Class Notes

Our class has been busy over these last few months.

Margaret Bryan Morgan moved into a very happy place, “Windsor Meade Retirement Place,” not far from her previous home in Kings Mill in Williamsburg, Bam after husband, Ed, died last summer after 66 wonderful years of marriage. They have 4 children, 5 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren who are spread out from Alaska, Washington State, North Carolina, and Williamsburg.

Miriam Sollows Weiland and husband Earl have moved into their wonderful “Lantern Hill” apartment after waiting 2 ½ years for it to be completed. “Mim” made a “wonder woman” recovery from left hip surgery last July and now awaits right hip surgery in 2017.

Carol Bailey Miller stays very busy with, of course, all her horse activities. She has served as Historian for the Virginia Horse Show Association for more than 5 years. She worked on the Virginia Horse Show Association associated Horse Shows Championship show in November in Lexington, VA, and in December she traveled to Hot Springs, VA to attend the annual VHSA meeting at The Homestead. She was inducted into the VA state 4H Championship horse show Hall of Fame in Sept. at which time she was awarded a trophy.

Both Mim and Carol have taken part in the monthly hand written LETTERS to UMW Seniors program concerning the 1946-1950 era and have received much joy from both sending and receiving the letters. They encourage all of us to join in the program next year!

Sad news from Billie Mitchell Hanes. Her husband, Dick, passed away in November after a more than a year long battle with many health issues. They would have celebrated 67 years of marriage on December 17^th. Billie has many health issues also but she “hangs in there” through them all.

Had a lovely visit with Helen Hopkins Timberlake. She, like all of us, has endured numerous health concerns, but still weeds her garden and travels to visit family in the Atlanta/Athens Georgia area.

Anne Osborn Cox and husband, Frank are both experiencing serious health problems. Our prayers are with them!

From Cynthia Medley: Yes, I’m still around. I edit the Carlisle newsletter here in this retirement community which is all the writing I’m doing now. My days of writing professionally are over but, at 87, I’m in fairly good condition. (I sound like a used car don’t I?)

Thank you for all the Christmas notes and cards that were sent to me. Hope you all had a happy holiday season.

Had a lovely card from Dottie Booth Sanders who said they had a year with no losses for the first time in several years. 2016 was a very good year. Her sister Martha continues to be in a nursing facility with good and bad days and her family is amazing in their support of her. Dottie has enjoyed spending extended time in her home and in Nashville with her sister Boofie in addition to talking on the phone. Her husband Dewey was blessed to do 5 more marathons (82 total). Their family are in medicine and two more are very involved in playing soccer in schools and one wants to major in business and sports management. Dottie and Dewey traveled some this year to Florida, a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean with 16 family members, to northern Michigan, Tennessee and Chicago.

Sally Hangar Moravitz and I had a great visit on the phone about UMW, health (ugh), and wishes for good health. Thank you Sally. She and Fran took a cruise out of Baltimore at the end of last February to go snorkeling but the weather was so rough that the water tours were canceled. She also said she was doing Cardiac Rehab because her heart valves needed work. Now Fran gets to to do all the raking of leaves and snow shoveling this year.  They plan to go to Myrtle Beach this spring.

Thanks Joan Darden for the warm wishes for health. (see end of this for explanation for that statement). Joan continues to play duplicate bridge, competitive pool with her cute co-ed pool team (none of them is outstanding but sometimes they give opponents a scare) and competitive golf.  Don’t win as much as ‘once upon a time a long time ago’ but a few wins occasionally. Seems now she makes more ‘friends’ than she did before when she won more. So it’s a win, win situation. For what its worth this is her news.

Ann Strickler Doumas says that she and Bill are just back from a cruise from Bergen, Norway to Montreal, Canada following the settlements of the Vikings. She wore her MWC alumni shirt one day and Valerie Deacon ’58 came over to chat. Many others said a friend or relative went there as well. We have been up to the new, huge student center on campus and enjoyed dinner in the many international carousels The campus is lovely.  She keeps in touch with Sally Moravitz but haven’t gotten together.

