Class Notes

After being your class agent for six years or so, I finally have figured out to ask you to format your information. When you send something, I request that you put your whole name and email address on the first line, so I don’t have to search or edit when I send everyone the news as it comes. If you’re not getting regular news from me, it’s because I no longer have your email address. Many of you have retired and not given me your current contact information.

Life is good in Atlanta, but I visit my children and grandchildren in California every four to six weeks. Sue Wooldrige Rosser, who recently visited me in Atlanta, had just returned from a visit with Carolyn Shockey Moore and Linda Cline Holden. They all are doing well and enjoy traveling and horse races. Joyce Gallagher Martin, whose son, Jonathan, was deployed to Afghanistan, keeps busy visiting her five children and 10 grandchildren. She visited her eldest son and family in San Diego in the fall then traveled to Yellowstone and Lake Tahoe. Husband Charles passed away in 2008. Joyce is an avid gardener, a garden club officer, and a floral designer. She gets together with Betsy Hudgins weekly. Carolyn Davis Lakin Davis got her name and address back when she met and married John Davis of Port Royal in 1983. They combined their two families and raised five children while working full time. She taught elementary school and retired as principal of Bowling Green Elementary in 1998. She lives close to Fredericksburg and family, with her 89-year-old mother nearby. She stays busy with mission work, traveling to the Dominican Republic; her church; the Caroline County Historical Society and Historic Port Royal; the board of the Caroline Library; and six grandchildren younger than 6. At her high school reunion, she saw Jane Burruss Hartz of Arkansas.

Harriet McGavock Vincent wants to write a memoir to let her grandchildren know what she’s done in her life. After Mary Washington, she taught life science in Virginia Beach for a year, then taught for two years in Kobe, Japan, as a Volunteer for Mission with the Episcopal Church. She lived in an ordinary Japanese neighborhood, sleeping on the tatami floor, going to the public bath, shopping at the local market, and improving her Japanese language skills out of necessity. She took the long way home, traveling through Asia, Africa, and Europe for more than four months and staying in various places in Taiwan, Tanzania, and England. Her excursions took her to Thailand, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Kenya, Greece, Italy, Austria, and Germany. She swore she’d never again be able to live in the South, but she met Tom, married, and has lived in Richmond ever since. Tom’s Parkinson’s disease has progressed for 12 years, and Harriet’s travels are now limited. Their son, Rick, lives in Boulder, Colo., with his wife and their daughter and son. Their daughter, Lisa Page, lives in the Richmond area with her husband and their three little boys. Harriet taught chemistry and biology for 35 years, including 29 years at St. Catherine’s School, where she retired in 2008.

Bobby Barrett Crisp’s sixth grandson, Andre Jordan Crisp Phan, was born in September in sunny San Diego. They were there for the birth and expected their seventh grandson on 11/11/11 in Charlottesville. Carol Hamblet Adams, who enjoys her new life in Boston, took acting classes and was in two Blue Cross/Blue Shield television commercials. She still loves her home on Cape Cod and the peace of the ocean. She still writes, and her first children’s book came out last year. Her three children are happily married and have given her four grandsons. Helen Hutton Smith spent much of last summer on a Mediterranean cruise with church friends. Husband John had a 50th high school reunion in Villa Rica, Ga., in June. They went with Joan Peatross to a 50th reunion at Lane High School in Charlottesville in August. Helen attended Lane but moved to Fairfax her junior year. She and Donna Gates Mason had their 50th reunion at Fairfax High School in September. Helen’s oldest daughter, Debby, lives with husband Joe in Ellicott City, Md., and home-schools her children, Tommy, 17; John, 16; Katie, 12; and Mark, 10. Helen’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth, works for the government and lives in Fairfax. Helen taught English for 26 years at Fairfax High School, where she continues to substitute.

Louise Stevens Robbins retired in May from the University of Wisconsin- Madison but continues to help raise funds for a library-community center for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and, with colleagues, to help launch the school of social sciences and humanities at a new university in Astana, Kazakhstan. She now spends lots more time with her grandchildren and hustles to keep up with her big garden. Martha Firebaugh Hurst has been married to Gene for 46 years and has three children and nine grandchildren. When they celebrated their youngest’s second birthday in March in Northern Virginia, Gene ended up in ICU in septic shock from group B strep. The infection was in his blood, heart, back, knee, and feet. After three months of hospitalization, seven surgeries, and therapy, they were able to return home. After 13 years of small-town living, Linda Patterson Hamilton and Austin moved from Kansas to Denver to help son, Jeff, whose wife, Rachel, died in August after a difficult battle with cancer, with his two little daughters.

