Class Notes

Greetings to all our Class of Sexy – oops – ’60 classmates from your Stupendously Stellar Class Agents!

As you know, we summarize the class news in our monthly emails for UMW Magazine. We love hearing from you and are grateful to those who check in regularly. We’d also like news from those who only check in every millennium. We all are anxious for your news and count on you to stay in touch. Contact us if you are not receiving the newsletter.

Karen Larsen Nelson and Darrell visited their daughter, two granddaughters, and two great-grandkids, now 2ó, in Henderson, Nev., in July. They visited Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Redwoods, the Oregon beaches, Crater Lake National Park, and Fort Clatsop in Astoria, and took a ferry ride across the Columbia River to Washington. They visited Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, drove along the Washington side of the Columbia River, and visited the Bonneville Dam and fish ladders on their way to visit Gaye Roberts Olsen in Boise, Idaho. Karen and Gaye reminisced about Mary Washington days; Gaye and others spent time at the home of the late Anna Scott “Scotty” Hoye, UMW professor emerita of biology. Karen and Darrell spent August in their trailer at “senior summer camp” in Show Low, Ariz., and danced again during a weekend in Albuquerque. Grandson Alex completed Marine basic training at Parris Island and his second phase of training. He looked forward to his next assignment and learning electronics repair.

Jane Denslow McCrohan also drove in The Dalles along the Columbia River this spring, traveling east on the Washington side and west on the Oregon side. They returned to Portland to visit their granddaughter, who is studying microbiology at the University of Portland. Jane sent pictures from junior and sophomore year. Karen Larsen Nelson was in some, along with Pat Behrman MacDonald, Joan Brunner, and Lucy Wu Wang.

Joyce Neill Krost was working with friend Neill on the Las Vegas musical set of Summer Lovin’. She had planned to leave in September for a few months in Spain, painting, drinking wine, and gossiping with her sister, but her sister’s husband had medical problems, and Joyce delayed her trip. She planned to paint a huge project for someone’s dining room. Jeanette Meyer Juren and Hal took an August trip to Ashland, Ore., attending programs, lectures, and theater tours at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. From there, they toured Minneapolis.

Martha Butler Lebovitz spent a week with her University of Texas granddaughter, visiting her brothers in Winchester, Va., and spending time in Washington, D.C., visiting the WWII and Vietnam memorials. They also visited Martha’s other granddaughter, who was interning with Teach for America in Philadelphia. Sue Whidden Frisch and husband Bruce live in Connecticut, where Sue started a farmers market in Norfolk in 2006. It got townwide support, they hired a manager, and they now do 22 weekly summer markets and one in December. They redid their website and Sue is the webmaster, Facebook administrator, and blogger.

Betty Ditmars Prosser, who’s been with Mary Kay for 30 years, celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary with 8,000 other consultants and directors in Dallas in August. Betty spends as much time as possible with her 11-year-old twin grandsons. She visited granddaughter Megan in Southern California in September, while Megan’s parents were in Italy, and broke her foot in October.

Syd Collson Chichester doesn’t volunteer as much when she’s in Fredericksburg as she does in Florida, but she keeps almost as busy, lunching with old friends and serving on her gated community’s landscape committee. Syd got an email from Patty Morgan Connelly, who’s still active with her horse, which was injured last winter but was back at “work.” Patty sings in her church choir and plays golf and tennis. Gay Hall Sullivan lives in Syd’s community, and they do lots of things together, including caravanning to Florida and back each year.

Gretchen Squires Best and Graham live in North Carolina. Gretchen spent time with friends last summer in the North Carolina mountains and a week with her two younger sisters at their childhood lake vacation spot in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Bests visited their daughter when she took her daughter to start at Guilford College in Greensboro.

Joan Scarritt Reynolds thanked us for her August birthday card. Her sons took her out for a Mexican dinner. She had her annual September visit with Cape Cod friends, then took a cruise with them from Copenhagen to Venice. Joan went on the gluten-free diet hoping it would help with allergies. She said it had and that the arthritis in her hands was gone. Nancy Rorabaugh retired from teaching at the end of the year.

Iris Hall Newton of Fredericksburg went to Tennessee in March and May and took two recent trips to Pennsylvania. Laser surgery on one eye in May went well. She still crochets, quilts, makes gifts, and has weekly family get-togethers. Joyce Larrick Casey of Winchester, Va., was recognized at a tea for 40 years of part-time work at Handley Regional Library, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Mona Allen Spilo said, regarding her birthday, “You can’t hide your age from classmates!” Betty Oliver Bridgman said she doesn’t feel 75, except when she walks. She walks with a cane due to an inoperable ankle problem. She and Victor celebrated their 52nd anniversary and love living in the West.

Jody Campbell Close wrote a memoir about college roommate and longtime friend Carole Faison Rasmussen, ending with news that Carole’s husband, Royce, passed away in February 2013. He’d been in ill health for years and began declining rapidly in November. Carole took his ashes to Nebraska in May. The sad trip also turned into a small family reunion and a time of sharing. Carole then spent time with Royce’s sister and husband in Denver. She took her first cruise in July, visiting New England with friends, and goes to the Jersey Shore with her son and his family each August. She went to a Winchester-area arts festival in October, her first time in Virginia in a while, and hoped to spend Thanksgiving in Maine with daughter Laura’s family. Carole still works with son Matt about 15 hours per week.

Sue Smith Goodrick turned 75 and said she hadn’t looked forward to it but it’s comforting to have company in her classmates. Her son’s family visited her from Chicago in July; her daughter came from Phoenix to join them. They took Sue’s johnboat into the Intracoastal Waterway to Topsail Beach, where they sunbathed, fished, and let the boys splash around. Afterward, Sue spent a week in Washington, Mo., and took a romantic road trip to Charleston, S.C.

