Class Notes

I am heartbroken to announce the passing of my dear friend and senior year roommate, Lucinda (Cindy) Long. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about two years ago, she collapsed suddenly on November 25, 2018. Dodo Fisher and I attended her memorial service, at which I was privileged to share my memories of her.

At MWC, Cindy served for two years as editor of The Bullet. During her college years, she acted on her sense of injustice, participating in numerous protests and marches. Our third roommate, Jean Eley Thompson, remembers covering for her—telling her parents, should they call, that she was “at the library”!

Following graduation, she earned an MA and a PhD in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, and a JD from Rutgers University. She taught at Montclair State University, mentored many law students, and was the first woman to serve as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Valley National Bank from 1991 to 2016, when she retired.

Among her many awards and recognitions are the NJ Women Lawyers Association Platinum Award, NJ State Senate Commendation, Partners for Women and Justice Hope Award, and Rutgers Law School Distinguished Alumna Award. She was admitted to the US Supreme Court Bar in 2006.

Those of us who knew her at MWC, and almost all of our class reunions, will remember her outgoing personality and sense of fun, leading the dancing at reunions, and always ready to erupt into that wonderful laugh.

She was a role model to me and so many others—the smartest, most confident, and most fearless woman I have ever known. She fought passionately and tirelessly her entire life for justice and equality. Her passing leaves a huge hole in my heart and in the Class of 1968. To honor her memory, please continue to work toward a more fair and equal world in whatever small way you can. Cindy is survived by her son, Joseph Geschlecht.

Separately, we received this note:

It was so good to reconnect with fellow members of the class of 1968 at our 50th Reunion! My roommate through all 4 years at MWC (Charlotte Shelton) was able to come with me, and we stayed on campus for the weekend. It was amazing to see the changes from the MWC of 1968 to the UMW of 2018. To see air-conditioning in the dorm room, updated bathrooms, and Campus Drive turned into a beautiful pedestrian walkway. Charlotte and I have returned to our “roots” — on either side of Charlottesville, VA, where we went to High School. She owns and manages Albemarle Ciderworks and Vintage Virginia Apples (as well as being a Vice President for the Wells Fargo Financial Management Group), and I have retired from Time-Life Books to take on all kinds of community work, including disaster relief. Both of us stay busier than we’d like to be, and we cherish the times we can spend a weekend together connecting with old friends.
Blessings,
Mary James Wright