Class Notes

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

From Connie: My early responders, as usual, are Kelly and Clara Sue. Kelly Cherry emailed that two books are forthcoming: A Kelly Cherry Reader, sometime this fall; and Twelve Women in a Country Called America, a collection of stories about southern women, in the spring. In November Burke and she went to Madison and Waukesha, Wisconsin, to do a week of readings from A Kind of Dream and a radio show. It was especially wonderful to see old friends and colleagues, all of whom seem to be doing well. They had three days in Budapest this past summer and fell in love with it.

Clara Sue Durden Ashley is one fine, Christian, caring lady, to all living things, including…snakes! She reports that one fine day in October she saw a black snake about two and a half feet long under a bush next to the patio steps. The next day when she noticed that he was still there and caught up in the mesh that her husband puts over many of the plants to keep the deer from eating them. The snake was so entangled in the mesh he could not move. Clarence brought the scissors, and Clara picked up the snake and proceeded to very carefully cut away the mesh which enclosed the snake’s head plus about six inches of his body. The mesh was so tight around the snake it was causing marks on his skin. After successfully cutting away the mesh, she put the snake on the ground and he slithered away never to be seen again. This month brought a special honor from the Ashleys’ church, quoted from their local paper, The Connection. “Clarence and Clara Sue Ashley, long-time members of St. Francis [Episcopal], were recognized with the Franciscan Cross in honor of their decades of service to the church.” The snake tale proves their worth…congratulations!

A most welcome email from Georgie Georgeou Rahnias, in which she says she loves hearing the news about everyone. George had a heart attack in 2012 and underwent a triple bypass. He later developed dementia, so she has become a full time caregiver. She feels blessed by all the years they’ve had and is grateful for all the years they’ve been together. Her greatest joy is that granddaughter Chrisy Gaul is a junior at MW and plays for the tennis team. She was sorry not to be able to attend the reunion, and misses all the good years and friends she had at MWC. Georgie’s husband and my Andy were high school classmates in Thessaloniki, Greece. She sends wishes to everyone for a joyous and healthy holiday.

Carolyn Crum Pannu emailed that she recently met with 30 Mary Washington alumni at Iris Harrell (’69) and Pat Benson’s stunning (all green) home in Portola Valley, about 30 minutes south of Carolyn, near Stanford University. They enjoyed a delectable catered lunch and President Hurley sat at her table. She was looking forward to meeting with five MW alumna for happy hour at a nearby restaurant. She says it’s so much fun to share great college memories as well as find other women who want to socialize. Carolyn still works, and keeps in touch regularly with Pat Scott Peck, Renee, and Lloyd.

I was very sad to receive news from Patty Cairns Hourin that on Oct. 15 her Mother, Doris Wallace, died after a brief illness. She was 98. A memorial service was held at Goodwin House on Nov. 5 and burial will be in several months at Arlington with Patty’s dad. Her son Scott and family are now in San Diego after a glorious year in Stuttgart, Germany. Jim and she are in good health and continue to enjoy life in Diamondhead, Mississippi. My friendship with Patty goes way back to eighth grade in Baumholder, Germany, where our fathers were stationed. Doris Cairns was such a lovely, vibrant, fun-loving lady. She and Patty’s father “Bugs” were good friends of my parents and added much to the life of the Army there.

And from Dee Doran Cairns came news that Doug and she had a lovely two week vacation in California the end of August. They took a break from trips to Northern Virginia and southern Italy to visit very close friends and relatives: Bryce Jones, classmate of Doug’s, at his lush vineyard on the Russian River, Terry Cairns and David and Mimi Brooks on Orcas Island, and last of all very close friends Dan and Renate Connor in Portland and Manzanita. They recently headed north to West Point, New York, for the Army-Air Force game and a small reunion with Doug’s AF Academy friends. At the end of the weekend they stopped in Alexandria for a memorial service honoring Doris [Doug’s mother] and some final dividing up of pictures and treasures.

Ellen Grumley deGail’s brother passed away of a stroke this fall. They were very close. We extend our deepest sympathy to you and your family.

My news ties in with Jerri Barden Perkins, as Andy and I visited her in Hilton Head Island in early September. She has a beautiful house, filled with art and antiques, and lots of photos from her many travels around the world with her late husband Cal. She is still involved with the medical world in clinical trials, and keeps in great shape with yoga, kayaking, skiing, etc. She and Andy played a round of golf while I relaxed by her pool. She is a most gracious hostess and it was fun to reconnect with a fellow chem major! Another short trip Andy and I took in October was to Charleston, South Carolina, which is one of the world’s major destinations, according to Conde Nest! As we were beginning to extend our travels since my lung transplant, Andy had a minor heart attack on November 8 and had double by-pass surgery on Nov. 12. He came through it all with flying colors and came home November 18. He will have to take it easy for a while (hard for him as he has lots of energy!)

