Class Notes

Barbara Bishop Mann celebrated her 70th birthday with husband Robert traveling on a short holiday to Iceland. Since she was scheduled for jury duty she could not plan an extended vacation, so their trip was short and fun with long daylight hours. She and Robert rented a car and took day trips from Reykjavik, capitalizing on the Iceland “midnight sun.” In October Bobbi organized an MWC Lunch Bunch gathering at La Petite Auberge in downtown Fredericksburg. Afterwards she posted a lovely photo of the group: Anne Clagett, Jana Privette Usry, Pat Lewars Pace, Carolyn Eldred, Pam Kearney Patrick, Tyla Matteson, Lois Rucker Scott, Lee Enos Kelley, Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner, Sheila Denny Young, and herself. Just after the picture was taken, Pam Ward Hughes arrived. She had attended a meeting that morning, caught a train to Fredericksburg and hailed a cab to the restaurant in time for lunch. Bobbi also posted a photo of the treasured Mary Washington seal, which is still prominently displayed in the entrance of E. Lee Trinkle, our old library.

Jana Privette Usry admitted that the day of the luncheon was actually her 71st birthday, which prompted the group to burst into song. Jana had a major celebration last year to mark her 70th birthday, along with a thank-you gala/fundraiser honoring her devoted cancer caregivers. Jana remains very active with the One Voice Chorus and was eager to announce their upcoming events: the complete Mozart Requiem in November at the Reveille Methodist Church in Richmond, a Valentine’s Day joint concert with the Richmond Symphony Chorus and St. Paul’s Baptist choir in “A Tribute to Duke Ellington”, plus Handel’s Messiah with the Petersburg Symphony in December. Although Jana sings regularly, she recently signed up for voice lessons and is enjoying them immensely.

Pat Lewars Pace shared news of her trip with Linda Glynn Hutchinson and two other ladies. They spent five weeks in Europe during September and October. In Romania they saw about ten churches and monasteries with painted exteriors that are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The buildings were recently discovered in excellent condition under centuries of dirt and mold. In Croatia the ladies spent many enjoyable moments along the Adriatic coast, then proceeded to Bosnia, where they became aware of the great strides made in recovering from the 1990’s war. Ljubljana, Slovenia was a delightful surprise, followed by two lovely weeks in Italy winding their way through Venice, Tuscany, Florence and Rome. Linda attended the weekly audience with the Pope while Pat absorbed the art and architecture of the Galleria Borghese. Pat, a Latin major, rejoiced at finally getting to see the Coliseum and Roman Forum.

Carolyn Eldred excitedly shared her big news that she is building a house in an active adult community (Celebrate Virginia) just around the corner from the MWC graduate campus. The day before the luncheon she had her “pre-construction meeting” with the project manager. After the new house is completed, probably mid-February, Carolyn will put her Silver Spring, Maryland, house on the market. The girls observed that by the time of the next MWC Lunch Bunch meeting Carolyn should be able to show off her new digs!

Joan Cuccias Patton missed the luncheon this time because she was in Australia! In September she traveled to Mobile, Alabama, for a family wedding, and had the misfortune of breaking her foot. Her party shoes were then “less than elegant.” Nevertheless, Joan continued her travels and enjoyed a grand vacation down under. Joan still enjoys substitute teaching and often subs in her daughter’s neighborhood school, Madison High, so she can combine an overnight with her work.

Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner reported to the Lunch Bunch that she had had a relatively painless 70th birthday with golf friends and neighbors, a lunch treat and a gift certificate for frozen yogurt, which lasted a long time. She really can’t believe she’s actually 70! Mary Kathryn and Charlie headed for Florida right after Christmas to winter there with golfing friends, with plans to return to Northern Virginia this year in April, hoping the cold weather will be finished by then.

Pam Kearney Patrick mentioned that her watercolor miniatures continue to win awards. She sent a beautiful picture of her latest winner, “From a Distance,” which was inspired by six or seven photos she took along the Garden State Parkway near Ocean City. The water tower in the distance is at Avalon, north of Cape May (where Pam and TaB have a summer home), and the marshes filling the landscape are typical of the roadside view approaching the Jersey Shore. Since Pam grew up spending summers at the cape she loves the wildlife, rushes, stunted trees and salt marsh which re-energize her affinity for the scenery, history and mystery of the area.