Joan Kleinknecht sent several notes to me. Thank you for your wonderful thoughts and reminders of things we always seem to get as illnesses as we age It seems Joan had a heart attack from strokes two years ago which she recovered from. She also had some other little things which were helped by nurses, doctors.  It also seems that we believe that we absolutely get better because we ourselves have an attitude that is positive. I do remember being at MWC, the wonderful work and fun that we had and it helps my mind and strength.

Another year gone by too quickly and I am slowing down as it goes by quotes Ann Lou Rohrbach Culwell. She was blessed with four new babies in her family this year. She went to her 65th high school reunion and a mini reunion with her remaining cousins. She just got back from Bronson where she saw five great shows; Moses, Red, Hot & Blue, The Texas Tenors, The Lettermen and the Lennon Sisters/Osmond Brothers. She also said If you all are like me you do not travel that much anymore; however, if you should come this way stop and visit, or spend the night if you need a room. A happy, healthy, New Year to all.

O.K.now if you’ve gotten this far in the newsletter I now will make most of the words above. If you got a newsletter from me asking for lots of news because I was quite ill. Well, I did get the above letters with wonderful wishes of me to get better but that was it. I’m worried that many of us are ill and I hope not. That’s because I keep forgetting how old we all are. Thank all of you who did send prayers and gentle advice. What I’m writing now is basically what I said in my e-mails that I sent a week ago. I had a hip replacement a couple of years ago and have been working on walking. I did close The Dance Shop around August in 2014 (I think) Then I had a stroke which I wasn’t aware of and went to the hospital. I was then sent to Mission View Hospital for several weeks. I did pretty well there, cane and all. I remembered everything about my working at the Dance Shop, San Luis Obispo and family. I have some troubles at remembering some things. So I had wonderful help from the five ladies who helped from home and kept my sense of humor alive. Remember I told you that didn’t remember about my stroke? Didn’t remember that at all and it worried me no end. So I finally managed to ask someone–“Umm,well, uhh,when I had the stroke uhh-“The person said ” you recovered nicely” ” No,” i said ” What were my words?” ” No bad words,”said my laughing friend. So I retired knowing that I didn’t retire my sense of humor!  So I wish all of you in 2017 a wonderful HEALTHY year.

On a December visit to Westminster-Canterbury, a retirement community in Richmond, I visited with Turner Christian Richardson who moved there in May 2016. She has a daughter and 18 year-old triplets in Georgia and has a son in Virginia Beach and another in Tampa. She has nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. Connie Hook Felvey has her Kilmarnock home and an apartment at W-C. Her daughter and twin grandsons live in Charlottesville. Angela Walton Barksdale was to move to W-C in February 2017. She has a son in Richmond and one in NYC. A daughter teaches at Collegiate School in Richmond. Another daughter developed a program of pastoral care and lives in Staunton. I also visited with Gene Pugh Chilton ’53 and her husband, my cousin, Charles. Another cousin, Mary Chilton Newell ’54 moved in December with husband Bill to Brandon Oaks retirement community in Roanoke. Barbara Strangmann Hiscock moved to a retirement community in Cockeysville, Md. in 2015. “Red” Rosanelli Metzger continues to split her time between New Hampshire mid-May to mid-October and Richmond, when she is not traveling to Paris, Rome or NYC with her son, Father Joe Metzger of Norfolk. Hermie Gross Fox continues her travels with her sister, Peg. She enjoyed her 80th birthday in Hawaii; took her daughter and family on a Tauk Tour to Yellow Stone, the Grand Tetons and Mount Rushmore. She and Peg cruised in the fall from Montreal to Quebec, Nova Scotia, Boston and New York. Christmas plans were with her son’s family in Irvine, CA.

Remember when reunions were for old people?  The classmates I heard from are all “young” and most are hoping for a large attendance of their classmates of ’57 at our upcoming reunion. Thank you, Bruce Ritchie Spain for voicing this call.

