Class Notes

Barbara Bishop Mann, along with Annette Maddra Horner, Susan Bogese MacLaughlin, and Pat Lewars Pace, attended an interesting October Richmond reception at Ginter Gardens for our UMW president, Troy Paino. One update item that impressed them was that Seacobeck, our dining hall, will soon be transformed into the College of Education building. Bobbi and Jana Privette Usry later drove to Fredericksburg for a 1908 Society luncheon at the Jepson Center and were joined there by Joan Cuccias Patton and Carolyn Eldred. They attended a cute musical, “Merrily We Roll Along,” at the Klein Theater in DuPont Hall. The play was told in reverse, beginning at the end! Bobbi was glad they had been advised during the luncheon that the play was unusually arranged. For Thanksgiving Bobbi and husband Robert flew to Mesa AZ for a Bishop family gathering at her nephew’s new home. Bobbi reported that Dee Dee Nottingham Ward’s son and family were affected by the Woolsey CA wildfire but survived without injury.

Annette Maddra Horner and husband John are enjoying relocation from Elizabeth City NC to Richmond. Unlike their numerous other moves for professional reasons this move was to be closer to their extended family roots in the Richmond area. They now live and vote there, attend family parties, visit grandchildren and drive cars licensed in Virginia for the first time since 1980.  Annette misses her former neighbors, Ron and Mary Parsons Black, who visited early after the move and have promised faithfully to return regularly.

Carolyn Eldred, now living in Fredericksburg, enjoys the 1908 Society activities, the first of which was processing in the 2018 UMW commencement exercises. Last summer Carolyn traveled to New York City with the UMW Theater and Dance Department to see three Broadway shows in one weekend and has gone with them to performances in the Washington area. In August Carolyn took a lovely cruise around the British Isles.

Joan Cuccias Patton surprised her siblings and families by showing up at a July family reunion in California. In August she and friend Harry traveled to Ireland for her nephew’s wedding then proceeded to Basel, Switzerland, to catch a Rhine River cruise. Joan and Harry spent the week before Christmas in NYC visiting Harry’s daughters and family. After a January retreat in the NC Outer Banks and Florida in February Joan was planning to stay home in Virginia for a while!

Jana Privette Usry has turned 75! It was a shock to realize that milestone. She celebrated by amassing as many of her former students as possible, including two (now 62) who were in the first class Jana ever taught. (One is a great-grandmother already since she first married at 15!) Jana hosted a brunch at a local popular spot with 35 students, family members and close friends. Her favorite “gift” was a plaque from her Richmond City “family” with a photo of six former students, inscribed: “The teacher who never gave up on us – when others did. From your sons who grew up to be Successful Young Men! We love you, Mrs. Ushry! 2018” Jana was even pleased with the misspelling of her name since the students were all dyslexic. In November Jana’s choir had a very well attended gospel concert with guest conductor/composer, Rollo Dilworth, who has arranged over 200 spirituals, and conducted the choir in three of his own compositions. Jana enjoys the activities of the UMW 1908 Society, a growing organization which appreciates our class members’ input, and encourages us to participate also.

Cherie Wells Brumfield and husband Joe escaped the wrath of the Florida hurricanes. They drove from Ormond Beach to Mississippi and back along I-10 and noticed extreme tree damage. Cherie and Joe thought their “vagabond days” were over when they moved to Florida, but since neither is happy living there they are planning to relocate again soon.

Sally Souder also responded to a query that her part of Florida had escaped hurricane damage and she continues to enjoy life and wildlife there.

Ambler Carter maintains her status quo in Philadelphia. She keeps in touch with Carolyn Kirkpatrick, who has for forty years lived in Vienna, Austria, not Vienna, VA, as we had reported.

Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner and husband Charlie retreated to their Florida home in time to celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary. They were married on  Veterans Day, when 2Lt Horner had an extra day off. Looking at their wedding pictures Mary K thinks they must have been only 15 at that time! She recalls thinking she was smart to buy a Butte knit suit (remember those?) rather than a formal wedding dress she would never wear again but never could bring herself to wear that again, either. Recent research named Butte knits as “vintage clothes” and now Mary K feels old, greatly in need of the Florida sunshine, golf and social life there.