After Barbara Bishop Mann and husband Robert took a well-deserved, two-week July vacation to Maine and Canada, Bobbi fell ill and was diagnosed with a rare, though curable, form of leukemia. She is now in remission and able to resume her normal routine, but she and Robert postponed an October trip to China. Bobbi and Jana Privette Usry attended Richard V. Hurley’s presidential inauguration in September. They agree that President Hurley’s description of his blue-collar, working-class family roots and his decision at age 25 to enter college are inspiring.

Linda Glynn Hutchinson, Pat Lewars Pace, and two other friends spent August in Eastern Europe, visiting Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Krakow, and Prague. Pat’s favorite part was dipping her feet in the Baltic Sea. Linda particularly liked the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa to which many travel to see the Black Madonna icon. They enjoyed the freedom of tour-free traveling, said that four was the perfect number to share cabs and the cost of local guides, and found that beer was cheaper than water! Pat and Clair Gollihew Cosby sadly reported the passing of Pattie Tuggle Miller, who lived with her husband in Ashland, Va. Pattie and Clair belonged to the No Standards Book Club of Henrico County, and the members made a gift in Pattie’s memory to the UMW library, designating it to be spent on the literature collection. Pattie was a career middle school English teacher, and Clair misses her wit, smiles, laughter, and “rock-solid support during hard times.”

Susan Roth Nurin retired from teaching in Annapolis, sold her house, moved back home to New York City after 45 years in Maryland, found a fabulous apartment overlooking Central Park, and began indulging in ballet, symphony, opera, and theater. She watched a private rehearsal of Swan Lake with members of the New York City Ballet, conversed with the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, attended rehearsals of the New York Philharmonic, visited the World Trade Center memorial pools, and took guided tours through Central Park. Susan traveled to Sarasota, Fla., for son Justin’s October wedding to Melissa.

Yvonne March took her first trip to South America in the fall. She spent two weeks in Argentina with her brother and sister-in-law, and they visited Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Iguazu Falls, which is reportedly more spectacular than Niagara. Relatives in Buenos Aires shared information about the family history in Cuba. Yvonne went alone to Peru to visit her sister-in-law’s family in Lima and spent three days in the city’s historical center admiring the ancient architecture. She flew to Cusco and caught the train to Machu Picchu. Before returning home with Chris to Tampa, Yvonne spent a week in Miami with family and friends.

Betsy Chappelear Tryon traveled to Scotland last summer with daughter Maureen, friend Brian, and granddaughter Maddie for her cousin Amanda’s wedding on the Isle of Skye. Betsy’s mother was born in Renfrew, near Glasgow, and many family members still live in that area. Amanda married an Englishman, Neil Gaiman, and it turns out that he’s one of Betsy’s favorite authors. She’d read most of his books before she learned of her cousin’s engagement. His best-known book, Coraline, was nominated for a Golden Globe award. Betsy and sister Kathy spent a few days in Glasgow before the wedding. Attending the reception at McDonald Castle, visiting crofts that belonged to relatives long gone, and listening to the pipes played by a distant cousin are some of Betsy’s cherished memories. Back home in Southern California, Betsy continues her “meet and greet” position at LAX and loves it. She represents five cruise lines, Princess, Disney, Carnival, Crystal, and Cunard.

Winnie Woodson Stribling regrets missing our 45th reunion but planned to attend her 50th high school reunion next summer in Richmond with Eleanor McJilton Thompson. The hand-bell choir Winnie conducts in Alamo, Calif., gave a moving Sept. 11 performance. She and husband Brad traveled in November to Kona, Hawaii, to enrich their stargazing avocation near the Keck Observatory.

Pam Kearney Patrick sent photos of herself dressed in a champagne-colored Victorian gown and her husband in a top hat, gloves, and tails. They were standing in front of a Victorian home in Cape May, N.J., where they were participating in the annual fall celebration, Victorian Week. Pam’s watercolor paintings have been on exhibit at the Mansion at Strathmore in Bethesda, Md., for the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society show; the Ice House Gallery in Washington; and the Durant Center in Old Town Alexandria. Pam has enjoyed reconnecting with Pam Ward Hughes, who has been traveling on assignment for the State Department, and her fellow watercolor artist, Carolyn Bingley “Bing” Wiley, who regularly travels to Virginia during the winter to visit friends and family.