I really admire the courageous ones who are moving to smaller quarters.  I don’t know why my husband and I seem to take up more space than we did as a family of five. Ellen Hertz Hewitt is at “press time” packing for such a move.  They will still be in the Richmond area, still active in their church and busy visiting the sick, and playing bridge.

It was good hearing also from Joan Callahan Frankhauser, Jean Durham Busboso, and Barbara Craft Grantz who also gave news of sister-in-law Helen Grantz Fortner.  All claimed to have no exciting news, but there was talk of another European visit as well as family visiting the Galapagos and so on. On our most recent trip to Alaska, taken after the last communication from yours truly, we actually floated 20 miles down the river on a raft to Talkeena (of “Northern Exposure” fame). Saw many bald eagles.

A few personal ills were mentioned as well as being victims of hacking and other computer woes of the 21^st century, but these challenges are being met, and most expressed that they are counting their blessings.

I hope to hear from more of you next time.

I received a photo card from Mary Ruthie Ridge Griggs who was attending a Veteran’s Day parade. She had returned from her 50th Reunion for the Framar Girls. She recalled Alice Cox is married for 60 years to the blind date she had arranged. Betty Beckham married a Marine form an arranged blind date. She said the sweet Jean Miller is deceased.

Sally Boyce Sullivan shared that she and her husband Travis have just moved in July to a retirement center in Dallas from their home of 1960. Their two children are nearby and they get to see them and their two grandchildren. They travel to Palm Springs often and cruise to Alaska.

Julia Harris Porter left me two telephone messages. The first was to tell me that she was celebrating her 80th with a party on 12/04. The next call shared that she has been involved in her church for over 30 years as a chairman or co-chair of a council. She has taken part in the Mystic, CT walk for the past 25 years.

Sometimes connections don’t work out. Charlotte M. Walker of Fredericksburg called me two different times, but I missed her calls and she did not leave me a phone number. This is my message to her that I did receive her calls but regret that we did not get to talk to each other.

Fay Purcell Parke Cantrell and family in May took a Family Cruise to the Carribean. The group included children, wives, husbands, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She said they had done the same cruise in 2007. In June, Alex and she went to Barcelona and Lisbon. Though Fay is a retired high school counselor, she continues to assist with the high school scholarship program.

Peggy Kelley Reinburg is still focused on music as an organ recitalist, private instructor, musicologist and pipe organ, and pipe organ design consultant. Her most recent project was for St. Benedict Catholic Church in Chesapeake, Va. Completed in November, 2014 in collaboration with Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders in the Chicago area. Peggy will perform at St. Benedicts Church on May 21, 2017. This is her eighteenth appearance in the ARTS festival in Hampton Roads. Her professional career has spanned six decades, 25 years for recital tours in the USA Europe and Australia and she has engagements scheduled through 2018. As a MWC College Organist and faculty member for 13 years Peggy is witnessing retirements of many of her students. Peggy’s son, Alexander, is a graduate of the University of the South and the Courtald Institute of the University of London is an architectural historian.

Kay Martin Britto enjoys living in a college town. Two of the things she had done recently are to take classes, attend lectures and OLLI and the other is to volunteer as a standardized patient for the nursing students. She follows a scenario and the students examine and interview her. She said it’s fun to play the part.

Dorothy (Dot) Dalton Crossan sent me an email after we had a conversation via telephone. She said she and Mike love living in Virginia at Smith Mountain Lake. There is so much to see and do there. She feels she and Mile are doing OK for mature adults. They live with a Cairn Terrier, Riley who is a qualified Therapy Dog and they visit elementary schools reading with students needing help and love. They also do summer programs. She is a thi chi instructor and loves taking classes. She and Mile have 3 children, 6 grandchildren. Their daughter’s son graduated from Quinapeac-works for AT&T. Their son Michael, the oldest has 2 boys one a senior at UNH top caliber running back football player. His youngest is on an ROTC scholarship, plays bootball. Their youngest son has 3 children 2 boys and 1 daughter. All three are involved in sports including soccer, lacrosse, basketball, swimming, jujitsu. What an active family. Dot and husband travel states, National Parks from Glacier National to Las Vegas, to Alaska, have visited Ireland, England, and 5 Caribbean cruises, sailed thru the Panama Canal. The most recent cruise was on the Danube. They will be doing more traveling in the future. It would be wonderful if all our classmates could someday have a reunion and share stories about all the places we have been.