Roberta James East and husband Dennis survived hurricane Florence, though Robbie was stranded away from home and Dennis hunkered down with the cat. They took a December cruise to the Caribbean with friends before returning to northern Virginia to spend Christmas with all three children and families. In NC Robbie was taking two Brunswick Community College courses on local culture, townships, architecture and loves learning about the rice plantations, pirates, slavery and the Civil War there. Nature Conservancy bought land to conserve the historical long leaf pines, the Venus flytrap and Robbie enjoys interesting field trips through the area.  In June Robbie and her sister traveled to their homeland Ireland with Road Scholars then to Cape Cod in September with a seniors group. Other excursions included the Museum of Shenandoah Valley and a future trip to northern Virginia for Garden Week, in which Robbie was always too busy teaching or working the flower farm to participate.

Betsy Chappelear Tryon has been traveling from California with her granddaughter, Maddy, for volleyball tournaments in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Reno and Orlando plus a few games overseas. In 2019 Betsy plans to accompany the club team to Kansas City, Spokane and Dallas. If Maddy’s dream of attending the Naval Academy materializes Betsy will be coming east for frequent visits.

Susan Roth Nurin participated in the dedication in her mother’s memory of the newly constructed children’s wing of the Hendrick Hudson Free Library in Montrose NY. Her mother, a beloved elementary school principal and life-long avid reader, was a constant presence in that library. Susan’s brother’s family donated the wing and it bears their mother’s name: the Leonora Roth Children’s Library. Leonora lived to 100 years of age and her family is proud to contribute to the cultural life of children in her New York City suburb.

Ginny Bateman Brinkley has published a second novel, several years in the making. Though “much of the story is based on our days at MWC it is fiction and any similarities to persons living or deceased is purely coincidental.” Ginny claims “to disavow all knowledge of anyone you think you recognize,” even though classmate readers have named two particular math professors and have closely identified with the protagonist, Annie, her life, her feelings, her traumas. The book, “GODDESS—A Child of the Sixties,” is Annie’s story of her first love, something we can all identify with, and is available on Amazon.

Carol Bingley Wiley has created many watercolors while living in Maine with husband Peter and two golden retrievers. She showed paintings at Saltwater Artists Gallery in Pemaquid last summer and also at River Arts in Damariscotta. Carol has a website but keeps most current information on Facebook at Carol Wiley Studio and Instagram. Carol sees Pam Ward Hughes often. She and Peter have traveled to Cuba and Egypt with Pam and Jim and are great friends. Carol also keeps in touch with Pam Kearney Patrick, whom she visits in Alexandria VA when she attends art seminars and classes. In January Carol spent a weekend learning how to add encaustic painting to her repertoire, and is forever grateful for her art history education plus all she learned while modeling/listening in Mr. Binford’s art classes.

Pam Kearney Patrick, also an excellent watercolor artist, exhibited three pieces during the holidays at the Strathmore Museum in Bethesda MD and will have several paintings opening a display in April at the SOMA gallery in Cape May NJ.

Ann Kales Lindblom actively tries to stay “healthy and in reasonably good shape” by attending a Barre3 class three days a week and walking three miles a day! She and Steve enjoy summertime cruising on their boat on the Chesapeake Bay and are eager to meet their 7^th grandchild in March.

Midge Meredith Poyck looks out her back windows in Arizona at a spectacular view of the mountain range where she enjoys hiking routinely. She also belongs to a great book club with very interesting other women and takes a fine arts course to help “keep her mind and intellect stimulated.” Midge’s main focus is her family. Of her six grandchildren, one is a junior at Clemson, two others are applying to California schools. The younger three haven’t decided but no one seems interested in UMW! Midge’s son is in his 4^th year as president of Hubble Lighting in Greenville SC and her daughter, a lawyer, has her own consulting business with her husband there in Tucson. It’s been a wonderful ten years in Arizona!