From Renee: Cathy Ledner Kuttner says that her news is in the believe it or not category. After living together for almost 20 years, she and her now husband decided to get married. They had a very joyous wedding celebration, surrounded by family and friends on October 12, 2014. She is now a blushing commuter bride. They live most of the time in Cornwall, New York. Cathy has kept her place in South Orange, New Jersey, where she spends a portion of her week. Her new hubby still works at 82, and Cathy keeps busy with some work and volunteers in Newburgh, New York and New Jersey. Socially, she is now Cathy Kuttner Polich.

A late email from Sylvia McJilton Woodcock reports that they had a University of Mary Washington Foundation meeting in November and Stuart and she saw Lloyd Tilton Backstrom and Art and Lynne Williams Neave and Sandy, who all seem to be doing well. The meetings were very informative and well-run. The new student center (meals, activities, meeting rooms) is being built where Chandler was. It is a huge, impressive building with columns that fits well in Ball Circle. Seacobeck will continue to have a faculty-staff dining room. It has not been determined yet how the other three wings will be used. A new Convergence Center has been built next to the Jepson Science Center, which will undergo a big expansion soon. She invites you to come visit the campus – you will be amazed.

My news: sadly, my precious Golden Retriever Gracie died on October 20. It happened very fast. She got sick on a Friday and had to be put down on the following Monday. I had no idea she was sick. She didn’t behave as if she were, and believe me she had regular checkups and all of her shots were up to date. I really miss that fun, silly, wonderful, beautiful, loving dog. Otherwise, I keep busy with classes at UCLA Extension, going to theatre, movies and out to lunches and dinners with friends. I recently had my kitchen and breakfast room remodeled. The clinical trial continues. I have another year and a half of active participation. Then, they just monitor the participants for 10 years. I have no idea whether I am getting the vaccine or a placebo. It is double blind, so my doctor doesn’t even know. I hope all of you are well and happy and have a wonderful holiday season. Here’s to all the best life has to offer now and in the years to come.

From Lynne: Nancy Wright Wright and a friend are spending the winter in The Villages, Florida. They went down in early September and plan to stay until the end of March. They will, however, go back to Virginia for Christmas and New Years and enjoy the grandchildren. Jane Riles and hubby Jim Dietz returned to San Diego in October from a wonderful trip to Southeast Asia: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. They plan to be in Ft. Lauderdale all winter.

Whenever I read news from Sue Wilson Sproul, I think that she missed her calling and should have written travel books. Therefore I will quote her message: “Summer is our favorite time in Colorado, because of the dry air, blue skies, and gentle temperatures. Consequently, we like to stay at home and play host to those who are escaping heat and humidity. That means Virginians, like our grandchildren, and travel club visitors, mostly Texans. Granddaughter Audrey came out for a week and requested that she be able to do some community service. She and I worked together in the local food kitchen making lunch for the homeless. Grandson Nat wanted to go camping. We traveled to Northern New Mexico to the newly-designated Headwaters of the Rio Grande National Monument. It’s within a short drive to Taos, so we were also able to visit the Indian pueblo there and take in a fish hatchery on the way back to camp – activities that appealed to his eleven-year old interests. Our travel clubs – Affordable Travel and Evergreen – give us the opportunity to meet some interesting people from around the country. I recommend that all our classmates who travel considering joining one or the other. ATC has quite a few members in Europe, too, so it’s not just for domestic travelers.”

Marcy Trembath Pitkin has been through so much in the past couple of years. She said it’s been eighteen months since she began chemo for breast cancer, a year since the mastectomies, and two months since the last of three hospitalizations/surgeries for infections, but she is feeling healthy, although can’t push much. Sadly, Steve’s health has steadily declined and now he is in a close-by nursing home. Marcy is taking some art lessons, running a concert series at church and just survived the use of her home for a staging area for the workers for her local congressman’s campaign, with a stream of young people coming and going.

Art and Lloyd Tilton Backstrom had a wonderful trip to Panama (their twelfth trip with Grand Circle Travel) in late September. They were on land around Panama City, in small towns of the Azuero peninsula, at the Gamboa Resort where some Americans lived while the canal was being built, four days on Gatun Lake in a 105′ catamaran which slept 24 people, nature walks, and nature log canoe rides to Indian tribes. They also had visits with Pat Scott Peck on her travel path from Miami to Maine and again in the fall. Once Pat moves to San Antonio, Lloyd is afraid they will miss that treat! On the other hand, we may receive news from other San Antonians like Candes Parker Chumney, Bitsy Glascock Duperier, and Jill Cusack Clay. Sadly, one of those San Antonians was our classmate Aggie Welsh Eyster,who passed away on August 31.

I am pleased to report that all is well on the home front for my family; we are currently doing some home improvements in New York City, but can still escape to Connecticut on weekends and will spend Thanksgiving in Florida. For 2015, we have committed to the Amazon Cruise in March and Normandy later in the year.