Caroline Hoagland Stone retired in June after 47 years in education. She has been a classroom teacher, a special ed therapist, Director of Children’s Ministries in a church, Director of Fine Arts and, for the last 13 years, Director of Admissions. Most of her time was spent working in independent Christian K-12 schools. She taught in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, and most recently in Annapolis, Maryland. In July Caroline moved from Annapolis to Jacksonville, Florida, to build a small but really neat house on the lake, right next door to her daughter and family. Two of her ten grandchildren are now next-door neighbors. Caroline belatedly celebrated her 70th birthday with an Eastern Caribbean cruise in November and another Eastern Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Istanbul next June. Caroline would love to hear from other classmates who live in or visit the Jacksonville area.

Marty Spigel Sedoff celebrated her 70th by traveling with her husband to San Francisco to see her son, John Riedlinger, in the play Lasso of Truth at the Marin Theatre in Mill Valley, California. They visited with John and stayed with other relatives in San Francisco. From there they flew to NYC for their annual theater weekend. Every other year Marty organizes a student trip for the Edina High School (Minnesota) theater actors and technicians, and in between just the adults take the trip. Since 2002 the trip has included the Tony-award-winning musical and this year also the Tony drama winner. At home Marty continues to do tap dancing, enjoying the company of her instructor, fellow tappers and the rewarding performances at local nursing homes.

Ginny Bateman Brinkley and Ryan Stewart Davis celebrated their 70th birthdays in Hawaii with their husbands and a number of their children. Ginny and husband, Bill, were also celebrating their 35th anniversary in March. Anne Fortney, a nationally-recognized expert in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer financial privacy laws, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the College of Consumer Financial Service Lawyers on April 12, 2014.

Sandy Hutchison Schanné and daughter Amy decided to make a special joint celebration of their milestone birthdays, her 70th and Amy’s 40th, with a trip to a “destination we wanted to see but had never visited.” After much deliberation they decided on Seattle, Washington, plus a jaunt to Victoria, Canada. After Amy returned to Denver, Sandy went to Port Townsend to visit her suitemate, Katie Hales Fleming ’65, and the two of them met Ryan Stewart Davis for a long, lovely waterside lunch. Sandy later made plans for an action-packed winter holiday season with her daughter and family visiting from Colorado, son and family coming from Texas plus eldest son and family from Loudon County, Virginia. All nine grandchildren always have a wonderful time with their cousins and it’s a joyful time for the entire family.

Winnie Woodson Stribling combined her 70th birthday celebration with a trip to Europe. In July she and Brad traveled with their church and local high school choirs directed by the same music director on his retirement tour through Europe. They sang in noted venues in London, Paris and Rome, culminating at the Vatican with mass in the Bernini chapel and more singing in the Sistine chapel. Winnie continues her music career with directing several handbell choirs in the San Francisco area. She lives a BART’s throw from the city, Berkeley and the Napa valley. She and Brad both keep busy with church activities. Daughter Sarah is working part-time while completing computer courses at the local junior college, and they all enjoyed the SF Giants’ World Series win!

Kathleen Crawford Hoffman sent the exciting news that in September she took her “first ever trip to Europe!” She traveled through Ireland and England, saw a long list of musts, including the inside of Buckingham Palace. Luckily, Queen Elizabeth was vacationing at Balmoral and the palace was open to tourists. Now Kathleen is finding more new things to do in retirement.

Ann Kales Lindblom celebrated her 70th, although a bit late, cruising on their beloved yacht, Bravo, to the Cambridge Hyatt located on the Chesapeake Bay. She and husband Steve were accompanied by ALL their family: three children, two spouses, five grands, and two family dogs. It was a rarity to have ALL present, since two sons are serving in the military. Kalesy admits it’s been a great and happy year!

Prentiss Davies Murphy was the hostess this year for the annual reunion of the “Fearsome Foursome” at her home in Virginia Beach. Julia Bondurant Freeman traveled up from Summerville, South Carolina, Carol Pettigrew Laylin drove down from Orange, Virginia, and Sally Albrecht Brennan drove over from nearby Portsmouth, Virginia. It was a wonderful reunion as usual, and the four had fun reminiscing and trying to recall the details of their MWC college days. Prentiss is a pro at creating memorabilia masterpieces and had carefully organized photo albums to jog their memories. Their “turning 70 reunion” in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area included a trip to the boardwalk for lunch, an afternoon at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens (the butterfly house was a favorite) and a quick visit to the Hermitage House and Museum on the Lafayette River. Prentiss also took the Foursome to a wonderful Challenge Aerial Park constructed in the treetops of huge old pine trees. They also enjoyed great food: gumbo by Prentiss, breakfast bread by Julie, ham biscuits by Carol, grilled steaks by Sally’s husband Bill in Olde Towne Portsmouth, and local seafood at Blue Pete’s Restaurant in the bayous of Back Bay. There was no lack of great conversation. Most of all, the four ladies loved being together again as suitemates, “just like old times!”