This summer Susie Williams Cluff and husband Mike visited Taos and Santa Fe, N.M.; traveled China from Shanghai to Beijing; had their annual junket to Newport, R.I.; and visited their children’s families. Daughter Kristin is in Kansas, and son Michael is in New Jersey. Susie planned to visit her sister this spring in Beverly Hills, Calif. Susie and Mike celebrated their 46th anniversary and were downsizing their five-bedroom home, perhaps with a move to Vinson Hall, a community for retired sea service military personnel. Mike retired this year but teaches night courses at the Naval War College in Washington, D.C. Susie enjoys antiquing, which currently involves more selling than buying.

Sandra Hutchison Schanné spent a few weeks in Denver this fall welcoming her twin grandchildren, Alexis and Van Mills, and helping care for their big brother. Sandra realized how much easier it must have been for her own mother to help with grandbabies when she was 20 years younger than Sandra is now! It was challenging to drive a strange car in a strange city, learn her way around a different kitchen, and call up energy reserves she didn’t think she had. Husband Richard stayed home to supervise their remodeling project, extending the kitchen to include a new dining room with a workroom-photo lab above it. Son-in-law Shawn, meanwhile, said he would build Sandra a deluxe mother-in-law suite if she would stay on in Denver.

Martha Roberts and husband Russ of Fredericksburg took the auto train to Key Largo, Fla., in November, but Martha promised to be back in time for our 50th reunion! Linda Spangler Berkheimer and husband Phil left in November for Egypt and Jordan and hoped the political unrest in the Middle East wouldn’t interfere with their plans. Linda has extra copies of the DVD slide show she made for our 45th reunion if anyone would like one.

After a lifetime in Virginia, Terry Carruthers moved in June from Lovettsville to Mooresville, N.C., on Lake Norman near Charlotte. She and Don are retired yet continue to do part-time consulting. Don works from home doing divorce mediation via a T1 line and big screen in the basement, and Terry travels to Northern Virginia for orals coaching. Terry found a walking buddy, joined the Newcomers Club and the Golden Girls Club, and enjoys the garden, travel, dinner, wine-tasting, and bridge clubs. She and Don joined a Bible study and a boating group, and Terry volunteers at the Give-Back Consignment Shop for Christian Missions. She enrolled in a painting class, and Don auditioned to play tenor sax in the Lake Norman Big Band. Terry wonders how they find time to babysit and attend sports events with their six North Carolina grandchildren, but they do!

Carolyn Perry Grow and Dave continue to work diligently for a complete recovery from Dave’s second stroke. They bought a second home in central Pennsylvania rather than endure difficult travels to and from the Charlottesville area to visit family. They, and their cats, enjoyed the cool summer and have adjusted to the excellent medical and veterinary resources there. Carolyn and Dave are getting used to being called “halfbacks,” the term for people who move from north to south and finally settle halfway back. Carolyn and Dave were joined by Pat Thompson Greenwald and husband Paul in their Keswick, Va., home in September. Pat and Paul, married 28 years, took assignments in Hawaii and Germany at the end of their careers, retired from their government jobs at Fort Meade, Md., and moved from Annapolis to The Villages in Florida. Pat misses Maryland and her children and stepchildren so much that they’re considering buying a second home near them.

Joan Cuccias Patton, who is retired, spent a week in Newport Beach, Calif., with all her children and grandchildren for a family wedding and attended a second family wedding at a winery near Los Gatos, Calif. In October, she spent two weeks with friends following the path of the Illinois regiment during the Civil War, from Vicksburg to Natchez to Mobile. After Thanksgiving, Joan headed for New York City to see shows, tour the city, taste good food, and give Susan Roth Nurin some competition. Upon returning home, Joan planned to tutor and substitute teach, then leave in the spring for a long journey through Italy.

Kathleen Goddard Moss and husband Tom enjoyed a quiet autumn following a busy spring and summer filled with reunions, houseguests, and trips. In addition to our fantastic 45th reunion, they attended Tom’s 50th reunion at Harvard and Kathy’s combined 49th and 50th high school reunion. Their former exchange student from Turkey stayed four months with them, with her 3-year-old son, her mother, her husband (when his work allowed), and their newborn baby girl. Kathy and Tom’s children came from Spain and California for simultaneous visits so the children and grandchildren could enjoy each other’s company. Other visitors included old friends and Kathy’s brother and family from Seattle. Kathy and Tom flew to Spain for two weeks, camped in Ohio with two daughters’ families, visited Tom’s sister in Canada, and took their annual trip to Hilton Head, S.C., with Eileen Goddard Albrigo and her family.

