Class Notes

2020 was quite a year! I was disappointed that our 40th reunion was postponed due to COVID-19, but I look forward to celebrating with you all at a later date. 

I, Sue Garter, had hip replacement surgery in January 2020. During the summer, we moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, which was quite a feat during the pandemic. I still work for Verizon, although remotely these days. 

I met up with Becky Bradley Price in New York City right before the pandemic was declared, and we had a lovely luncheon with her daughter and future son-in-law. 

In September, Jan Stankiewicz McCarthy and her family stopped by our new place for a socially distanced barbecue. They were on their way to New Jersey. Jan and husband Mike are avid bicyclists, with Jan completing 2,020 miles biked in 2020. In December, Wendy Prothro Howard ’82 visited with Jan in Panama City, Florida, after both tested negative for COVID. 

After 37 years with Northrop Grumman, Sandy Slusher Smallwood learned that her part of the company was being divested to Peraton. Sandy has lived in Leesburg, Virginia, for 24 years and has a 3-year-old granddaughter. Her daughter manages a Merrill store in Leesburg, and her son works for the IRS in Seattle, Washington. Husband Tom, who used to play for Thunderbay, is still in touch with Rob Powell and Kevin Havens. Tom and Kevin have played music this past year at local wineries. 

Sandy has also recently been in touch with Jim Hely. They reminisced about the crazy things they did at MWC and swapped old pictures. Sandy, Barbara Gant Kinner, Deb Caton Campbell, and I have gone on girls’ weekend trips throughout the years. When we get together it seems as though no time has passed. 

Barb and husband Greg have been full-time RVers for three years and were spending the winter out West. Deb and husband Cliff sold their house in 2020 and were living in their RV on a beautiful lake just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, while looking for a new house. They were also considering taking to the road in their RV in 2021. 

Becky Bradley Price’s younger daughter, Laura, had planned to get married in France but instead wed in New York City while Becky observed via Zoom. Becky’s elder daughter, Haley, and husband Matthew were expecting their first child in February. In summer 2020, Becky traveled cross country by car, taking back roads and avoiding crowded areas. Recently, Becky brought home a petite bernedoodle puppy named Callie. 

Ana Catoni-Yildirim’s daughter Ana Yildirim Adams ’13 gave birth to sweet baby Ayla at the beginning of the pandemic. Ana is proud that three family members are Mary Washington graduates; her mother was the late Carmen Zeppenfeldt Catoni ’50. 

Please stay in touch with our classmates through our Facebook group, MWC Alum 1980 and Friends, and email your updates to me for the next issue of this magazine.