Jody Campbell Close said her “new normal,” including braces on both feet to help her walk without pain, does “not a stunning fashion statement make!” She’s been working with physical therapists, all young enough to be surrogate grandchildren. Jody’s extended family lives in Virginia and Washington state. Her youngest was being transferred back to Florida, so she’ll get to see his children more often. She’s reached a new plateau, resetting her grandkid- meter to accommodate young adults. No more babies and “skip-along” schoolkids. She’s still fascinated by genealogy. Her genealogical society presented its annual family history open house in October, and she taught the annual Boy Scout genealogy merit badge workshop in March. Jody belongs to the local historical society. They’re proud of their historic village built around an old train depot. Two old homes and the original one-room library were moved to the location, which includes a WWII Quonset hut with military memorabilia. They recently added a replica of an early one room schoolhouse, and a Boy Scout Eagle project produced an authentic outhouse. The village, with lakeside views, is already a destination-wedding site, and their next project is a small chapel. Jody hopes to take some interesting trips this year.

We hope for another great column next time with lots of news from lots of you. Email as much as you like to either of us. Your classmates love reading about each of you, even if you think it’s mundane or inconsequential. So write! You might make someone’s day a little brighter.

Please send news to the designated Class Agent according to the first letter of your maiden name.

From Connie (via Lynne): I’m filling in for Connie while she recovers from a mild stroke and light seizure in October. She had therapy in the hospital’s rehab clinic, and husband Andy said doctors are optimistic she’ll make a full recovery. When I spoke to her a month after the stroke, she sounded the way she always did and her mind was as sharp as a tack. She did say this stroke recovery seemed worse than her lung transplant in December 2012. She suffers from shakiness, poor balance when walking, and fatigue. Connie asked to recognize and send sympathy to classmates suffering from ailments or losses of family members. Bobbie Brookes Nation said, “Could there be a more lovely, intelligent, and remarkably brave, giving, and sharing person on this planet Earth to cheer for? I am sending my love to this wonderfully courageous woman.”

Clara Sue Durden Ashley still works part time at the Quilt Shop of McLean in Virginia. Husband Clarence’s knee replacement went well. They expected the whole family for Christmas, with 15 houseguests and 21 for dinner. Charlotte Howard Austin and Hank moved to a retirement community. Judy LaRoe Hare still works full time, plays tennis when she can, and planned to spend Thanksgiving in Phoenix with her family.

Bev Carlson Shea said that when her son Dan, 42, was a National Merit Scholar and the male Presidential Scholar from Pennsylvania, we were still in the dark ages with no email, and letters were too much of a bother. He graduated from Princeton and Harvard Business School. When Heather, 39, was Phi Beta Kappa and first in her class in economics at Penn, we still couldn’t write news so easily. Since then, all she has to add is grandchildren from both of them.

Carol Schock Furman moved to a Virginia condo. Sadly, her older daughter, Candy Elaine, passed away last November at 44. Seven weeks later Carol’s husband passed away at 84. Her grandchildren, ages 5, 8, and 11, have been her salvation. Carol planned to attend an October UMW alumni reception at the Cavalier Hotel and visit with President Hurley. She still does day care at 74!

From Renee: I hope you are well and enjoyed a beautiful autumn. I had Internet problems and lost mail from one of our classmates, so my apologies to her. I hope to hear from her – and from more of my group – again next time. Please?

Nancy “Pepper” Jacobs Germer and hubby Hank have been married 52 years. They’d sailed on the Norwegian Jewel to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel and decided to go again in November with a group of seniors from their church. The Germers visit their two grown children and grandson Henry, and continued to be blessed with excellent health.

Lloyd Tilton Backstrom sent a copy of Judith “Judy” Lewis Clark’s obituary. Judy died in October after a long battle with brain cancer. She taught chemistry and physics at Alexandria’s Hammond High School, and ethics and computer skills at Fishburne Military School. Survivors include husband John C. Clark of Waynesboro, her son and daughter and their spouses, five grandchildren, a brother, and two sisters, one of whom is Emily Lewis Andres ’62.

I am doing well. Test results are good, my hair has grown back, and I’m as active as I want to be! I still enjoy classes at UCLA Extension in a program for ages 50 and older. Recent favorites include astronomy, movie musicals, writing, and history of rock ’n’ roll. Next quarter I plan to take “The Play’s the Thing,” Puccini, and a couple of others.

From Lynne: Sandy and I signed up for the UMW President’s Travel Club cruise through the Panama Canal in January. To celebrate a significant birthday, we planned a March trip with friends to Houston for the rodeo and to New Orleans. Pat Scott Peck was in Maine for the summer, and Carolyn Crum Pannu visited for two weeks in August. They stayed with Peggy Howard Hodgkins a few nights, then went to Pat’s cottage on the Canadian border, seeing Mount Desert Island and St. Andrews in Canada. Finally, they drove to Boston, visited Salem, and stayed with Carolyn’s parents’ neighbors from the ’50s. Pat hopes to visit Carolyn in California in spring.

Marcy Trembath Pitkin finished chemo in August and had a double mastectomy in October, and the tumor was completely gone. Eleanore Saunders Sunderland misses twin sister Judy but has her beloved cat, Ebony, who has become a wonderful companion. Eleanore had a clamshell cast on her upper arm for three months. Fortunately, it’s her left arm, but she still has to type with one finger.

Kay Slaughter has a step great- grandson who’s 3 and another great-grandson who’s 2. She retired as an attorney at Southern Environmental Law Center in 2010 and planned to totally retire after this year as an adjunct professor at U.Va., her 10th year teaching. She wants to spend more time writing and enjoying life with no set schedule. She had been busy politicking in Virginia’s governor’s race. Kay still sees Suzanne Stafford, her roommate at Carolina after MWC. Suzanne was living in a senior community in Bethesda, Md., while being treated for ovarian cancer, and Kay said she has done well. Kay said Mary Thom White Osborne, who transferred with her to Carolina and lives in the Boca Raton area, lost her husband in 2011. Kay keeps up with Betsy Ottley Taggart, who she saw in spring 2012 at their high school reunion in Richmond, and Renee Levinson Laurents on Facebook and wishes more MWC alums would join. Kay wondered if anyone has heard from Sandy Wadlow or Carol Lemon, who were her friends before MWC.

Graham Walker Burns heard from Sara Prosterman Brown that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They might try chemo, but she’s not a surgery candidate. Email well wishes to her at sbrown@tylerandco.com and keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Anne Tetterton Jordan Madsen – who lived in Betty Lewis Hall freshman year, Virginia sophomore year, married, and transferred to the College of William and Mary branch that’s now ODU junior year – said, “What wonderful news about Renee. Cancer free! It looks like she is carrying on in her wonderful style. Keep it up, Renee. You are one of the gals I will never forget.”