Carole Trent Fletcher admitted she wasn’t especially thrilled to mark her 70^th, except that she is definitely grateful to be “kicking” after another year. Two of her children, who live in Northern Virginia, hosted a weekend family birthday party and two others came from Savannah, Georgia, and New York to join in the festivities, making it all a wonderful occasion. The following weekend Carole and Tom’s other daughter and family traveled from Philadelphia to the Northern Neck for an extended celebration. It was really special because work schedules and distance make it difficult for everyone to get together as often as they’d like. The Northern Neck was humming along with lots of fall activities, including the end of Tom’s gardening season, so he and Carole keep busy with volunteer jobs at the local museum, help with church functions, and Carole sings with four choral groups, all of whom have Christmas concerts. Carole and Tom make time for visits to his siblings in western and northern Virginia and last summer they hosted Carole’s sister and family from Texas for a delightful two weeks – their first visit in 14 years!

Clair Golihew Cosby wrote that in June her daughter gave her a 70th birthday party at Clair’s home and Clair was glad to have cleaned her house at least once every 70 years! The house and gardens looked as she had always known they could, so that all 67 of her close friends who dropped in for open house wound up staying all afternoon. They filled the sunroom, family room, living room, dining room, kitchen and screened porch. Clair loves to entertain but had not tried anything on this scale since her husband died four years ago. She added that “as far as blooming at our age” goes, she is very happily involved in many activities at church and leads two grief support groups each week.

Diana Hamilton Cowell continues to thrive in South Bethany, Delaware. She began the year with the January 1 Eskimo Plunge at Bethany Beach when the water was 44º and the air was 45º, a great but chilling experience with many participants. Diana’s second knee replacement makes it possible for her to keep up with her swimming and other outdoor activities. She sent a photo of herself at the dedication of a new monument which commemorates the deaths of 72 American soldiers in a battle to liberate Periers, France. She attended the town’s 70th anniversary celebration of its liberation by the Americans of the 90th Division on July 27 this year, where she read the names of each soldier at the dedication ceremony. Several years ago Diana was involved in making Periers a sister city with Bethany Beach, and she was selected to represent Bethany at this event. She carried greetings and gifts from the mayor of Bethany Beach to the citizens of Periers and from the Bethany Beach Fire Company to the Periers Fire Department. She also presented a letter of greeting from the President of the University of Mary Washington plus an American flag from U.S. Senator Carper of Delaware. Diana and her husband are hosting a student from Brittany, France, this year, Pierre, now a senior at Indian River High. Pierre was nominated Homecoming King and Diana thinks that is the beginning of his joining a long line of French kings! To fill her spare time, Diana has taken a part-time job with the Census Bureau doing interviews related to the unemployment index. She passed the Homeland Security check and is now “worried” that they know everything about her and may use her new government laptop to track her every move.

Cathe Cantwell Luria prepared for her 70th by defeating early breast cancer followed by the installation of a pacemaker to enable her to keep exercising. She was fine by the time she turned 70! She did her first 5K “Run Like a Mother” race in Portland in May; she came in first in the 70+ group (admittedly a small group). Cathe’s daughter Sacha joined her in the race, making it a truly memorable Mother’s Day. Cathe has exchanged her flute for voice. She sings soprano in two local choruses and her husband sings bass. She recently joined a 48-voice Episcopal choir in a church where the services are “high masses” in which practically everything is sung. Their organist is professor emeritus of the University of Puget Sound, who composes many wonderful works for his choirs. Cathe has subscribed to voice lessons to meet the challenge and enhance her enjoyment of vocal music. Cathe took three weeks last summer to study Spanish in Guatemala but was assigned to stay with a family who spoke mostly Maya. It wasn’t until Spanish-speaking Sacha and her family joined her that Cathe learned the real reason she was unable to understand her host family. Sacha is a bilingual teacher with six years’ experience and has taught her three children to speak Spanish as well.

Susanne Landerghini Boehm and husband Ralph are enjoying the slower pace of retired life. Ralph, in his third year of retirement from public school music education in Prince William County, Virginia, continues to give private lessons in violin, viola and cello. Susanne’s musician referral business has slowed considerably but is still active with bookings for weddings and parties. Their two sons, who live nearby in Arlington and Alexandria, visit their Vienna home frequently, especially during weekends and holidays. Neither is married yet and there are no grandchildren yet, but there is still hope. Susanne celebrated her 70th birthday in April with a party at home for which her sons prepared/provided the food. Karl favors dishes from his favorite pho restaurant, and dessert was Susanne’s favorite cake: red devil layer cake with vanilla icing.

