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UMW Magazine – Class Notes
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

1949

Anna Dulany Lyons
classnotes@umw.edu

June Davis McCormick
jaymccee@yahoo.com

Betty Bond Heller Nichols said her knees are not so cooperative, but facile fingers still work and she was scheduled to play piano for three big Christmas sing-a-longs. That’s our B.B.! Jane Yeatman Spangler and daughter Janet planned to drive from Concord, N.C., to Denver for Jan’s granddaughter’s fifth birthday and be home before Christmas. Jane expected daughter Nancy to join them for the holidays. They have a potluck dinner on Christmas Day for friends who are alone. Jane and Jan anticipated a May trip to Italy.

Charlotte “Chot” Baylis Rexon and husband Fred of New Jersey enjoy their children, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren. Chot enjoys bridge, mahjong, women’s club, and AAUW. She oil paints in Florida in winter, and enjoys their Ocean City, Md., beach house in summer. Though she has made new friends, she said nothing matches the strong ties made in those four Mary Washington years, especially between the BFFs – Betty Bond, Jane, Chot, and Dorothy “Dotty” Booker Pinkham!

Dolores “Dee” Ross took a river cruise from Paris through Germany. Her Christmas cards pictured a holiday-attired dog, Joe, from her kennel in Delaware. Frances “Blackie” Horn Nygood sent her greeting with an original poem, a message from her basset hounds, and a photo of puppies in a Christmas box. Elizabeth “Betty” Fischer Gore’s card included a photo of her latest gingerbread house with gingerbread people and trees.

Gwen Brubaker Connell and husband Jack of Florida followed the Major League Baseball playoffs and rooted for the Cardinals to win in the World Series. Katherine “Kate” Mayo Schmidt followed the games from her Texas home and planned to spend the holidays with son Bill Jr. and wife Terri. Elva Tate Hasher of Mechanicsville, Va., anticipated going to daughter Anne’s house for the holidays. Dorothy “Dottie” Desmond Helfrich observed her 84th birthday in Richmond. With health issues, she said, “It ain’t much fun!” She’s grateful she still can drive to the grocery store and doctors’ offices.

Lucy Vance Gilmer recapped day trips to North Carolina for Thanksgiving with the Gilmers, Historical Society conferences in Tennessee, and Bristol Historical Association meetings. She worked relentlessly to guarantee the great success of her Sullins College weekend reunion in September. As the eldest alumna present, Lucy gave a brief history of Sullins, which closed in 1976, with records transferred to King College. Lucy planned to have her brother and family in for Christmas.

Anna “Andi” Dulany Lyons visited her four sons and their families during the holidays. Andi keeps busy at The Summit and around Lynchburg, Va., and she gets together with Marion “Wendy” Selfe Kelly. No longer traveling, Corinne “Conni” Conley Stuart and husband Bonar stayed in Toronto for the holidays. They had enjoyed summertime visits with both sons and their families, and they frequently Skype. We heard that Anne McCaskill Libis and Claude are fine and that they spent the holidays with their children.

Jean “Murph” Murphy Baptist still drives and stays in her home with some help. Despite arthritis, she knits, plays bridge, and works crossword puzzles. She included corrections for two names in recent Class Notes. Nancy Morris’ first husband was Tommy Childress, the surname we used in reporting her husband’s passing, she said. However, they were divorced and Nancy later married John Ullman, and it was he who died last year. Sorry, Nancy, that our records weren’t updated. Murph also said that Virginia “Jinny” Merrill MacLeod’s husband, born Oliver Nelson MacLeod, so disliked his given name that he changed Oliver to John years ago. Mea culpa, Jinny!

In mid-January, Betty Bond Heller Nichols had knee surgery. Still in the hospital, the next morning she had a pulmonary embolism, was raced to ICU, then remained hospitalized until Jan. 31. On Feb. 10, she was rushed by ambulance to a Roanoke, Va., hospital for a ruptured appendix! B.B. finally returned home in mid- February and was trying to make sense of the events and doing her best to feel better.

June Davis McCormick heard B.B.’s story the day before seeing an orthopedic surgeon about severe knee pain. With the added trepidation triggered by Betty Bond’s life-threatening experience, June underwent arthroscopic surgery and seemed to be recovering nicely. Before Christmas, she’d had her second cataract surgery.

Elva Tate Hasher sent an article about the UMW Dahlgren campus in King George County. Thinking of Elva’s family home in King George reminded me of her parents. Elva’s mother and father were named Truman and Dewey, respectively. In the fall of 1948, the two candidates, Harry S. Truman and Thomas E. Dewey, were running an extremely close race. As you may recall, an early morning edition of the Chicago Tribune headlined “Dewey Wins!” Leaving our first class in Chandler that November morning, we still can see Kathryn Ann Carter racing across campus from Madison, after hearing the latest radio reports, shouting, “Truman won!” And he did. Thanks to those who helped us compile the Fabulous Forty-Niners’ class notes. Now, if you would really like to make us smile, tell us your news.