sings at retirement homes in the Washington-Baltimore-Virginia area.

In October in Maryland, Ruth Pharr Sayer visited Margaret Goode Watkins, who was considering moving closer to her son and his family in Fairfax, Va. Jane Showker Capeheart and her husband visited Margaret, who also had a mini-reunion in Charlottesville with Betsy Johnson and Gloria Custer Meyers, a member of our class until the end of sophomore year. Margaret wrote that Ruth’s darling new grandson, Richard Grant Watkins, was born in June.