Midge Meredith Poyck was surprised with a 70th birthday party given by her daughter and son-in-law. A good friend from South Carolina also flew out for the event. Midge keeps fit and limber with a variety of outdoor activities. Most of her time there in Oro Valley, Arizona, is spent hiking, when temperatures allow, with a special trip in March with gal pals at the Grand Canyon. They have plans for a Utah hiking excursion in the spring.

Eileen Goddard Albrigo and Kathleen Goddard Moss shared a twin sister 70th birthday at Clyde’s at Willow Creek in Ashburn, Virginia. Their husbands and children organized a family brunch in a private upstairs room where the eleven adults and eleven children could freely enjoy the moment. Kathy’s wide-spread children in Spain, Ohio and California were there in spirit. Eileen’s husband, John, turned 70 in August with another family brunch, this time at their country home in Upperville, Virginia. Daughter Liz enhanced the occasion by announcing the anticipated March arrival of grandchild #12.

Kathleen Goddard Moss and husband Tom are planning to be fully retired from their part-time jobs by next summer and have already begun the daunting task of thinning their possessions and preparing the house for sale. They plan to spend several months being “footloose and fancy free” for traveling before they relocate in a retirement community. They want to explore the San Francisco area possibilities because it would be favorable for them and their children if they could find something near their California son and make “just one more move.”

Susan Roth Nurin invited four of her Spanish House amigas to visit New York City for an extended combined 70th birthday adventure. Yvonne March flew from Tampa, Florida, and Betsy Chappelear Tryon flew from Redondo Beach, California. Their first stop was Washington, D.C., where Katharine Rogers Lavery met them and drove them home for a family birthday dinner and overnight visit. After a short drive through the city to jog their memories (both Yvonne and Betsy once lived in the D.C. area) they traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, to meet Barbi Barriga Rowe. Susana completely surprised them by accompanying Barbi to the train station to meet them. Then the three amigas spent the night in The Temperance Inn, Barbi’s 1827 home in the village of Unionville, Pennsylvania. Historically it was an inn during the 1840’s, housing drovers and cowboys. Barbi escorted the ladies to other historical sites such as the 1714 London Grove Friends Meeting House, 18th century villages of Blow Horn and Doe Run, the Laurels Preserve Buck and Doe Trust lands and the 1836 West Chester Friends School, where Barbi works as Director of Admissions. After a stop at the Brandywine River Museum to see the Wyeth Art Collection Yvonne, Betsy and Susana continued their journey to NYC, where they stayed several days in Susana’s tiny apartment overlooking Central Park. They hiked around the 9/11 World Trade site, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, the four-hour Central Park Walk, the Broadway Walk, ate in exotic restaurants and attended the Santa Fe Ballet at the Joyce Theater. They ached all over from walking and their sides hurt from laughing all the way! Betsy continued north to Providence to meet her cousin Kathy. After a tour and overnight there, they drove to Kathy’s home in Lexington, Massachusetts for more visiting. Betsy and Yvonne both soon returned home with a promise to come see the rest of us at our 50th reunion.

Judy Wells Clark wrote that she will be touring Japan with four great musicians Oct. 29 through Nov. 8. She will accompany the Classic Strings Duo (Kevin Matheson, violin; Bryan Matheson, viola) and two opera singers (Amy Cofield Williamson, soprano; Scott Williamson, tenor) at the Yamaha Concert Hall in Tokyo November 5 and in Yokohama November 6. Other concerts are pending. These are truly fine musicians and will represent Virginia well. If anyone is interested in a concert on “home soil,” please let Judy know.

Katharine Rogers Lavery celebrated several 70th birthdays with classmates and friends but has yet to reach that milestone herself. She and Hank are expecting three grand-nieces/nephews a few days before her birthday and one grandson just announced his engagement for an October 2015 wedding. Katharine continues to tutor math, knit, sew, play her trumpet at church and weddings, participate with Hank in the Pentagon Sailing Club activities, and enjoy a myriad of family events and gatherings. One special event was a November evening reception at the British Embassy honoring the U.S. and U.K. veterans, marking the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. There were five WWII veterans in attendance, numerous uniformed veterans plus many cadets from service academies such as VMI, the Citadel, Annapolis and West Point.