From Kathleen: It seems at this age in life we’ve switched gears and are still quite busy, plus we have extended our families and friendships. Somehow, I feel I’m in American lit class again reviewing Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Do human beings realize the treasures of life while they’re living it? Many of you know I now live in Fredericksburg. I recently learned from my new neighbor that Betsy Williams Brothers and her husband played a great part in the restoration in downtown Suffolk, Va., located at the old high school and Main Street. They’ve won many awards, and historical markers are posted. Betsy’s health has greatly improved after treatment at Johns Hopkins. She hopes to visit Honduras soon with family.

Lynda Puckett Howell still lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., but was unable to join Marsha Arlott Wooster, Liz Kennedy Thomas Slate, and Betsy in her old Nags Head family cottage, as she spends lots of time caring for husband Dennis. Their stays on Emerald Isle and Wintergreen are very limited. Lynda has grandchildren nearby. Suzy Hawkins C. Thomas, my MWC choral buddy who still lives in Oregon, switched from counseling to being a Macy’s jewelry consultant. How does she fit it in with five children and grands around the country?

Peggy Downs Gerber and Joyce Wilborn Lacy and their golf-playing husbands are busy babysitting new grandbabies. Joyce teaches piano to some of her grandchildren. Louise Couch Girvin and John visited San Antonio, Texas, and assisted youth Bible studies in Kentucky. Several classmates and their husbands met in September in Richmond for their 55th reunion at Tee Jay High School. I had a wonderful time catching up on classmates and friends with Donna Floyd Parker and husband Scott of Georgia, and Gale Taylor Drew and husband Lewis. Joan Blesse Griffin, who left junior year to pursue a nursing degree, and her husband live in Smithfield near her brother Jim. Kay Christian Hunter and her husband still live in Richmond. She volunteers and keeps up with her nearby grandchildren. Even Archer Cassada Williams, who earned a master’s degree at MWC, and husband Tom were there. Forgive me if I left anyone out. This job entails lots of memory unless you write me some notes, gals!

Pat Mackey Taylor, who escorted me on my first teaching job interview in Tidewater in 1962, welcomed more grandchildren and traveled to places like Russia and Egypt. Jane Walshe McCracken seems lost in sunny California without us. Please write or call her.

I went with my Lynchburg daughter’s children and family to Disney World in June. I still make music with daughter Amy at church and town events. Son Matt and family manage the Goddard School in Williamsburg. My cocker spaniel was sporting a pink cast on a broken leg!

On a sad note, we extend our condolences to several classmates. If you know of any such news, please notify the Office of Alumni Relations or one of the class agents. Nancy Powell Sykes lost a special cousin, Newport News native Kathryn Ward Dickinson ’87, to cancer. Kathy had won the Teacher of the Year award in Spotsylvania County. Joan Akers Rothgeb and Ann Tench Huml emailed in November about the passing of Emily Lewis’ sister, Judy Lewis Clark ’61, who had a brain tumor. Joan went to the service, conducted by Emily’s  husband, Rev. Anthony Andres, in Waynesboro.

Joan travels and babysits, especially in Richmond. She and husband Eddie enjoy going to their Wintergreen-area mountain cottage. Joan shared news from classmates. Lucy Ritter Todd co-chaired her town’s November all-community garage sale in Bastrop, Texas, to benefit the historical museum. Donna Floyd Parker and husband Scott, in Virginia for his fall high school reunion, visited Sue Grandy Farrar, Gale Taylor Drew, and Gale’s husband, Lewis. Gale invited Joan and husband Eddie to spend the night when Donna was there. At the reunion, Donna spent time with Kathleen Lisagor, who helped plan it. Donna and Scott planned to return home to Atlanta to visit their daughter, then head to Louisiana.

Mary Lott Haglund was in Virginia for her fall high school reunion and a wedding. She also attended a gathering at Wintergreen, organized by Gale Taylor Drew. Mary and Gale, along with Sue Grandy Farrar, Betsy Carper Cole, and Joan Akers Rothgeb, spent several days exploring the area and catching up with each other. Betsy bought a condo at Pawleys Island, S.C., where they planned to spend part of the year. Her son, his wife, and Betsy’s grandson live there. Barbara Schwab Jesser and husband Bill visited the Galapagos and Peru in fall with friends.

Please share your news. Any news you might receive would make 2014 special! As I wrote this, we were entering the cold spell of winter. May your homes be filled with happiness and your hearts with love and sweet memories. Please share news, names, and addresses!

It’s wonderful to hear from so many classmates! What interesting women you all are! Many of you said you enjoyed the reunion and reconnecting, and thanked the committee for a fabulous time.

From Linkey: Check umwclassof63.shutterfly, where I put photos of reunion. You might have to join Shutterfly, but there’s no cost. Email me if you’d like to be added to the site or if you haven’t received messages from me via Shutterfly. Many thanks to Lois Smith McDaniel for the great pictures she took and to Betsy Lydle Smith for doing the column this time, as I have been recuperating from a collapsed lung and surgery. I was almost back to 100 percent at this writing. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Suellen Grant Knowles said that during Reunion Weekend, our class was inducted into the 1908 Society, representing all Mary Washington alumni who’ve previously celebrated their 50th anniversary. As 1908 Society members, we’re invited to attend Reunion Weekend each year. During our 55th, we’ll have the opportunity for a separate Friday night class dinner, a designated area in the 1908 Society tent, and more. It’s a wonderful opportunity to schedule a gathering with friends. Our class contributed $586,290.47 to the University. More than 122 donors, 36 percent of our class, participated in the Race for the Eagle. Most of the donations were designated toward specific scholarships and endowments. The rest was given to the Fund for Mary Washington, supporting scholarships and career services, and alumni and student activities. We continue the tradition of assisting the next generation of students as was done for us.

Karen Vandevanter Morrison and Bev Sangston formed a committee to begin looking into ideas and funding for a Class of 1963 gift to UMW. If you have ideas or would like to be on the committee, contact Karen at mms02891@gmail.com.

