Class Notes

During the season of change, when much of the nation is bathed in glorious color, we fondly recall the autumnal beauty of the MWC campus.

Remembering those days, we are saddened to have lost another dear classmate. Mary Elwang Sharpley of Charlottesville reported the passing of Hilda “Hildy” Jones Blakemore, 84, in August. A celebration of her life was held in September at Main Street United Methodist Church in Kernersville, Va., with interment the next day at Fairfax Memorial Park Cemetery. A native of Cardiff, Md., Hildy was valedictorian of her Bel Air High School class and majored in history at MWC. After graduation, she taught fifth grade for five years. She was married to William Kinzer Blakemore for 49 years, and they lived 42 years in Springfield, Va., where they reared their two sons. In addition to her parents and husband, Hildy was preceded in death by her sister, brother, and son Robert. She later moved to Kernersville to be near her other son and his family and became active in their church. She is survived by son William and his wife, a granddaughter, extended family members, and friends. On behalf of the class, our heartfeltsympathy was sent to Hildy’s family. We remember her lovely face, sunny disposition, and sweet smile.

In the fall/winter edition of Class Notes, we reported the June death of Mildred Vance Secular, sister of Lucretia “Lucy” Vance Gilmer. In her latest letter, Lucy, who lives in Bristol, Va., enclosed an obituary for their only brother, Claude Vance Jr., 89, who died in September after a long illness. Ever an active, dedicated church member, Lucy finished entering all the church library books on computer and printing author, title, and subject cards. She planned to cook her usual Thanksgiving dinner for her two nieces, Claude’s daughters, and her grandnephew.

In August, Judith “Judy” Stone Johnstone and Bob drove from their new Weston, Mass., home to Illinois for granddaughterKatie’s outdoor wedding beneath two giant oak trees on a perfect,blue-sky day. Judy enjoyed havinga mini-family reunion at the sametime. Granddaughter Meg, Ann and John’s daughter, is engaged. The husband-to-be had friends hide in the shrubbery in Central Park and pop out cheering when she said “yes.” After the summer wedding, four of their seven grands will be wed, and they look forward to the great-grands. The Johnstones had settled in well in Weston but still miss Virginia. Judy’s current reading list includes the latest biographies of Jefferson and Washington, and she said Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life gives a description of Mary Washington that wouldn’t have pleased Mrs. Bushnell!

Barbara Tripp Wright of South Hill, Va., had a follow-up exam in October by her U.Va. medical team. It showed she was making progress, but her eye surgery had not yet reached its desired effect. She still had double vision, though it had improved since March, and she hoped for further improvement before her next exam in April. She still can’t drive but is grateful for her neighbors and church family. Barbara stays in touch with Helen Lowe Eliason, who likes living in a Delaware assisted living facility and meeting new residents. Alta Towe Fogelgren and Barbara stay in touch by email, exchanging, Barbara wryly added, details of their latest health problems.

With the beginning of the fiscal year in July, we thought you might like an update on the status of our Class of 1949 Scholarship. With no additional donations in the last fiscal year, the total market value as of June 30 remained at $52,651. Of the $2,400 award budget for the academic year 2012-13, $1,000 went to Jennifer Metesh ’13, a historic preservation major from Roanoke, Va., and $1,400 to Jessica Hopkins ’15, a history major from Duncannon, Pa. Of our $2,500 annual budget for 2013-14, $1,250 went to Hopkins, who was renewed, and $1,250 to Casey Klein ’17, a freshman from Fredericksburg with an undeclared major. Such an award would have covered much of our college tuition 60-some years ago, but with today’s charges, it covers little. Please keep our prospective Devils in mind as you consider donations, and remember that this scholarship originated with and represents the Fabulous Forty-Niners!

Corinne “Conni” Conley Stuart spent last summer in Halifax for her role in an episode of the Canadian sitcom Mr. D. Next we heard from her from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on the opposite side of Canada, where our multitalented Conni played an evil person in the horror film Wolf Cop, about a cop who becomes a werewolf. Our lovely Conni portrays a “shape-shifter” who changes from one evil being to another. Can you picture that? Conni said she was learning lots about the horror genre and that it was loads of fun to shoot because of the special effects. She cited a scene filmed in mid-November in which the cop was tied to a tree, turning into a werewolf. It was about 4 degrees Fahrenheit and took four hours to shoot. Her mythological character was dressed in long robes, fortunately covering silk long johns, thermal tights, and layers of warm socks in her boots. She said it was “quite cozy, except when the wind blew snow in my face!” Get ready for this: Conni’s character impaled the cop/wolf with her sword, then drank his blood, which she claimed as a veritable “fountain of youth”! Can’t you imagine Conni’s glee at portraying that role? Some octogenarian, isn’t she?

Conni also wrote about Moose Jaw, perhaps best known as the headquarters for Al Capone during prohibition. They have a mock-up of his office (night club and brothel included) and the tunnels where they transferred booze to the railroads. Young actors played various characters on the tour. Even more interesting was the mock-up of the tunnels and living quarters for the Chinese railroad workers. Conni felt the treatment of the workers rivaled slavery and that it’s a testament to the Chinese that there are so many prosperous and accomplished Chinese-Canadian descendants today. Our warmest thanks to dear Conni for her mini-travelogues. Just when we were in despair for having so little to report, Conni came through! As you must be aware, May 30, 2014, will mark exactly 65 years since we walked across the stage in GW, clutching our new diplomas in anticipation of the next part of our lives. Now, we are invited back in honor of that memorable day. We’ll be part of the combined 1908 Society rather than an individual class. But, while we have no idea how many or few of us will make that nostalgic journey, we’re still the Class of Forty-Nine! By now, you should have received a Reunion Weekend brochure with the format and schedule for the weekend of May 30 to June 1, 2014. May we meet again, you know where, you know when … “some sunny day?”

As ever, love to all of you from both of us.