I continue to enjoy retirement in Lexington, S.C., with my husband of almost 45 years, Dan, as well as our three grown daughters, sons-in-law, and seven grandchildren. We are active at church, volunteer at a crisis center, and enjoy our “granddogs.” Our oldest granddaughter married last year, and we would love to have a great-grandchild!

Though Sandra “Sandi” Lawhorne Green of Great Falls, Va., retired in 2008, after a 34-year career in public education as an English teacher, she was substituting long term as a reading specialist for Ashlawn Elementary School in Arlington. Son Justin, 36, is a captain with Loudoun County’s fire and rescue department, and daughter Ashley, 30, teaches second grade in Loudoun. Sandi’s husband, Brian, who also taught in Loudoun, passed away in 2004. Sandi is in a book club, volunteers at Great Falls United Methodist Church, takes beading lessons, and sells sterling silver jewelry. She and a girlfriend from high school visited New Smyrna Beach, Fla., in October, and she frequently gets together with Catherine Wilson and Donna Sinclair Seward for lunch, dinner, or beading classes. The three of them hope to attend the reunion in June.

The Facebook page for the Class of 1969, “University of Mary Washington class of 1969 alumni,” has become quite active. Log on to find updates from classmates, and feel free to post something so I will have news to report next time.

Many classmates live in the San Francisco Bay area, including Suzanne McCarthy Van Ness, Phyllis Newby Thompson, Reggie Sneed, and Iris Harrell. At a September mini-reunion, Suzanne, Phyllis, and Iris had fun at dinner at Iris’ country club and going through the old Mary Washington yearbooks. Iris had dinner in November with Carole Phipps and her partner, Paula, in Los Gatos, Calif. Iris hoped Carole would join her, Phyllis, and Suzanne to meet Lynne Richardson, the new head of UMW’s College of Business, at a November dinner at Boulder Ridge Golf Club, where the Alumni Association’s Donna Mejia also was to be present. Iris went to last year’s Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore., and spent time with friends in Klamath Falls, Ore., last September. Phyllis is looking for Valerie Dannehl and Pam Rodriguez. Can anyone help? Iris’ award-winning remodeling business is doing extensive remodeling on the California home of Phyllis, who also has a home with her husband on the Kona Coast in Hawaii, where they go to relax.

Barbara Burt Bowman lives in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. Susan Taylor Bulk of Western Wisconsin teaches swimming, skiing, and logrolling – quite a departure for a math major. Pat Akers of High Point, N.C., is retired and spends time on Oak Island. Carol Johnson Williams lives in Alexandria but spends much of the winter in Naples, Fla. Karen Dyer of Richmond is single and teaches dance part time. Ann Chatterton Klimas of Bel Air, Md., lives close to her grandchildren and freelances online children’s items. Nancy Parker Soles got together this summer in Vail, Colo., with her roommate, Lou Myers Daly, who lives there.

Cynthia Lowdermilk met Betsy Crews Neilson in South Boston, Va., for lunch last July, when Betsy was on her way to coastal North Carolina to visit her great aunts. Chris Cole of Mount Dora, Fla., lives in a cottage built over the water and said she has an alligator dwelling and growling under her bed. Chris writes for many publications, including the Orlando Sentinel. She wrote an article, The Elizabeth I Knew, about Mary Beth Anania, also known as Elizabeth Edwards, the late wife of John Edwards, which was picked up by many newspapers. Mary Beth was Chris’ roommate in Mary Ball and transferred to UNC. She was an amazingly accomplished woman, and her death at such a young age was truly a tragedy.

Linda Gattis Shull and Gloria Shelton Gibson attended an August reception hosted by President Hurley and wife Rose at the Charlotte City Club in North Carolina, where they were shown the physical changes being made at Mary Washington. There should be lots for us to see at our next reunion! Anne Witham Kilpatrick attended the Highland Games in Charleston, S.C., in September then went to Myrtle Beach. She also attended her high school reunion then visited with Jeanine Zavrel Fearns and Suzy Bender Winterble.