Karen and husband Kent spent September in Europe, visiting the museums that had just reopened in Amsterdam. As Karen dodged bicycles, she pictured Gloria Moskowitz Fischel, who used to live there, fearless and full speed ahead. The Morrisons visited art museums in Prague, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, as well as Nuremberg and the monument the Germans finished in 2012 for the trials. They motored down the Danube, ending in Budapest, and spent a few days in Vienna. Karen got together with Beth Wharton Williams and husband Sam in fall, when they visited Seattle from Texas.

After 25 years teaching mainly fourth and fifth grades, Bev Bird Miller, who lives near Atlanta, retired in 2001 and loves every minute of this chapter in her life. She and Paul deliver Meals on Wheels, and Bev gives school children tours of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, helps at their church, and has luncheons with friends and schoolteachers. She went to Disney with family, and her 5-year-old granddaughter talked her into going on a rollercoaster and waterslide. Bev still deals with skin cancer and has surgery several times a year, but all is well. She broke her leg in four places two years ago, so she’s given up tennis but does play some golf. Bev keeps in touch with MWC roommate Susan O’Connor Johonnett of New Hampshire.

Linda Gulnac Steelman and husband Bill were healthy and plan to travel to Africa to see the great migration in Tanzania once Bill completes his course work in May. Linda was entering her 14th year as an interpreter for the Nantucket Historical Association. She continues to grow in her knowledge of the area’s deep historical heritage and loves the interaction with people.

Nancy Slonim Aronie volunteers, driving the elderly on Martha’s Vineyard. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her mother and all their outings when she was in her late 80s, so she considers the women she drives treasures. Her grandson is 3ó, and Nancy is dissolved in love like never before. She still writes for NPR and teaches. Her new class is “Jump Start Your Memoir.” Her book, Writing From the Heart: Tapping the Power of Your Inner Voice, has gone into its seventh printing, and her husband got a patent on his vaporizer for medical marijuana.

Janice Coleman, a math major, spent her career in education. At our 50th reunion, she visited dear friend Joyce Henderson Looger, who she hadn’t seen for nearly 20 years. The too-early deaths of roommates and lifetime best friends Dabney Lipscomb Rader and Wendy Shadwell made the reunion bittersweet. The four remained devoted friends, grateful for the unique Mary Washington experience that led to such strong bonds. Dabney and Janice were housemates during their first year teaching in Hampton Roads public schools. After Dabney married in 1964, Janice taught three years in Chatham Hall in Virginia, a year in Switzerland, and in NYC private schools until the end of her teaching career. Janice and Wendy, who became an esteemed curator of prints at the New York Historical Society, shared an NYC apartment for 38 years, until Wendy’s death in 2007. With Wendy’s help, Janice established the Coleman Family Farm Scholarship (CFFS) at UMW to provide motivation and encouragement for girls from remote agricultural areas gifted in STEM subjects. To boost the scholarship, Janice acquired a conservation easement to protect in perpetuity her family’s farm in Campbell County, Va., from non-agricultural development and was in the process of donating it to Mary Washington to sell. She also has included CFFS at UMW in her will for further funding. Janice is partially responsible for executing Wendy’s bequests to UMW’s art history and English departments, so she goes to Fredericksburg as often as possible for activities related to both.

Diane Lovewell Melton, Lois Smith, Kitty Shannon, and Bev Sangston have kept in touch since the reunion. Diane was preparing to manage her annual convention of physicists and engineers in Denver. Imagine 1,700 of them from around the world, meeting night and day to listen to technical papers and you get the idea of how glamorous her career is. Diane saw Norma McNair in summer, as one of her sons lives nearby, and they plan to get together whenever she comes to visit him.

Gloria Moskowitz Fischel is semi-retired but still runs a travel business. She volunteers for community events, including the Art, Books, and Culture Festival, and cooks for the food bank. She decided to put her MWC bachelor’s degree in psychology back to use and entered a training program to become a crisis counselor for the mentally disturbed. She can frequently be found cheering at her grandchildren’s football and baseball games and cross country meets. She was excited about her 13-year-old grandson’s upcoming bar mitzvah and her 11-year-old granddaughter’s December performance with the Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker.

Susan Rutan Joehnk went to law school in her 40s and wrote criminal appellant appeals for the state of California. She and her family have lived in La Jolla almost since just after she, Cathy Foster, and Betsy Lydle Smith, fresh out of MWC, lived together at Mission Beach and taught school in San Diego.

After our reunion, Lois Smith McDaniel of Jacksonville, Fla., invited Betsy Loving Robbins, who still has a flag company, and George to spend a couple days with them in the Orlando area. They are chefs extraordinaire. The husbands had a lot in common.

Carol Van Ness Clapp and her husband returned to Naples, Fla., in fall and planned to get together with Eileen Hildebrand Andrews and squeeze in a few rounds of winter golf. The Clapps’ summer on Cape Cod culminated with their daughter’s October wedding. Ginger Logie and Cal Carr joined the celebration.

After college, Karen Gustafson became an interior designer for Woodward & Lothrop in Washington, D.C. (Edna Armstrong and Ethel Armstrong also were hired there.) Karen started a master’s program in theater arts at George Washington University, interning at Arena Stage, where she met her first husband, a playwright and actor. Eventually they moved to NYC, where Karen lived for 40 years and was a Montessori school teacher and principal (after studying in Italy), an editor and journalist for interior design and architecture publications, and owner of a design industry public relations firm. She moved with second husband Marty to Weston, Conn., eight years ago, and semi-retired almost two years ago. She’s studying Italian and contemplating a writing project. Recently she was in touch with former suitemate Carol Paige Phillips Spruill, who lives outside Richmond, had a recent knee replacement, and planned to have a second one.

Pete and I (Betsy) moved to Bainbridge Island, Wash., (a 35-minute ferry ride from Seattle) in June and love the quiet, beauty, interesting people, and lack of traffic of island living. I still work part time, mostly facilitating personal growth webinars with my business partner in Manitoba. Modern communication is amazing! We’ve had participants from New Zealand, Laos, Costa Rica, Australia, South Africa, Israel, and more. We had a recent small dinner party with new friends. Of five people, three went to college in Virginia. Small world!