Suzanne (Sue) Doran Houser and her husband have lived in Atlanta GA since 1982. He finished his 30 years in the Army at Ft. McPherson. His tours included 3 in Germany. He then started a second career in health care recently retires. Sue has been teaching piano lessons in her home for 55 years, she still enjoys students, kids and adults. They travel often and visit their daughter and 4 grandchildren. She keeps in touch with old roommate Pat Lawder Rusk in St. Simons and also Jean Phipard Rutherford in Norfolk. She looks forward to news about everyone and the UMW magazine telling about the new President and the article about Joan of Arc being restored to Ball.

Nancy Lunsford Singer Spero did some catching up. She said she had been single for 20 years after her divorce from Roger Singer and she has been married to Steve Spero for 6 years. She had worked and designed and built her home in Fair Haven, NJ where she has friends and daughters. Now she is living in Florida enjoying taking art lessons, pottery, gardening, cooking and having time to read. She would love to hear from any MWC girls who might be in the area.

David B. Young, husband of Joanne Bortz Young, sent me the message than Joanne passed away on April 8, 2016. I am sorry for their loss. I appreciate that he took the time to let me know which I am sharing with you all.

Mary Townsend Bates – I had this email since 2/28/16 because it came too late to include in a previous issue. Mary shared her trip to Frankfort, KY for their Dutch Cousin’s reunion which over 150 relatives attended. She said it culminated with a religious service in Mercer County where her forefathers built a church that is still standing. Her great, great grandfather and her great grandmother are buried there. The history goes back to the Revolutionary War. Mary and her husband are planning a boat cruise on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, Oregon/Idaho. They continue to enjoy the OBX condo in Kill Devil Hills, NC. The seafood is great and they enjoy watching the dolphins play or walk on the beach.

Joyce Butler Allen sent me a Christmas card. She shared that she retired from the Board of Trustees at Davis and Elkins College after 22 years, then she returned. She is on various committees including a Creative Arts and the Museum at WVU. Her daughter Susan joined this summer for a 3 week trip to London, Paris and the French wine. She has connected to Facebook and has communicated with Alice Janklow Drucker. Joyce had a family reunion after Thanksgiving at Bonnie Blue’s BBQ in Winchester with brothers and other relatives. Peter was in from Dallas with family, first time in 5 years.

Carol Thomas, sister of Gwendolyn Page Langwell, shared that Gwendolyn passed away in March, 2016. We lost two classmates recently. I know we are all very sorry for this loss.

I am still unpacking from my move from Fort Loudon apartments where I have been living since 1986. They are being rehabbed. However I found a note from Jean Lee Anderson Chapman ’87. She and her husband were moving from their home to a condo 2 miles away. At that time they were expecting their 9th grandchild. My move finally occurred on 6/27/2016. Many friends came to help. I did not know how much I stored. Now is the time to go through everything and let it go. And so it goes. I hope to attend the activities at UMW this spring. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the UMW Magazine article.

Lois Gaylord Allen’s two granddaughters are expecting, a boy for one, and a girl for the other. They are also completing their undergraduate degrees. A busy year, writes “Gay.” Howard’s Parkinson’s disease is continuing, unfortunately, to progress. He is using a walker all the time now. Gay continues to chug along. For over ten years she has volunteered with the local animal shelter. They have eight animals at home.