Anne Meade Clagett has “nothing new, fun or interesting to report” except that she and husband John are still enjoying the country life in northwestern Virginia. Anne joined Barbara Bishop Mann, Jana Privette Usry, Annette Maddra Horner, Carolyn Eldred and Anne Powell Young in Fredericksburg in December for a small MW Lunch gathering and sends her best regards to all of us.

Gloria Langley Parker wrote after a long silence that she retired from medical social work ten years ago to work on her bucket list. She and husband Jim have  made some amazing visits to Italy, France, England, Ireland, Amsterdam, Germany, Mexico, Caribbean islands and have only Greece left on the list. After a close call in Paris (one week before a terrorist attack) and one in London (24 hours before the bridge terror attack) Gloria and Jim have decided to travel through the U.S. for a while. They celebrated their 51^st wedding anniversary this year and attended their only daughter’s graduation, receiving her Masters in Business Accounting. Gloria plays bridge regularly with long-standing friends, two of whom are UMW graduates, Merrilyn Dodson ’68 and Lou Magette Thomas, ‘58. Gloria keeps in touch with her freshman roomie, Evie Tune Shelton, who lives in Chapin SC and keeps busy with quilting and church activities. Evie and Clay have two adult daughters and two granddaughters. Gloria reminisced that many years ago when she was president of a local MWC alumnae chapter they organized a “Phone-a thon” to raise money for the college. She recalls working with Rhonda Ellis Smith, Lou Magette Thomas, Irene Brown and Nancy Sykes. The chapter had a large wooden MWC seal made. It stayed in Nancy’s attic for years before being donated to UMW. This news spurred a hunt to locate it and within only a few days Barbara Bishop Mann and Jana Privette Usry found it in Mark Thaden’s Jepson Center office and posted a picture on our MWC 1966 Facebook page!

Tyla Matteson had a most enjoyable get-together in June with Susanne Landerghini Boehm. She also ran into Barbara Bishop Mann in November at the 2^nd anniversary of Liberal Women of Chesterfield County, to celebrate exciting work by people who “are making a positive difference in the community.” Tyla completed another active year as chair of the York River Group, Sierra Club, with a variety of programs. Some are local endeavors to monitor coal ash sites in York County and to commit public land on the James River in Newport News to parkland. One program featured the documentary, What Lies Upstream, on how pollutants which spread largely unregulated on the land and through our pipes can enter our lives. Another explained rooftop solar, which provides energy independence to the resident as well as curtailing the use of fossil fuels. Tyla and husband Glen have installed 15 solar panels on their house.  In December Tyla took a Road Scholar trip to Martinique, hoping to make good use of her French again.

Cathe Cantwell Luria and husband Eric purchased their rental home in Mexico, near Guadalajara, and are enjoying a very busy retirement there. Cathe studies Spanish and voice and began teaching a level 3 ESL class in December. She and Eric participate in many musical activities and continue their English country dancing hobby. They traveled to Israel and Jordan with a rabbi and an Episcopal priest, visiting many Jewish and Christian sites. They located the Izak Luria temple, named after a famous rabbi who had a large following studying Kabbalah. Petra in Jordan was an amazing experience. Cathe and Eric frequently fly back to Portland OR to visit their daughter, her wife and their three grandchildren.

Yvonne March hosted her son, Sean, and his wife last January so they could escape the Ohio winter. Tampa and Sarasota were very appealing. In June they reunited at an Orlando timeshare to celebrate Sean’s birthday and Father’s Day. Yvonne later flew to Connecticut to visit a childhood friend from Cuba, then traveled to Maryland for her sister’s 70^th birthday plus a visit to Longwood Gardens and Cape May NJ. Yvonne and Chris spent Thanksgiving with his daughter and granddaughter and are happy to report that they all escaped storm damage this fall.

Mary Morris Bishop and husband Dennis are still in their home in Rochester Hills MI but spend summers with friends and family at Lakeside Chautauqua on the Marblehead Peninsula of Lake Erie. The Chautauqua movement started in the late 19^th century and includes programs for entertainment, religious faith, arts and physical activity. Lakeside programming focuses on children’s needs as well as adults’, making it a perfect place for Mary to take her four grandchildren every year. Otherwise, Mary and Dennis travel every few weeks to Ohio to visit their children and grandchildren. Mary is amazed at the comprehensive difference in school children’s programs compared to her own “laid back” experience. At home in Michigan Mary plays bridge regularly, goes to the senior center to “use it or lose it” with cardio and weight bearing exercises while Dennis takes long walks with cameras and lenses for photography, and they are both active in church.