Thanks to everyone who sent news. We look forward to hearing from more classmates for the next newsletter. Email Linkey or me with your news! I’d rather be a devil than a goat!

Good wishes to all in the Class of ’64. There were several emails with reports of family, travels, work, home, visits with classmates, and health on the mend.

Connie Marsh Pollard and former roommate Martha Hanks Cooper got together at Martha’s Richmond home in August. They prepared a birthday dinner for Martha Wangler Ryan ’65 and husband Chris. Martha visited the Pollards in Boston in September, and they “almost walked her off her feet” sightseeing. Rough seas canceled their whale-watching expedition. Connie has been trying to contact Ann Everett and keeps in touch with Suzanne Mason Haff ’65, Mary Fitch Harahan ’65, and Anne Plummer Linn ’65.

In June, Carolyn Hawker Ginsberg welcomed grandbaby Alice, who joined cousin Emily, 17 months. Carolyn’s daughters, Sarah and Laura, live close by. Carolyn still works at the University of Connecticut, Stamford, and participates in silent retreats in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in Barre, Mass., and NYC. An accomplished artist and art historian, she engages with her surroundings through drawing.

Ruth Pharr Sayer’s path and mine keep crossing because of our engagement with Convent of the Sacred Heart schools, her in Princeton, N.J., and NYC, and me in Greenwich, Conn. Ruth’s daughter, Lorena, was honored at Sacred Heart, Princeton’s recent 50th anniversary celebration as one of four graduates whose lives embody the goals and criteria of a Sacred Heart education. Ruth and I recommend a new book, Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah.

I have 27 years of service to Convent of the Sacred Heart schools and in September was named an honorary alumna at the Sacred Heart school in Greenwich. In July, I conducted a tour of Paris with colleagues, visiting the places where Sacred Heart schools were founded. The building that’s now the Rodin Museum belonged to our religious order from 1819 to 1905 and was our first boarding school in Paris. I run an adult education cultural program at Sacred Heart in Greenwich. This fall we presented sessions on the art of Gustav Klimt, Monet and his garden at Giverny (the water lily paintings), and 18th-century French and Italian “outdoor” painting. Our class took a field trip to the Neue Galerie in NYC to see works by Klimt and Kandinsky.

Barbara Kellam Latham and husband moved from Wilmington, Del., and built a one-story house in Cape Charles, Va., where Barbara grew up and where her older daughter’s and sister’s families live. Their younger daughter lives in London but visits the U.S. often on business. Patti Jones Schacht planned a trip to Northern Ireland but health intervened and she ended up in a hospital instead. She’s fine now. Her interests include genealogy, travel, and community outreach work.

Sandra Eastridge Plummer sent Class Notes news for the first time. She and husband Tom love to travel and have son Tom Jr. After 32 years teaching fourth and fifth grades, she at last has granddaughter Darcy. Sandra keeps in touch with Jean Chewning Rayman, with whom she sat up many a night preparing for UMW Professor Emeritus of English Reginald W. Whidden’s tests on Shakespeare, Nancy Hewetson Cooke, Patricia Paytes, and Jo-Anne Christian Serio, who she saw at their 50th high school reunion.

Susan Orebaugh Nicholson is excited for our 50th reunion in May! Her oncologist visits are scheduled every six months, down from every three. She traveled to Colombia last February, visiting Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena. Susan said her MWC Spanish classes came in handy.

Lou Davis Smith of Fairfax, Va., and husband David have a son, a daughter, and six grandchildren, and they all spend time at their Lake Anna cottage. Lou and David got hooked on sightseeing when they were stationed in Europe for four years. They’ve visited every continent except Antarctica, 49 countries, and all 50 states. They traveled to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in November 2012, and cruised the Elbe River in Germany and visited Dresden last July.

Lou said Jackie Williams Towler and her husband moved to Allentown, Pa., to be closer to son John. Sharon Belknap Brown lives in Leonardtown, Md., Jean Fornes Wendt is in Midlothian, Va., and Clara Forlines Conner is in Greensboro, N.C.

Professional actress, singer, and spokeswoman Ilona Dulaski-Williams has worked in theater since graduating from Mary Washington. She played Dorothea in Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing at the Compass Rose Theater in Annapolis, Md., last May and recently played Susan in a staged reading of Dire Wolves by Kristen LePine, UMW adjunct instructor of theatre and dance, at Spooky Action Theater in Washington, D.C. She also does voiceovers and commercials for political notices in Virginia and Maryland. Her Cantanti  Ensemble trio performs opera at retirement homes, festivals, and restaurants. Ilona was elected a delegate to the newly merged union of SAG-AFTRA in Los Angeles in September.

My former freshman roommate, Sally Crenshaw Witt, and I continue our extensive correspondence, which by now must rival that of the great 18th-century letter writers whose lengthy correspondence filled volumes.

That’s it for now, folks. It’s great hearing from all of you. You may think nothing’s new and life is humdrum, but to the rest of us, it’s all news. I hope to see you at the reunion in late May. In the meantime, keep happy, safe, and well.

My mailing list has severely shrunk since many of you retired and changed addresses without letting me know. Please update your address so I can correspond with you and keep you up to date on news!

As I wrote this, Thanksgiving was right around the corner and most of us had turned 70 or soon would. When did we get so old? My two children tried to soften the blow by taking me on a wine-tasting getaway in Paso Robles, Calif. Both families planned to be with me for Thanksgiving, then my son and his family were headed to Oberammergau, Germany, for three years, while he teaches at the NATO School. I planned to join them for Christmas.

Sue Wooldridge Rosser, Carolyn Shockey Moore, and Linda Cline Holden got together in October to celebrate their 70th birthdays.

Ophelia Baker Crowley of Richmond and Sonja “Toni” Algren Schuyler of Jericho, Vt., visited Missy Bush Shives at her Salisbury, N.C., home in October. They reminisced, caught up on each other’s lives since their last rendezvous at our 45th class reunion in 2010, visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, and took in Salisbury’s 38th annual October Tour of Historic Homes. One of the homes on tour belonged to Anne Rasmussen Lyles ’63,  whose family renovated an 1892 Italianate-Victorian house. In 25 years, they’ve restored nine historic properties and helped revitalize an important older neighborhood in Salisbury.