Jane Tucker Broadbooks wrote she and John made the right decision in moving to Chatham, IL to be near Jon Karl and family. Their location is beautiful with a rural setting including villages, farming areas, prairie vistas, historic sites and the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Jon Karl and Cathy are 15 minutes away. Tucker is a freshman, majoring in history at Truman State Univ. He lays the tuba in the Statesman Marching Band. Anna is in 10th grade and competes in Scholastic Bowls meets. Virginia plays the saxophone, is in 8th grade and the Jazz band and Scholastic Bowl. She is into fabrics and enjoys sewing visits with Jane. John undergoes hemodialysis three times per week, is doing well and is nicknamed the “poster boy” of the Da Vita’s Center. Jane is a member of the local post polio support group and also she and John attend meetings of the seven county dialysis support group. They enjoy driving through the countryside visiting antique shops.

Ann Brooks Coutsoubinas called. She has been traveling back and forth to Fredericksburg since her dad’s death in March, helping her brothers and sisters in cleaning out 50 years of possessions. She is finally completely retires, no more subbing. Anastasia is still living with her and Gregory is still in Astoria – so things are quiet on the home front.

Barbara White Ellis lost her husband, Allen, in February. She is thinking of selling their farm, thought she will miss her boarders- the horses are like family over the years.

Marcia Phipps Ireland and Gary have moved to a new house in Pennington, NJ. All is well.

Celeste Shipman Kaufman and I talked during the holidays. “Pug” is in good spirits. She is undergoing more chemo treatments and is looking forward to being in remission again. Prayers are appreciated. She gets a reprieve from her doctor when Smylie, Jeffrey’s son, is playing in a golf tournament. Big news. Pug and Alan will be great-grandparents in May when Francie, Julia’s daughter, has her son. Austin, Julie’s oldest, has completed all of his coursework at the Univ of Texas and is now working on his dissertation. Yea! Sarah, Julie’s youngest, is a freshman at Samford. Luckie, Jeffrey’s youngest, graduated from LSU and is with a large accounting firm. So all the Kaufmans are busy and spreading their wings.

Julia Coates Littlefield and Mo wrote they are grateful to be in very good health. They continue their volunteer work with their church. Updating issues in 2016 kept Mo busy with hammer and nail. Julia, as a choir member, is very excited about their upcoming trip to the UK to the Wells Cathedral for a week in July. Their daughter, Bess, and son-in-law Mark continue their careers in Richmond. Their grandson, Jack Henry, a 2015 UVA graduate, works for Analytic Partners, a research firm in C’ville. Bess was honored with a reward by the VA Assoc. of Fundraising Executors. She is a VP for development for J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College. Julia and Mo have visited son Scot, and his wife, Susan, several times this past year in Augusta, GA. Their son, Chris, is 15, freshman in h.s. and Mary Graham, 8, is in 2nd grade.

Joan Whittemore Loock and Jim went on a private charter cruise in February with three other couples to the British Virgin Islands. It was spectacular and very pampering. In June they attended Logan’s, Sarah’s son, hs graduation in Wisconsin. He is now attending the Univ. of Wisconsin. Mary, Sarah’s daughter, participated in a three-week exchange program in Thailand. What an experience. In July, Joni and Jim went on a two week Viking River Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. Much fun! August finds them in Virginia Beach visiting Joni’s kids, Mandy and Curt and Curt’s twins, Samantha and Amanda, who are now 13. Mandy sold her restaurant and is now the manager of the Princess Ann Country Club and loves it. Joni and Jim on the road again in the fall to Wisconsin to visit family, friends, and football games. And, of course, their annual two week trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Jim is still working at the pro shop at their golf course and Joni still volunteers at the emergency room at the local hospital.

Mary Massey is doing very well since her loss of Jack. She mentioned hospice-sponsored grief support group and AARP sponsored Widowed Persons Services as being very helpful for those of us going through this experience. Mary is taking exercise classes, walking her little dog, Gigi, hiking with Wanderbirds (her 48th yr) and volunteering at the Audubon Naturalist Society (her 25th year) and attending musical performances.

