Class Notes

In May, Betsey Dunn Kirkemo’s oldest daughter will graduate from Clarkson and her youngest from high school. She jumped the empty nest conundrum by downsizing first and selling her house second. She is still in the Denver area, along with fellow alum Lisa Featherstone Walsh who doesn’t live too far away. While they don’t get together often enough, it’s always fun when they do. A year and a half ago, Betsey was blessed to have Betsy Maguire Whiteside, Leslie Runaldue Tufarolo, and Eleni Sempeles Goldsmith support her family after her brother passed away suddenly. Betsey says it was so awesome to have people she’s loved for three decades offer their shoulders. This year, all four headed up to Juniata to watch the Clarkson volleyball team play UMW. It was fun to catch up on all the news from the student athletes and root for their alma mater (when they weren’t playing Clarkson). Betsey has been with the same company since 1992 and now she is the owner after her mentor passed away in 2014. It’s been a tough couple of years, but she says she’s blessed to have her MWC friends in her life.

Malinda Wilkerson Blevins has been married to the love of her life for 30-plus years. They have moved in and out of Virginia and have one son and three daughters. Their son, Baxter, graduated from VMI and is stationed in San Diego with the Navy. Their oldest daughter, Marshall, graduated from the University of Kentucky and is a track photographer, mainly for Evangeline Track in Lafayette, Louisiana. Emeline is a junior at the University of Richmond, and Meredith is a freshman at LSU.  Malinda’s husband’s job has necessitated that they move, with their longest stay being in Tallahassee, Florida. Three years ago he was offered a job in New Orleans (Clerk of Court for the Federal District Court) and they made the move there, using the opportunity to downsize. Malinda found her dream job at the Historic New Orleans Collection. She is a docent, giving tours of the history galleries and founder’s home, in the French Quarter. She gets to meet people from ALL over the world. They just finished up the Christmas tour of the home, and they are in the midst of History of Mardi Gras tours, for at least another week. THEY LOVE being there. They have a lovely little shotgun on the west bank of the Mississippi, a quick ferry ride to the Quarter. They take every opportunity to attend a festival, concert, or parade!

Since our 30th reunion two years ago, Sarah Calvert has returned to active ministry from her year-long travel and study sabbatical in 2014-15. She lives in Fairfax and works with the 100 United Methodist churches in Northern Virginia, doing revitalization and leadership development. It is hard work, but she loves it! Her 22-year-old son, Matthew, lives in her house at Lake of the Woods, where he is pursuing  ‘on the job training’ at a restaurant in Culpeper, rather than following in his over-educated mother’s footsteps.