Genie McClellan Hobson retired in 2016 but remains affiliated with Nemours in Wilmington DE as Principal Research Scientist Emeritus and works several days a week. Her big news is that she and Don bought a motor home last year and have been traveling. They went to Charlottesville for Don to attend a meeting of class agents for the Darden School, stayed at an RV park in Madison County, where Genie taught while Don was in school there. Genie and Don spent the month of August at the Aloha Campground on Mullet Lake in Michigan, where their daughter and family were on vacation. They all went to the Headlands International Dark Sky Park to see the Milky Way, four planets and innumerable stars. Next was two weeks on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan touring the Pictured Rocks by boat, finding beautiful waterfalls, touring iron and copper mines, watching sunsets and Northern Lights. Homeward bound, Genie and Don drove through Wisconsin, stopping for a dinner cruise at the Dells and Circus World at Baraboo, then stopped at the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville PA. They still have plans to hike the White Oak Canyon Trail.

Eileen Goddard Albrigo and John welcomed their 14^th grandchild, Margaret Maria, in October. With six brothers and one sister to help spoil her, she is a very contented baby! Parents Carrie and Todd have complex schedules since they home-school their children and transport them to ballet, tap, chorus, exercise classes. They are relieved that their eldest son now has a driver’s license and can help with the driving.  John continues to work as hard as ever, helps care for his 96-year-old mother, and Eileen enjoys being retired so she can visit their three children’s homes and “help” with the grands. Eileen hopes to visit sister Kathy in her new California surroundings this winter.

Kathleen Goddard Moss and husband Tom have settled nicely in their vibrant Oakland CA retirement community. Their fellow residents are a diverse, active group whose mealtime conversations are always stimulating. Kathy and Tom participate in exercise classes, writing classes, interfaith gatherings and attend musical performances every week. They enjoy their new Church of Christ, fondly dubbed “The Jazz and Justice Church.” Two grandsons, ages 8 and 5, live nearby and stayed with Kathy and Tom while their parents traveled to Paris for their 10^th anniversary. Their daughter who lives in Spain brought her family to visit last summer and they all explored the Bay area. Kathy reported that the wildfires did not get close enough to do any damage except to fill the air with smoke, but she was inside reading Ginny Bateman Brinkley’s book and highly recommends it.

Lee Enos Kelley, who has been living with slow-progressing Parkinson’s disease since 2008, sold her home in Washington DC and moved into a retirement community in Bethesda MD in March 2016.  She is surrounded by a pleasant, interesting group of “old folks.” Lee enjoys her independence in her two-bedroom condo with the option of community meals and activities. Lee’s husband, Kevin, died in 2017 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and her son, William, married in February ’18, making the past two years quite eventful for Lee. This fall she took her first overseas trip in a decade, traveling on a two-week cruise from Venice to Barcelona with nine port stops and enjoyed every minute of it.

Katharine Rogers Lavery and husband Hank skipped their annual OBX beach vacation last summer to drive south to Florida and back. They stopped in NC, SC, Naples FL, and Boynton Beach FL to visit relatives and friends, with a long stay in Gainesville FL for a grand nephew’s wedding. The remainder of the summer was filled with their senior bowling league, twice-weekly senior fitness classes, lawn and garden work, visits to their son’s “river house” on the Northern Neck of Virginia and several other family gatherings at home. Katharine still plays her cornet regularly at historical St. John’s Episcopal Church in Centreville VA and enjoys Arena Stage plays, sewing, knitting and tutoring math students. The family continues to grow with a grand nephew and a second great granddaughter arriving in December.

Condolences to Ryan Stewart Davis on the loss of her husband, Roger, in October 2018 and to Cornelia Bowles Dexter on the loss of her husband, Benson, in August 2018.