Last year Penny Partridge Booth took a 10-day tour of three Canadian provinces, visiting the Bay of Fundy. When her daughter unexpectedly lost her nanny, Penny spent part of spring in the Boston area, becoming the new nanny and soccer grandma. She also went to Indianapolis and returned to Boston in November for a family event. Penny planned a 10-day river cruise between Paris and Prague with her sister in May. She quilts, takes long walks, and does water aerobics.

After living in her childhood home for years, Lee Smith Musgrave moved to Blacksburg, Va., to be near one of her daughters. Margaret Cobourn John drove to Monument, Colo., for a September reunion of the 46th Army Engineer Battalion, but Kenny didn’t find anyone he knew from Vietnam. Going and coming, they toured nine state Capitol buildings, including ones in Nashville, Springfield, Des Moines, Cheyenne, Denver, and Topeka. They’ve seen 25 since 2011. The others are on Kenny’s bucket list, and Margaret agreed because they’ll have to go to Alaska and Hawaii again, darn it!

Louise Stevens Robbins helped conduct a workshop in Kaili, Guizhou Province, China, in July; visited family and friends in Virginia in August; and took a food, music, and art tour to Italy in September. She co-edited Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America, published by University of Wisconsin Press last summer.

Alice Funkhouser Flowers’ husband, George, retired from teaching but was called back to teach four summer courses in engineering. Alice still works year round on publications, archiving, and public relations for St. Christopher’s School. They took a three-week trip in March to celebrate their 70th birthdays, visiting Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. Their five grandchildren live in North Carolina and Maryland.

UMW dedicated a lecture hall in honor of civil rights leader James L. Farmer Jr., during a November ceremony. Georgia State Sen. Nan Grogan Orrock delivered the keynote address. Nan has served in the Georgia state legislature since 1987, including service as House majority whip and committee chair.

Her engagement with public policy dates back to her college days, when she participated in the 1963 March on Washington. See the cover story about Nan on page 14.

Barbara Bishop Mann heard from Barbara Ann Enders Hughes in response to her notice of UMW Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy George Van Sant’s death. Barbara Ann, a philosophy major, took several of his classes. A friend forwarded Barbara Ann’s article about business cards, published in The Post and Courier, to Bobbi. Barbara Ann and husband Luther of Charleston, S.C., spent most of the past year fostering cocker spaniels. After being nursed back to health, two of their charges were adopted by “forever” homes. Barbara Ann and Luther fell in love with the third, Buckley, and adopted him themselves.

Kitty Downs Gregg’s son, Chris, works for the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. Kitty said it’s interesting that Chris lives at River House in Arlington, in the same building on the same floor where Kitty lived after graduation. Chris’ view of the city is better than the one Kitty had of the parking lot.

After 41 years in the same house in Purcellville, Va., where she operated her flower farm for years, Roberta James East moved to Southport, N.C.

Pam Kearney Patrick and husband TaB temporarily relocated to Cape May, N.J., in October, while the hardwood floors in their Alexandria, Va., home were sanded and refinished, and rushed to get everything back in order by Thanksgiving for their big family gathering. Pam reconnected with Jim and Pam Ward Hughes during their visit from Virginia’s Northern Neck. Pam and Jim stay with the Patricks when they have errands in their old neighborhood. Carol Bingley Wiley and husband Pete were considering visiting in winter. TaB planned to retire by then, so all six of them could spend time together. Pam, a watercolor artist, was accepted in exhibits in Boulder, Colo.; Rehoboth, Del.; and the Strathmore in Bethesda, Md. She was awarded the Potomac Valley Watercolor Society prize for best in show in August at the Alexandria Art League Gallery.

Elaine Gerlach McKelly and husband Tim of Oxford, N.C., are retired. Their four children and seven grandchildren are nearby. Elaine volunteers extensively with Girl Scouts, working with ages 5 to 14. Elaine and Tim joined a College of William and Mary Alumni Association tour and traveled in September for 10 days through Switzerland, France, Germany, and Holland. They saw the Matterhorn, traveled up Mount Pilatus, and visited Rhine River wineries, cathedrals, and castles. In March, they planned to participate in an educational exchange program that would enable them to travel to Cuba. Although Elaine graduated from William and Mary, she loves reading Class Notes and sends regards to everyone.

Catherine Cantwell Luria had a busy summer of traveling, dance, and music camps. She and her husband traveled to Orcas Island with daughter Sasha, her wife, and three grandchildren. Sasha and her partner celebrated their 10th anniversary by being legally wed in Washington state with their three children. After a conference in Utah, Cathe took a two-week vacation in Michigan. While there, she learned her mammogram showed a very small lump and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She spent the rest of summer working medical treatments in with vacation plans. For six weeks, she drove two hours to Seattle for daily radiation therapy and was happy with the technology at the women’s cancer center there. Cathe managed to attend the August adult music camp Midsummer Musical Retreat at Whitman College, with participants from all over the U.S. and even from Scotland. She sang in a choir of more than 100 and heard three orchestras and a concert band. Dr. Luria and Cathe, 2012 AANP Nurse Practitioner Hero, closed their family practice after 35 years and started a business introducing medical professionals to technology that enables measuring the body’s antioxidant levels transdermally.

Joan Cuccias Patton took a 30-day trek in August and September around the coast of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Northern England with Linda Glynn Hutchison, Pat Lewars Pace, and a neighbor. Linda organized the itinerary, lodging, and tours. The foursome traveled by air, train, and bus, and with professional drivers. Joan traveled with friends in October to Black Mountain near Asheville, N.C., seeing waterfalls, gorgeous scenery, and the Biltmore Estate. She  brother and sister-in-law around Turkey and the Greek Isles. At home, Joan returned to tutoring and substitute teaching to “support her new hobby.” She visited Lee Enos Kelley in December and attended a live theater production in Washington, D.C.