I recently heard from Christina Askounis ’68, who started with our class but graduated earlier. Christina, who teaches writing in Duke University’s English department, published a novel in 1993 that was reissued in 2007, and she was working on a second book. She is married to an Episcopal priest who has a computer consulting firm and isn’t currently active in parish life. Daughter Elizabeth lives in Barcelona, Spain, and works for the Council for International Educational Exchange, which handles many American study abroad programs. Son Michael lives near Christina and her husband and has a degree in history from UNC at Chapel Hill but had been working in video production. Christina returned to Mary Washington in 1995, when she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Christina also knew Mary Beth Anania (Elizabeth Edwards) while at Mary Washington, has fond memories of her, and attended her funeral in December 2010. We are proud to claim Christina as a member of our class, even though she graduated a year ahead of us, and we hope she’ll come to our next reunion in 2014.

Patti Boise Kemp said the newly renovated Monroe Hall, with high-tech features, is open and still has the classical exterior we all remember. The Anderson Center, a gym and convocation center, also is now open, and a hotel is set to be constructed in Eagle Village. Perhaps we can book it for our reunion in 2014. Patti attended President Hurley’s inauguration, along with Jane Jackson Woerner, Connie Cline Bukzin, and Jean Polk Hanky, and said it was both traditional and creative. Patti also attended the inaugural ball in the new Anderson Center. She ran into Connie Hinson when they both volunteered at the annual Friends of the Rappahannock Riverfest.

At the end of last year, Betty Wade Miles Perry announced her retirement from the city manager’s office in Virginia Beach, where she worked in the organizational development office and served as an internal consultant to the city. She was looking forward to taking better care of herself, spending more time with her children and grandchildren, and traveling.

Please email me or post something on Facebook so I can let everyone know what you’re doing. I truly enjoy hearing from all of you.

By the time you read this, I should be fully recovered from my November neck surgery. My cervical vertebrae are definitely disintegrating faster than other parts of my body! On a lighter note, Ted’s youngest son, Doug, got engaged last August to his longtime love, Sarah. They’re both employed at Jacksonville State University in Alabama.

Gaye Gregory Elliott lives in Richmond with husband Steve, retired in March 2011 after more than 35 years with the federal government, and plans to take classes she never had time for before.

Please send me your news!

It’s been awhile since I wrote, and so much has changed for many of us. My email is the same, but Ralph and I have moved back to the U.S. We bought a home in York, Pa., which will serve us for weekends while I work and for retirement later. It was time to come home after almost nine years in probably the most fascinating job of all – director of intelligence for the international military staff of NATO. We did not make it to our 40th Mary Washington reunion (I’ve only missed two), but Mary Anne Burns and her band of merry women did us proud, and I’d like to thank her again for making it great. A special thanks to everyone, as well, for the card with signatures sent to me in Belgium!

I spent most of August and September convalescing after surgery but am fine now. I wasn’t able to meet with Sally Reichner Mayor, who was in Belgium for a hot air balloon weekend, but we had a long phone conversation and caught up on each other’s lives. I tried to no avail to meet our Distinguished Alumna Award recipient, Mary Bradley MacPherson, at Brussels Airport when she was on her way to North Africa doing great things to promote the independence of women. Laurie McIntosh’s Port Tobacco, Md., company, Business Training Works Inc., does business at Fort Meade for the Asymmetric Warfare Group and takes her to Aberdeen Proving Ground; Fort Drum, New York; and even Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

My long-lost roomie, Liz Keith of La Jolla, Calif., gets back to the East Coast occasionally and was preparing to retire from San Diego State University, where she taught for many years. She travels to Europe a lot, but we were never able to meet there. Barbara Exline Staller, who was in Betty Lewis freshman year but at Mary Washington only two years before transferring to Bucknell, was on the West Coast with husband Walt for her niece’s college graduation last spring and met with Liz in San Diego.

My husband, Ralph, and I had just arrived in town from Belgium, when Mary Anne Burns, Kathy “Ernie” Marilla Kent, Lisa Barker, Lynn Trundle, Susan Stumpf Hebert, Dory Teipel, Frances McDonald, and, as a surprise, Natalee Franzyshen Spiro, gathered in November at Chadwick’s in Old Town Alexandria for food, fun, and friendship. After lunch, we headed to Ernie’s townhouse to exchange photos and news.

