Class Notes

Greeting, Class of 1991! Hope this finds you all well.

Yvette Herbert Hayes moved from her hometown, Richmond, to Chester, U.K., where husband Paul had the opportunity to launch a data center for Bank of America. After 21 years with Bank of America, Yvette planned to take a leave of absence and learn the EMEA side of the business. They love to travel and see this as an opportunity to travel around Europe and Asia.

Stan Gallagher-Smith, formerly Stan A. Smith Jr., and wife Kellie, both United Methodist pastors, live and serve churches in Louisburg, N.C. Daughter Dottie is a high school sophomore. Son Wilson is in eighth grade. They have pets Lena and Lola. Stan said he had an incredible college experience at “the Wash” with awesome friends and memories to last a lifetime. He hopes his children will follow in his footsteps down Campus Walk and be likewise blessed.

DeAnna Toten Beard is professor of theater history, graduate theater program director, and associate chair of the theater department at Baylor University in Texas. She researches and writes about military-themed theater during World War I. Husband Kemper also works at Baylor, where their older child, Gracie, is a sophomore anthropology major. Younger child Henry is a high school freshman active in Boy Scouts, speech and debate, and theater. DeAnna plans to start teaching courses in England this summer through the Baylor in Oxford program.

Lisa Poindexter Hayslett and Sam’s daughter, MacKenzie Plaia ’17, is a UMW freshman. Lisa has enjoyed seeing campus again and said Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker ’81 hasn’t changed a bit since we graduated. She’s been in touch with Heather Muir Sutton, who is married with two young boys.

Sandy Snead Gregor graduated from the U.Va. School of Law in 2001, worked at the Richmond law firms of McGuire Woods and Morris & Morris, and has practiced personal injury law in Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen’s Fredericksburg office since fall 2013. Sandy, husband Ken, and son Nate, 9, have lived in Richmond’s Fan District for 12 years.

Susan Gray Herring, husband Brent, and children Mark, 15, Laura, 14, and Matthew, 9, traveled to Krakow, Poland, last summer for Brent’s brother’s wedding in a 14th-century castle. They spent three whirlwind days in Poland, then the whole extended Herring family and friends flew to Italy and stayed seven days in a Tuscan villa in the middle of a family-run vineyard and olive grove. They saw Siena, Pisa, and Florence.

I’m fortunate to keep in touch with many of you via Facebook or in person, but I only submit what’s sent to me specifically for UMW Magazine so nothing is published without permission. Send information you’d like included in upcoming issues. It’s always great to hear from you!

Thanks to all who sent news. Please continue – or start – to do so. Some of us keep in touch through email and Facebook, but this magazine’s format is a wonderful way to stay connected with Mary Washington and one another. I hope to see many more updates in the future!

My husband and I spent a week on St. Simons Island, Ga., an annual ritual tied to Tom’s work conference at the King and Prince resort. We saw the famous Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island. Tom and I stay active with the Atlanta Outdoor Club and lead hikes and camping trips all over the southeast. I’m serving my second term as social director on our homeowners association board. I welcome new people to the neighborhood, organize fun events like caroling and a supper club, and edit our community newsletter. Tom and I celebrated our 14th anniversary in October in St. Lucia, our fourth trip there. We spent a week each at Sandals Grande St. Lucian in Gros Islet and Sandals Regency La Toc in Castries and scuba dived. We were contemplating staying put for Thanksgiving and Christmas and finishing our home renovations, but the road always seems to call to us. I’ll keep you posted.

Matt Downs has been program manager for SAP America for eight years and plans to travel a couple months before taking a position in the natural gas industry. Marc Rolfe, based in Shanghai, also works for SAP. John Hannan is a sales director for Novartis in Apex, N.C. Stewart Langley of Lynchburg, Va., manages his real estate holdings.

Kate Stanford McCown, husband John, Mary Ella, 10, Jack, 9, and Ashlyn, 2, settled back into life in Marietta, Ga. John is a senior director of tax strategy for Home Depot. Kate was team mom for Jack’s football team and toted Mary Ella to gymnastics this fall. They vacationed in Hilton Head, S.C., and planned to visit southern Georgia and Virginia for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Christine Harrison Grant and longtime fiancé Thomas Casey planned to marry in a small December ceremony in Atlantic Beach, N.C. Christine is director of major gifts for Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina. Tom is an electronics tech/engineer for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. They adopted three 6-month-old kittens.

In addition to his newly published science fiction novel, The Dogs Don’t Bark in Brooklyn Any More, Eric Nolan’s poetry and short stories were extensively published over the past year in the United States, Britain, and Australia. Most recently, his Three Dreamers trilogy of poems appeared in Illumen magazine in America and in the Dagda Publishing poetry anthology Threads in the United Kingdom.

Robin Kozic McCann and husband Christopher welcomed Sage Lawrence in July. He was seven weeks early and weighed 3 pounds, 12 ounces, but was almost 12 pounds and doing great by the November Class Notes deadline. Cheryl Mote Chafos welcomed fourth boy Christopher George in September in San Antonio, where she moved with her husband in June for his two-year assignment as commander of the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade. They’d lived 10 years in Fort Meade, Md., and he’d been deployed to Afghanistan for a year. Cheryl enjoys being a stay-at-home mom and her duties as an Army spouse.

Annmarie Hirst Barone teaches Latin in Exeter, N.H., and has sons Christian, 8, and Sebastian, 5. Husband Christian taught them all how to ride dirt bikes and they ride on area trails. When MJ Figel Day wasn’t traveling and preparing for the 50th anniversary issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, she spent time with husband Brian, son Parker, and dog Chloe.

Myronee Simpson is in her ninth year at New Jersey’s Ranney School, where she’s co-director of college guidance. She served this year as president of the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling, as a member of leadership for the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools, and on the NACAC Affiliate Presidents Council.

I’m back at work with UnitedHealth Group’s Optum division after my position was eliminated from the company’s UnitedHealthcare arm. I took an 18-week “sabbatical” with my severance package and spent summer and part of fall traveling, spending time with family and friends, and working on home projects. During that time, Kira Stchur and fiancé Eddie visited from Texas and got to experience the Minnesota State Fair and a couple of our 10,000 lakes. I visited my family in New York, and toured Amsterdam, Salzburg, and several cities in Germany with my mom and my husband, Wade Van House.

Betsy Kiger West, husband Michael, and daughter Ella welcomed Hannah Claire in October. Jayme Morris Van Horn and Chris Van Horn completed – maybe? – their sextet with daughter Charley, born in August. Matt Galeone of Baltimore adopted Aaron Christopher, born in June. Matt wrote The Champion of Clarendon Ditch trilogy, available from Amazon and independent booksellers.

Wes Dunn, Joanna Riedel Dunn, and children Zella and Foster moved from Capitol Hill to Kensington, Md. Josh Parker saw an opportunity in the food truck craze and rolled out his own Mexican-themed truck, The Flying Burrito. Find him at Williamsburg-area tourist attractions.

Keep those updates rolling in! Include your maiden name and let me know if you’re married to another Mary Washington graduate from another year.