Barbara Barndt Miller’s daughter, Ann Marie, arrived for her annual trip to visit her mother on her birthday in March. The weather was warm and good for horseback riding. Wayne and Barbara raised several foxhounds this past year-they had an outstanding season. The summer was filling with gardening, cutting, and splitting wood. Mid-September found them in Ocean City, MD, watched an airshow from the boardwalk, played golf, and ate at the Tuckahoe Inn. Main project this year breaking their two year old pony “Sweetie.” She is doing well. Autumn this year at the “cabin” was bursting with color. Bunnies were hopping, squirrels gathering nuts, a skunk was in the wood shed, deer grazing in the alfalfa fields, a bear and a red fox were sighted – Well said, Barbara – a lovely picture of Mother Nature.

Received my annual humorous letter from Arthur Old, Eleanor Markham’s husband. Arthur and Martha (second wife) live in Fredericksburg. Martha has two children and four grandchildren of her own to add to Arthur and Eleanor’s one son and two grandsons. Last three months of the year was spent attempting to return Art’s heart to normal rhythm following a laparoscopic right colostomy. He came home with A-Fib and after many elixirs has been successful. But since most promised the side effects of loss of appetite, dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, Art made every effort to not miss a one! Hopefully, his life will eventually settle down. The rest of the year continues with Sons of Amer Rev. and Civil War Round Table meetings, UMW Elderstudy sessions, attending plays and trips to N.C. Martha is doing well.

Irene Piscopo was on the road most of 2016. Highlights. January in Argentina for a winery tour. During Easter Irene was in Malta visiting family. From there to France joining a planned trip for the Hurleys which also included Monaco and Nice. An important event, being invited to a science lab in Monaco – a UMW student was working in the lab! In June a trip to New York with a close friend of many years. In August, she was in Kansas for a niece’s birthday and then off to Lexington, KY for a friend’s anniversary celebration. One of her UMW students who had been to NYC, visited on Labor Day weekend. They walked all over NYC, saw a play, and watched tennis finals in LI. In November, over Thanksgiving, she flew to Bordeaux for a river cruise. She made several trips to UMW looking at research the students were doing. She taught at Hunter this summer and felt UMW students who attended were very seriously involved. Irene sent news of Kay Rowe Hayes and her ongoing involvement with Republican politics. She went for ten days to Myrtle Beach with her family for the Christmas holidays. Irene also sent news of Nancy Brewer McCarthy. She slid down the stairs in her house in April and was in rehab until July. Her husband, Bunky, has been super during this ordeal. He had a chair-lift put in, updates for her in the master bath, such as walk-in shower. He’s doing cooking, grocery shopping, etc. Wow.

Ann Watkins Steves and Bob made the decision and moved into an independent living apartment in retirement community in Dallas after 48 years in their home. Ann loves, include wonderful amenities and many social activities. And the people are friendly. Bob is still working (4 hrs. a day), still attend the same church. She has given up volunteering in the library. Seems her family spent the year moving, too. Here we go – Their oldest son, Bruce, and wife Janet moved into a new house in Nokomis, FL. Their daughter, Natalie, and husband Josh and son James will move this May from Okinawa to the D.C. area. Bruce’s and Janet’s daughter Sarabeth and husband, Kevin, moved to Bradenton, FL from Atlanta for new jobs. Ann and Bob’s son, David and wife Sheila moved from RI to Austin, TX to be near daughter Brittany and family who just moved into a new house. Ann and Bob’s daughter, Linda and husband, Mark are still in RI. Their daughter, Megan moved to a new apartment in east Boston where she attends Suffolk Union. Linda’s son Matthew moved into a new house with other guys in Blacksburg, VA where he attends VA Tech. And Linda’s daughter, Nicole moved in Sept. to an apt in E. Greenwich, RI after graduation from URI, Ann and Bob’s son, William and wife Julie and daughter, Stella, still reside in Vermont. Whew!

Lucas is seven, doing very well in school. He loves to read and learn which makes grandma very happy. I think of so many of you frequently. Hope 2017 brings you good health and happiness as we ease into our 8th decade.