Mary Anne is now an East Coaster, not long transplanted from her days of commodity trading in oil. She has been a great friend and done great work for our reunion and in re-establishing some folks into the Mary Washington fold. Ernie spends lots of time in Virginia but has a place on Fenwick Island, Del., and visits Key West. Dory had some health issues that seem to be behind her and was ready to launch more of her artwork in a nearby gallery. It was great to see Lynn because we never really knew each other at school. Lisa, a Hanover, Va., attorney, and I have renewed our friendship. Susan, who flew in from Boston, still works for IBM. Natalee, who lives in Richmond, recently left the FBI as its first and only financial manager, then went into banking. Her husband fought a tough bout with cancer and remains cancer-free. Family issues prevented Betty Hume from coming.

Mary Anne also heard from Eleanor “Sloan” Tyng Schoonover, who joined the Navy after graduation and retired as a captain. “Cookie” Elaine Brennan Wright was in Budapest that weekend but volunteered to find a place for another gathering. We hope Yuri McCarthy Gauss and Jan McNeil will make our next mini-reunion. Carol Scouten was busy running a 10K; I understand she also runs marathons. Julie McClellan Seder, a costume jewelry artist, had a holiday show. We reconnected after several years when we were both at the Pentagon. Joyce Garber Gamse was at the Museum of Natural History in New York for the opening of a film her daughter produced.

The last time I saw Doris Lee Hancock of Richmond might have been at my 2001 retirement from Harry Lee Hall in Quantico, Va. Renee Kuntz ’85 is a friend from work, but we met during the Susan Komen Walk for the Cure in Baltimore, after the Sept. 11 terrorist bombing. Kathy O’Neill Argiropoulos ’70 has been a St. Stephens lay minister in the Episcopal Church for several years. Kathy Lewis Newbold of North Carolina survived last winter, one of the worst on record there.

Hello, classmates! It’s hard to believe we’re coming up on our 40th reunion. Has it really been that long? I hope many of you will make it; it should be a great one! Marty Abbott and I met with the rest of the planning committee in August to get the ball rolling. Those who haven’t been back for years won’t believe how our university – and Fredericksburg – has grown.

Marty and I hadn’t seen each other since graduation. She had a 32-year career as a language teacher and administrator for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, served as director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages since 2004, and was named executive director in October. The Alexandria-based nonprofit promotes legislation and funding for language programs on Capitol Hill. Marty has a master’s degree in Spanish linguistics from Georgetown University. I’m happy to have her helping with planning, and she’s excited about getting involved.

My position as a legal assistant remains hectic. I’ve enjoyed my appearances as Baltimore’s Best Hon for 2011 and am proud of my participation with Habitat for Humanity. Dennis and I planned to visit family in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., and to see our good friends, David and Cheryl Prietz Childress, in Richmond. They enjoy dressing up for colonial fairs; recently traveled to Ohio, Tennessee, and Mount Vernon; and have an 18th-century crafts retirement business.

That’s all for this time. Mark your calendars for the reunion the first weekend of June.

Like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes, the Class of ’73 scribe is ending her five-year hiatus. To those of you who sent news that didn’t get printed, thank you for not losing faith. In the age of email, it’s easy to send a quick update. Our section in UMW Magazine has looked so empty; let’s make a renewed commitment to stay in touch.

Karen Wands Parker advocates for people with behavioral health concerns to receive “person-directed” services and received the 2011 Mental Health Consumer Award for Effective Advocacy. Beginning in the ’60s, when her own behavioral health became disabling, she has proactively supported her peers by testifying at forums, co-facilitating focus groups, presenting at conferences, and writing for publication. In 1993, she received an award for three conference presentations. Also close to her heart are fighting stigma and assuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the mid-1990s, she was one of five mental health assistant counselors in the pioneering Supported Housing Options Program. Learning how to live with her own disabilities helped her empathize with and care for others, including her late husband, who developed violent clinical depression, Parkinson’s-related dementia, and cancer. Karen is a certified Wellness Recovery Action Plan facilitator, a Living Well with Chronic Conditions trainer, and vice-chair of the peer-run Reston Drop-In Center.

After 27 years in Florida, Mary Stevens Porter and husband Ken moved to Atlanta and were away from home much of summer 2010. Ken had statistics meetings in Vancouver, so they enjoyed their first trip to British Columbia then tacked on an Alaskan cruise. His work also took them to Missouri then they visited their son and his wife in Madison, Wis., detouring through Chicago on the way home. They made multiple trips to Northern Virginia for Ken’s EPA panels and visited his mother in Louisiana and their grandchildren in Florida. Ken was promoted to head of his unit at the American Cancer Society’s national home office. Thanks to Cathy Findley ’65, Mary has joined the Emory Women’s Club bridge group.

