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UMW Magazine – Class Notes
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

1983

Marcia Guida James
marcia.g.james@gmail.com

 

 

Here’s the update. Sharon Robertson Williamson did go to Bangkok for work for four months and resumed her schedule in January 2016. She’s been busy painting (pictures, not walls) and starting a consulting firm and two “Lean In” circles in RVA to gather and mentor women in their careers in the area. Brian (hubby) is brewing a lot of beer and still designing mechanical things. Shelby is a senior at Virginia Tech and has had several internships in marketing and a semester overseas. Hunter is a sophomore at CNU and sang at the Vatican, and in Venice, Austria, and Germany in early 2015, concerts which Sharon and Brian attended.

Wendy Burnett Dickinson reports that she is in touch with Sarah Thompson Doig, Susan Jurkiewicz Nelson ‘84, Anne Marie Thompson Steen, and Kerry Devine ‘84. Sarah continues to operate her Hand-to-Hand Therapy Clinic in Colorado. Susan and her family are in Foley, Alabama and, as always, are contributing to the well-being of the community. Kerry and Wendy caught up at the celebration of life ceremony of Dr. Otho Campbell. Oldest daughter Hillary lived with Anne Thompson Steen and Dan Steen ’84 while she interned in D.C. during the summer of 2015. Hillary graduated from W&M in May 2015 and is now working for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health as a Research Assistant. Wendy is pursuing certification as a coach and Alison Metzler LaMura has even assisted with some of Wendy’s assignments. Alison is an empty-nester who is exploring all of the possibilities that an empty nest brings. Wendy’s husband, John “JD” Dickinson, is serving on the UMW College of Business Advisory Board. JD is a partner of Dickinson Williams & Co., a lower middle market investment banking firm.

Anne Thompson Steen reports that she spent a chunk of the fall of 2015 in Singapore and Hong Kong meeting with Georgetown Alumni this fall. Georgetown sent her to Dubai, Munich, and Asia in 2015! Son Harrison graduates in May 2016 from Sewanee. Daughter Meredith is working for a national security consulting firm in D.C. Dan continues his travels all over with his job. They have visited with Karrie Nelson Ferguson, Susan Bancroft Leavitt, Jennifer Blair, Wendy Burnette Dickinson, and Sarah Thompson Doig.

Judy Sweetman Gwynn reported that she and her husband moved into their dream retirement home on the St. Mary’s River in 2013 with room for the boat and gardening, although they are not quite retired yet. Their youngest is at home now, with their middle daughter a sophomore at Mississippi State University. Judy is serving her second term on the UMW Alumni Association Board of Directors and loves it. In October of 2015, Judy traveled to Italy with a friend and visited Rome, Florence, and Naples. She also sees Sharon Arnold regularly.

Farah Maynor Marks reports that they are making the best of an empty nest as well, and just celebrated 30 years of marriage! Daughter Marilyn is married and resides in Cleveland where she teaches and plays violin in several regional orchestras. Son Sam graduates in May 2016 from Hampden-Sydney College. Farah has continued as Director of Development at Randolph College and enjoyed a summer trip to London with a group from Randolph. Farah saw her former MWC roommate Terry Sckinto Hogan this fall at her daughter’s wedding in Alabama, and also attended a recent alumni event where she saw Jennifer Blair and Heather Mackey!

Lynn Conville Abraham  reports that she and her husband recently celebrated 25 years of marriage. They are adjusting to life with one child after the loss of their oldest two years ago in February. Lynn keeps in touch with a group including Freda White ’84, Cindy Chalkley ’84, and Marye Downs ’84.

Dannehl Bounds Strautz reports that after 32 years working with Accomack County Public schools, she and husband Don are in the final stages of closing on their new home in Waynesville, North Carolina. Son David attends college at Mississippi State University. They hope to settle permanently in Waynesville within a year or so.

Scott Harris reports that things have been very busy at the James Monroe Museum as they gear up for the forthcoming bicentennial of Monroe’s presidency, beginning with commemoration of the election of 1816 next year. They recently published a children’s book about a family’s visit to the museum, and released a second CD of music (Christmas carols) played on the Monroes’ Astor pianoforte in their collection. Scott also became president of the Fredericksburg Museums Council, a forum for directors of the community’s museums and other cultural attractions. He also joined the board of the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries as representative for the nine-state southeast region.

Susan Leavitt reports that she and husband Jon just purchased a place in Burlington, Vermont overlooking Lake Champlain to use as their “dream for the future.” Susan is still active on the CAS Board. She is planning to run the Paris Marathon 2016 in April.

Mabel Royal reports that in the fall of 2015, she, Verna Williams Watson, Harolyn Berry Bland, and Tia Scales met in Fredericksburg to attend the Dancing with the Fredericksburg Stars event at UMW. They enjoyed walking around campus and town, taking in the beauty of our alma mater in early fall. One of the highlights was seeing Dean Cedric Rucker ’81 as one of the stars in DWTFS. They had a wonderful time catching up with him at the champagne reception after the show and at brunch the next day at the Mason Dixon Cafe. Verna reports that she is retired and enjoying her new career as a Mom-Mom. Daughter Alexis and grandson Travis also traveled to Fredericksburg in September 2015. Harolyn reports that youngest son Justin graduated from Bridgewater College in May of 2015. He earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Art. He works for Premium Distributors and is still creating wonderful art pieces. He is hoping to show his art work soon. In November, Harolyn participated in a 5K Turkey Trot  and won third place in her age group. Harolyn is a grandmom as well—daughter Jerilyn and her husband have two boys. Tia still works at the American Psychological Association, is active with Jazzercise, and has traveled to some pretty cool places in the last few years, including Canada and Greece. While in Fredericksburg for the DWTFS weekend, Tia enjoyed lunch at The General Store with Jocelyn Taylor (Gregory Taylor‘s daughter), who is a freshman at UMW.

Audrey Poindexter has embarked on a new career as a nurse and LOVES it. Mabel Royal is still teaching intro Biology courses at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. Mabel got to travel this spring to the Association of Southeastern Biologist’s meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to present data from research investigating the infusion of research experiences in undergraduate Biology courses. After summer school, Mabel took a few days of vacation and enjoyed the beauty of Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Kathy Walters Along  and husband Jim are empty-nesters now. Daughter Gina is a senior at FGCU’s School of Nursing. Son Joe is a freshman at Rice studying Korean language and linguistics. Kathy is still active in Junior League, and has hung up her Jazzercise shoes but still pursues yoga and spinning. They also now have a butterfly garden in their backyard.

Rae Morrison Scott completed a degree for registered nursing in December of 2015. She was the oldest member of the class and began employment at Norton Healthcare in January. Another highlight for Rae is that in July of 2015, she and her husband traveled  to Israel.

As for me, my youngest son Frank is graduating from Vassar in May of 2016 and has accepted a job as software engineer for Bayden, an internet company in Mountain View, California.  In November of 2015, I successfully defended my Master’s thesis in Health Policy titled, “Do Current Medicaid Policies Impact Continued Innovation? An Examination of the Value Based Model Experiment”. Three Masters degrees means I am done with school. My job with Aetna Medicaid has me on the road 80% of the time, so I’m everywhere, but coming home to Fort Lauderdale is fantastic!