Kathleen Goddard Moss and husband Tom took their annual trip to Spain to visit daughter Ellen and family. Their 12-yearold granddaughter flew alone from Spain to spend three weeks with them before her parents came to visit in August. Kathy treated her to several days in Manhattan. The Mosses visited their son and family in California, seeing the rest of their six grandchildren, ages 9 months to 16 years. Kathy’s twin, Eileen Goddard Albrigo, expected her 11th grandchild, her 10th grandson, in December. Eileen spent several weeks helping her mother-in-law, who is 90 and recently widowed, manage her large house in Syracuse, N.Y. They planned for her to spend the holidays in Virginia. Nearly a year after their passing, Kathy and Eileen’s parents’ funeral took place in September at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony was worth the wait, especially since many out-of-town family members were able to convene.

Susan Roth Nurin saw Waiting for Godot in Yiddish, got tickets for Billy Crystal, attended a Greek synagogue, took in several “off off” Broadway shows at discounted rates, and took free escorted walking tours all over NYC. Susan is considering joining a Romanesque-style Jewish synagogue built in 1842, the religious home for 1500 Reform Jewish families, located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Katharine Rogers Lavery was a homebody in fall and winter, keeping busy with family, tutoring five high school students in five different math courses, bowling in two senior leagues, and serving on the vestry of her small, historic church. She chaired the annual fundraiser gala and auction in November and helped organize a retirement dinner for their minister, who was retiring after nearly 20 years at St. John’s. Katharine and Hank had an early Thanksgiving with British friends returning to England for the holidays, followed by two family Thanksgiving celebrations. They’re still active with the Pentagon Sailing Club: Hank with racing sailing and motor maintenance, Katharine with meetings and social events.

Marion Briechle Yonce and John of Virginia have been married 43 years and have three sons and two granddaughters. He is a retired chemical engineer specializing in submarine design. Marion still does occasional consulting work with drug development and regulatory submissions.

Ann Boatright Bonadio lives outside Rochester, N.Y., and has two children and three grandsons who live in the area. In fall 2012, she lost her homebuilder husband of 43 years, who she met while at MWC. Ann retired from teaching math at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. She babysits grandchildren, volunteers at her church, and tutors a little boy with sickle cell anemia. Her 93-year-old father recently visited from Georgia.

Cheryl Tate Duke and her husband live in the Fredericksburg area. Their daughter was married in October. Because their 42-year-old son has had Duchenne muscular dystrophy since birth and depended on a ventilator for about 22 years, Cheryl is heavily involved with disability rights advocacy and is president of W.C. Duke Associates Inc., a consulting company on the human side of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Since 1988, she has published access information for Virginia and maintained a disability travel Web portal for the nonprofit The Opening Door Inc. Hobbies include website development, genealogy, and family history.

Mary Mac Blanchard Harris’ husband, Craig, has been retired three years. She retired last year after 25 years working an annual stint for a delegate at the General Assembly during the legislative session. The Harrises garden and play golf. They moved in 2004 to an “empty nester” house in Richmond with a large yard. Mary Mac is in a woman’s club and a book club. This past year, their travels revolved around children and grandchildren, including trips to Figure Eight Island and Yellowstone in Montana. Son Sam lives in Crozet with his wife and three children. Daughter Kelly lives in Austin, Texas. She and her husband expected their first child in March. Mary Mac sees Mary Lou Murphey Lee often, now that she lives in Richmond, and Helen Callaham Hutter, when she visits her children in Richmond.

Laurie DiPadova-Stocks’ husband, Hugh, turned 75 in December 2012. They celebrated last summer at his favorite national park, Sequoia. The children arranged the gathering and five of the six were there, along with 12 of the 16 grandchildren. One absent grandchild is the mother of Laurie and Hugh’s great-grandbaby, so they visited them on the way to and from the event.

Patsy Monahan Holden retired from school counseling in 2005, worked as a full-time therapist at a local psychiatric hospital, retired in 2012, and maintains her private psychotherapy practice, working a couple days a week. She’s involved with church, does water aerobics, walks, reads, gardens, entertains, and plays cards with friends. Patsy and her husband, who retired in 2004, have been in Houston since 1979 and travel often to Austin to see their triplets and three grandchildren. They’ve also traveled to various parts of the world.

Sheri Gates Brindle and husband Paul left Florida in their RV in April 2013 and spent most of the summer in the desert Southwest. They spent the winter in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., along the Colorado River, just a day’s drive from their older son and his family in San Diego. Driving north, they visited friends in Fredericksburg and saw the campus, the first time Sheri had been back in years. Even with all the changes, she still thinks it’s the most beautiful campus they’ve ever visited. The Brindles have five grandchildren, ages 4 to 16. The three grandsons in San Diego are older. Their younger son, his wife, and their two granddaughters live near Ramstein Air Base in Germany. They see them once a year but hope they’ll be back in the U.S. soon.

Donna Lorance Porcaro of Alexandria, Va., visits her mother in Charleston every month or so and gets to San Francisco a couple times a year. They took a fall Baltic cruise and have seen some of Canada, Alaska by ferry, Europe, and Australia. They planned to get a dog. When she wrote, from her daughter’s house in San Francisco, Donna was waiting for knee replacements.

Charlotte Gregg Morgan remembered how beautiful campus was in November in the ’60s, saying it seems like a blink ago in some ways. She writes, heads a small VAIS school, and owns an art gallery with husband John in Lynchburg. She’s writer-in-residence each year at the Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program in Bath County, Va. Her second novel, Protecting Elvis, is available on Kindle. Her youngest was to marry this year. Charlotte is still glad she’s a devil, not a goat!

Eleanor Frith Peters and husband Mike were blessed in 2013 with grandson Charlie, born to their son, Michael, and daughte-rin- law Christy, who live in D.C. Brother Max was 20 months old when Charlie arrived. Michael, an Army colonel, and Christy, a Foreign Service officer, are co-located in the U.S. The other three grandchildren, Jack, 14, Michael, 12, and Wylie (their only granddaughter), 10, still live in Greenville, S.C., where daughter Becca works for Neighborhood Focus and son-in-law Patrick Jopling is a dentist. The Peterses planned to take Wylie on a “double digits” trip to NYC, a family tradition to celebrate turning 10. They took a barge cruise in the Champagne district of France last year during the week of the Champagne grape harvest, witnessing all aspects of production and sampling the finished product. Mike is president of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, N.M., and Eleanor keeps her hands in the mud at the college pottery. They get back to the D.C. area often to check in with family and on college business. All the children and grands came for Christmas 2012, and Max took his first steps there! They expect to gather everyone again in Montreat, N.C., this Fourth of July.

