Class Notes

I appreciate getting email from classmates and think we’re still pretty active. One of my daughters and a friend made an apartment upstairs because they thought I shouldn’t live alone. There is nothing wrong with me except an aching back after long walks. I am in an exercise class, play bridge, am in a women’s fellowship, and sing in the church choir. My grandson in Germany and his pretty German fiancée work with the handicapped. My granddaughter, his sister, has CP and has benefited from his knowledge. She is wheelchair bound but drives her chair and uses a small device to read, do math, and play games. I have two great-granddaughters, born last March and December.

Libby Phillips Roe and Bill live at Cokesbury Village near Wilmington, Del. Their three children hosted a party to honor Bill’s 90th birthday; six grandchildren, ages 8 to 33, attended. Two granddaughters have doctorates, two are in college, and two are at Boys’ Latin in Baltimore. Having married Libby’s cousin, Anna Roberts Ware has lived near Libby for years. Anna hurt her right shoulder clipping greens for grave sprays during Christmas, but an injection helped tremendously. Her jonquils were blooming in January instead of March!

Elizabeth Cumby Murray moved in 2007 to a retirement facility, where she enjoys art classes, cooking, trivia, and movies. Elizabeth doesn’t travel much but did get to the Cape with her daughter to see The Artist. She plays bridge and owns Murray’s Toggery Shop, which her children, Trish and John, operate. Ruth McDaniel Potts has aches and pains, but her head is in peak condition. She plays bridge, is active in the Methodist church, crochets for Project Linus, and can’t count how many blankets she’s made! Her family was planning its annual beach week in North Carolina. Ruth is thankful for her Mary Washington experience and the friends and memories she made there.

Mary Ellen Starkey wishes for visitors to her roomy La Plata, Md., townhouse. Son Donny does well with his La Plata restaurant. His daughter and her husband had been in England for a year, and they are expecting. Mary Ellen is also in touch with stepson Greg. Isabel Hildrup Klein likes her little brick house in a retirement community in Lumberton, N.C. She has her own kitchen, likes to cook, and rarely uses the dining room. Her two grandchildren are in the medical field. Robin works at the National Institutes of Health and husband Brad is in pharmaceuticals. Sean is a lawyer and wife Katie works in rehab.

Hazel “Tommy” Strong has had knee problems. She heard from Joyce Hovey Madigan and Jane Brownley Thomas, who also enjoy living in a retirement home. Losing her husband of 68 years was a blow for Gena Loback Carswell. They had moved to an apartment overlooking the Willamette River, but now she will move to a retirement home where several friends live.

Virginia Hawley Butler lives with her daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and Duane. Their children and families live nearby, so Virginia enjoys her great-grandchildren. Virginia’s other daughter, Sue Ellen, and husband John have three young grandchildren. Virginia is in touch with Nettie Evans Lawrey, with whom she roomed and majored in physical education, Nancy Tucker, and Fran Tracy. While at Mary Washington, Virginia became interested in Fran’s church and mission work and admires her dedication.