Mary stays in touch with her roommate, Carolyn Weems Lacks, and Pat Burgess Zerbe, who transferred home and didn’t graduate with us. Pat’s son was to graduate from high school, and her daughter was to make her a first-time grandmother. Carolyn and Wayne bought a Florida condo in anticipation of retirement.

After graduating, Barbara Taylor Moore earned a master’s in organ performance from Baylor University and returned to Charlottesville to open a piano teaching studio. She still teaches piano, organ, and music theory; teaches classes at U.Va.; plays for a church; and is active with local music organizations. She is married, and their cats are their “children.” Barbara finally realized her lifelong dream of becoming a volunteer firefighter with the City of Charlottesville. She still weighs less than 100 pounds, which makes some of the work challenging, and nothing in her six years of fine arts education prepared her for it, but she compensates with dogged determination, and a command of English and writing she uses as their secretary. Barbara sees other UMW organ majors every Christmas break.

This note is a couple of years old: Daniel “Duke” Price lives in Mechanicsville, Va., with wife Ingrid and daughter Danielle. Duke has worked for the Virginia Department of Health for 37 years and has been program manager for the Office of Environmental Health Services in Richmond for 13. He coaches high school and middle school girls’ tennis and is a certified tennis official. Ingrid completed the Court Appointed Special Advocate program to help abused and neglected children. Danielle, a 10th-grader, swims competitively and plays viola in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Camerata.

Deb Reynolds Linder and Bruce live in Coronado, Calif. Bruce retired this year from Booz Allen Hamilton to devote more time to writing and is the published author of four books on maritime history. Knee surgery forced Deb to give up tennis several years ago, but she turned her energies to golf. She is a member of a philanthropic organization that promotes the continuing education of women, stumbled into Web development, and acts as her friends’ IT consultant. Both daughters married in 2007. Kelly and husband Jonathan are in the tech industry in Silicon Valley, Calif. Terri, who works for Google, and husband Andreas, director of a hotel consultancy, live in England, so Bruce and Deb travel to Europe at least once a year. Last year they traveled through Switzerland by train, and this year they planned to be in London for the Olympics.

If you are reading this, you are obviously interested in your classmates’ news, and you can be sure they are interested in yours. Please go straight to your computer and send an email. Class Notes is published three times a year.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Wright was sent to Anniston, Ala., after Easter for a week’s training as part of FEMA’s response to the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act. As one of the original 200 disaster reservists hired the previous year, she received training on managing and tracking other federal agency employees who volunteer during disasters. It was the week the tornadoes struck, and Elizabeth assisted in deploying the community relations specialists for the Alabama response, then joined the response in Georgia. When the program was closed, Elizabeth, who had been away four weeks and had no field gear, opted to go home and regroup, rather than continue on to Joplin, Mo. Being a disaster reservist isn’t for everyone, but if you like challenging environments and 84-hour work weeks, it’s an interesting job. Elizabeth agreed to be a reservist while looking for a permanent full-time position close to Alexandria, Va. She volunteered during a January alumni networking event in Washington, D.C., and encourages other alumni to support these events. No matter what you’re doing now, your experience can help and encourage students who are preparing to graduate.

Carole Mercader’s son, Philippe, and daughter-in-law, Melissa, welcomed their son, Jacob Robert Brady, into the world in July. Is Carole proud or what?! Congrats!

Look for your annual postcard and get ready to share your news with your classmates!

Susan Akley Schneider’s mother, Lillian Akley, 90, passed away in February. Susan and her brother took care of her at their family home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. They reminisced about their visits to Mary Washington and seeing their friends (and Susan’s chemistry professor) Dr. and Mrs. Earl G. Insley and Ms. Loreeda Jones (“Jonesey”) from the Campus Christian Center. Susan’s mom supported every aspect of Susan’s life, and Mary Washington was special to both of them.

Kathy Behringer Dayton was to complete a post-master’s advanced graduate certificate in educational leadership at Stony Brook University in December and be certified in school building and district administration. She teaches middle school art on eastern Long Island. Vacation plans included a Christmas family reunion, camping at Cinnamon Bay on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mary Ruth Burton of Richmond enjoys work, and her children have graduated and are employed. She spent a summer weekend at her Irvington house with Dawn Hill, who was in our class but transferred to UNC at Chapel Hill, and husband Hal Hiemstra.