Nancy McDonald Legat and husband Dan of Lexington, S.C., are retired. They have three daughters, three sons-in-law, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandson, and they’re thankful they’re all fairly close by. Nancy writes, gardens, and spends time with her husband.

I hope you all plan to attend our 45th reunion, May 30 through June 1. It’s always fun to reconnect with classmates. Our class is in a tight race for the Eagle trophy, based on a combination of the percentage of class participation in giving and the total monetary amount. Be as generous as possible in remembering your alma mater so we can win the Eagle trophy!

Suzanne McCarthy Van Ness is in California’s San Francisco Bay area, after living in England for 10 years. Twin daughters Kristin and Carolyn live near her with their families, including three grandchildren and one on the way. Son Jeff lives in Maryland with his wife and daughter. Suzanne visited them last spring and saw Maureen Murphy McCart ’68. Others from the Class of ’68, Suzanne’s roommates and suitemates, have visited her in the Bay area.

Suzanne said Liz Rampe Edmonds is a Realtor in a Sacramento suburb, specializing in the Craftsman and Victorian homes of historic neighborhoods. Liz and her husband toured Vietnam last November. They have three sons.

Suzanne lives near Phyllis Newby Thompson and Iris Harrell, and the three get together as often as possible. Iris planned to retire from her company, Harrell Remodeling, now almost totally employee owned, in June and remain chair of the board, after more than 30 years as a general contractor. Iris looked forward to more golf, new adventures, and rest.

Regina Sneed has lived in San Francisco since just after graduation. She spent her career as a lawyer, most recently with the U.S. Department of Education, and retired a few years ago. She’s a member of and regularly takes classes at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning, and she’s a docent for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Barbara Macon Sacha of Winter Park, Fla., retired from Paychex. She and husband Tom can travel more and spend time with sons Taylor, who lives close by with his wife and daughter, and Brent, who lives in Dallas with his wife and two sons. Catharine Rossi Mannering and husband Jerry operate Cypress Creek B&B in Comfort, Texas. Catharine decorated the rooms with antiques she brought from Virginia.

Jane Jackson Woerner of Florida travels periodically to Bristol, Va., to care for her mother, who is 91 and in assisted living. Jane traveled last fall to Virginia’s Tidewater/Northern Neck area, spending several days with Jean Polk Hanky and husband Jack. They rode on the Rappahannock River and visited the Rappahannock Oyster Co., where Jean and Jack’s grandson is director. Connie Hinson lives in Warsaw, Va., where she grew up, and works part time at the Tides Inn in Irvington, where Jane had lunch and caught up with her. Jane said Connie Cline Bukzin and husband Mitch traveled to Germany last fall. They babysit their two grandsons who live nearby. Jane also said Brenda Hunt Smith married Jon Spitler in Manassas in April 2013. Brenda’s first husband, Fred, passed away in 2006, and Brenda moved from Christiansburg to Manassas to care for her mother, who passed away in February 2012 at 95.

Ann Ruff Smith and husband Tom of Fredericksburg took a 10-day New England cruise from Quebec City to NYC with Nancy Gleason and husband Gary of Richmond, and Cathy Allen Hughes and husband Michael of Round Hill. Ann, Nancy, and Cathy try to get together for a meal at least once a year. They and their husbands planned to join Nancy Andrews and Jay of Vermont, and Kitty Culhane Rogers and John of Burke, Va., for a trip to Virgin Gorda. The girls went there without their guys five years ago and had a ball. Now that most of the group is retired, they hope to travel more together.

Jeanine Zavrel Fearns still works but travels as much as possible. She planned to visit Alaska in June, travel to Anchorage, board a train to Denali National Park, return to Seward, and board a ship for a weeklong cruise. Nina Shepherd and her husband went to Seattle last August to see a production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, 14 hours of opera over four nights. Donna Cannon Julian and husband Gene took a Mediterranean cruise on a small passenger ship with eight friends last August, visiting several islands and flying home from Malta.

Karen Kilgore Ralston and husband Jim visited Portugal for the first time since 1980 last September with friends on Jim’s yearly bike trip. Karen was featured in the last issue of UMW Magazine, telling of her work designing hats for Playhouse on the Square and affiliated theaters in Memphis and with vintage clothing at the Woodruff- Fontaine House. She presented to a sold-out crowd at another Memphis museum on Victorian underwear and was asked to give the same presentation at the Embroiderers’ Guild regional seminar in June 2015. Karen’s daughter, Emily, received a Ph.D. in ocean engineering last May.

Nancy Yeager Allard and husband Paul took a cruise on Portugal’s Douro River last year. They stay closer to home now that they care for Paul’s 96-yearold mother, who lives with them. Nancy is co-president of her library friends group and active in efforts to strengthen Fairfax County libraries despite continuing budget cuts. Marianne DeBlois Zentz went to Italy last summer with daughter Lauren, a University of Houston professor of linguistics who had a conference in Venice. They traveled toVerona and to Cesiomaggiore in the Dolomites. Son David is an independent photographer at Best Coast Photo in Venice, Calif.

Bonnie Page Hoopengardner and husband Roger of Williamsburg have three children and six grandchildren. They took a five-day Road Scholar trip last October to Jekyll Island, Ga. They’ve taken adult education classes through the College of William and Mary. Bonnie does Pilates and Zumba. She plays more bridge since retiring but said her golf had not improved.

Barbara Burt Bowman’s granddaughter is a high school junior looking at colleges and wants to visit UMW after hearing Barbara’s stories of the school for years. Linda Gattis Shull had a retirement party for husband Graeme last October, and Christie Wineholt, Barbara Burton Micou, and husband Chip helped. Linda and Barbara spent a weekend in Nags Head, N.C., last fall with Linda Holt Armstrong ’70 and Conde Palmore Hopkins ’70 at Conde’s oceanfront condo.

Bev Holt of Cary, N.C., is retiredand training to be a NorthCarolina Museum of History docent,returning to her history-majorroots after a sales and marketing career. She traveled in the British Virgin Islands aboard the trimaran Cuan Law.

One more plug for our 45th reunion. Please come. I promise you will have a wonderful time!