Donald Mulcare regrets missing our 35th reunion. After graduation and a stint in the Peace Corps, he began work for NOAA and has worked in 49 states and overseas. He spent a decade in the Washington, D.C., area, then divorced, accepted a transfer to Texas, retired in Corpus Christi, and started teaching undergrad courses as an adjunct professor in the GIS program at the local campus of Texas A&M University. He travels to English-speaking locations, especially Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Last year he spent two weeks in Thailand and Cambodia and hopes to take a biking tour of Vietnam next year.

Eva Marie Grace of Silver Spring, Md., has worked 12 years at the American College of Cardiology in Washington, D.C. Husband Brett is still with DoD, and son John, a high school senior, was applying to colleges. Her parents moved a couple years ago from Portsmouth, Va., to an assisted living facility in Williamsburg, near Eva’s sister, Ellen Grace ’70. A few years ago Eva noticed a sign in Bethesda, Md., that said, “Patricia F. Long, Music Therapy.” Sure enough, it was her sophomore roommate, Patty, a flautist who transferred to Temple and had moved south from New York.

Helen Taylor Salter lives in western Colorado. Stepdaughter Rachele, a nurse in Denver, is pursuing a master’s to become a nurse practitioner. Stepson Jeff is a high school AP chemistry teacher in Salt Lake City. Helen continues to deal with chronic illness but was cheered by a recent move to a new home in Grand Junction. She stays in touch with dear friends Judy Clark Hays, Lundy Baker Updike, Patti Jo Anderson, and Debbie Dawson Troy.

Debbie Schutte Bryan’s daughter, Kelsey, is a UMW freshman and loves it, and Debbie has enjoyed visiting the old and discovering the new on campus. Her eldest, son Chase, a JMU grad, is a junior accountant at a Richmond firm. Her youngest, Cole, a high school sophomore, is driving, so Debbie no longer has to chauffer! Debbie and Bill have been married 33 years and live in Richmond. After years of staying home to raise children then teaching part time, Debbie now teaches pre-kindergarten full time. Bill, an independent insurance salesman was disabled in an auto accident, but they keep plugging along. Cathy Kroohs has been with the Alexandria Fire Department in Virginia for 25 years. She participated in Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, a seven-day, 454-mile ride, and raised funds for an AFD medic who had a lung transplant.

Marsha Blosser Barley spent two years at Mary Washington then transferred to Shenandoah Conservatory, where she also earned a master’s in music education. She married in 1974, but her husband was killed in an accident three years later. She started teaching in Frederick County, Va., in 1978, has taught choral music ever since, and is in her 12th year with Winchester Public Schools. In 1988, she married Dale Barley, who had open-heart surgery last year. Now they get up every morning at 5 to exercise before work. Her 40-year-old stepson, Brad, is in the Coast Guard and lives in Wilmington, N.C. Her 22-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, is a senior at Bridgewater College, where she’s student body president.

Alison Haworth Regan and husband Don have lived in Grand Junction, Colo., for 12 years. Alison does needlepoint projects for a Texas shop, and Don is a seasonal park ranger at Colorado National Monument. Alison moved her mom, who has moderate Alzheimer’s, from Houston to an independent living community near them. They’re bonding after Alison lived so far away for so long. Alison and Don plan trips next year to Yellowstone National Park in February and to Canada in September. They have a 21-foot trailer they use for most of their travels.

Lundy Baker Updike had Jane Reese-Coulbourne, Fran Patton ’05, and Ellen Beste ’11 at her home in November to meet a prospective UMW applicant. Lundy was amazed to learn how much she and Jane had in common with the younger grads. She encourages anyone with the opportunity to get together with younger alumnae to do so! Karen Sullivan Iseman wanted to come to our 35th reunion but her older son decided to get married about the same time and that took priority!

Patti Jo Anderson, a project manager for Verizon, enjoys decorating her house and planning weddings. Her niece, Berkley Schmidt ’15, daughter of Cynthia Anderson Schmidt ’79, is a UMW freshman and one of 15 bloggers for Seventeen magazine. Madelin Jones Barratt, husband Henry, and daughters Ellen and Anna were to be in Shanghai for Christmas for the wedding of son William, who works at a Chinese company there.

Thank you all for sending me your news. Keep it coming!