Class Notes

Hank and I are grandparents of two college graduates, four college students, and several more in practically every grade. I tutor high school math, mostly to the grandchildren; play my cornet/trumpet at church; and knit, sew, and bowl with our two senior leagues. My first year on the vestry at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Centreville, Va., proved rewarding and time-consuming. As a lay delegate to the 217th annual Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, I recognized Marianne Graves Phillips ’63, a delegate from Culpeper, Va. We reminisced about the good old days at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg with our beloved math professor, Dr. Shaw. The April meeting was at St. George’s Episcopal Church in downtown Fredericksburg, which also holds many memories for our class. With sailing season upon us, Hank and I were busy with the Pentagon Sailing Club, which planned a weeklong 30th anniversary flotilla venture on the Chesapeake Bay at the end of summer. Hank maintains the outboard motors and races with the team, and I work on the distaff side of things.

Barbara Bishop Mann and husband Robert stayed close to home in recent months, while Bobbi managed her healthcare. She arranged a December meeting of our Mary Washington Lunch Bunch at Bistro Bethem in Fredericksburg and, despite lots of rain, 10 of us came. Sheila Denny Young lives in Fredericksburg; Anne Meade Clagett came from Marshall, Va.; Lee Enos Kelley came from Washington, D.C.; Ann Kales Lindblom came from Alexandria, Va.; Jana Privette Usry and Bobbi came from Richmond; Joan Cuccias Patton joined us from Gainesville, Va.; Dale Quel Woods drove from Woodbridge, Va.; Caroline Hogeland Stone took a day off school in Annapolis, Md.; and I, Katharine Rogers Lavery, drove from Vienna, Va. Pictures are on our “MWC 1966” Facebook page. Plans were being made for a spring meeting in Fredericksburg to discuss the U.S. Women’s History project in Jeffrey McClurken’s class. One of his students contacted Bobbi about researching Mary Washington classes by decades. Bobbi alerted everyone on her email list, several agreed to participate, and we responded to a list of questions about campus life and social climate. Long- distance participants include Marty Spigel Sedoff, Mary Wright Day, Ginny Bateman Brinkley, Carol Bingley Wiley, Carol A. Eldred, Pam Ward, and Cherie Brumfield.

Pat Lewars Pace missed our luncheon because she was elected to the Woman’s Club of Ashland, Va., which meets Tuesdays. Pat and Linda Glynn Hutchinson scheduled a spring trip to Egypt and Israel, but because of political unrest, forewent Egypt for Jordan and Turkey. Pam Kearney Patrick was receiving at the Art League the day of our Mary Washington Lunch Bunch meeting and was doing some renovating at home. Tyla Matteson couldn’t attend, since she and husband Glen were at the Durban Climate Change Conference in South Africa. Pam Ward retired in March as regional education officer for Africa, Office of Overseas Schools, U.S. Department of State. She moved from Arlington to Irvington, Va., and planned to spend more time with her two children, who live in Richmond, and reconnect with classmates in the area. Lynn Smithey Campbell retired from Tazewell County Public Schools and planned to pursue quilting, bridge, and mah-jongg and spend time with her grandchildren, who live nearby.

Ginny Bateman Brinkley and husband Bill planned their bi-annual trip to Maui in April to join Roger and Ryan Stewart Davis. After having his second knee replacement in January and finishing physical therapy, Bill said he’s glad he doesn’t have a third knee. Ginny was excited for Dee Dee Nottingham Ward and Mary Grace Wright Day, who went to Cuba in March with UMW’s President’s Travel Club, which was granted a special license for the educational visit. The group went to art galleries and workshops; attended musical performances; toured Havana, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad; and visited the Bay of Pigs Museum. Mary Grace had a wonderful time, was impressed with the warmth and optimistic spirit of the Cuban people, and returned home with an immense sense of gratitude for the blessings we enjoy as Americans.

President General Nancy Shackelford Jones has overseen the Colonial Dames of America, the country’s oldest female genealogical society, for three years, visiting many of the 33 chapters, including those in Rome, Paris, London, Palm Beach, and Washington, D.C. Founded in 1891, the international organization promotes education, scholarship, and historic preservation. Members trace their ancestors back to one of the original 13 colonies.

Elaine Gerlach McKelly retired from what her son called her “hobby jobs” and is a volunteer Girl Scout leader for a troop of 47 girls. Elaine and her husband escaped the cold back home by spending a February week in Key West, Fla. Last June they traveled through the western U.S. and splurged on a fall trip to Paris and London. They resolve to continue traveling as much as possible. Their four children and seven grandchildren, ages 10 to 14, live nearby. Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner and husband Charlie wintered in Naples, soaking up the Florida sun. They rented a condo on the edge of the golf course and walked to the driving range and clubhouse. Several Northern Virginia friends own or rent homes there, so Mary Kathryn felt it was like being at home except she could wear shorts. Her annual stint as waitress at Woodlawn Plantation’s tea room in Alexandria, Va., where Nellie’s Needlers presents a needlework exhibit and luncheons, was postponed to May and June this year. Last year our Mary Washington Lunch Bunch went and enjoyed having Mary Kathryn as our waitress.

Susan Roth Nurin has become an Olympic retiree! After moving into a spacious New York City apartment overlooking Central Park, she bought a city subway and bus pass and takes advantage of Groupons for dining, shows, and shopping. She attends movies, symphonies, recitals, and operas all over the city. She attended Wagner’s last Ring opera, GOtterdämmerung, twice – in a movie house streamed live in high definition (and shown simultaneously in 52 countries) and in person at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Joan Cuccias Patton follows Susan’s activities on Facebook and is competing for her own Olympic retirement medal. In March, Joan toured Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan. In June, she visited friends in Arizona and attended her high school reunion in Coronado, Calif. In July, she spent a week on North Carolina’s Outer Banks with her children’s families and a week in Newport Beach, Calif., with her siblings’ families. Joan cruised from Montreal to Boston in October, hit New York City in December, and planned another international journey, perhaps to Australia, and a U.S. trip to someplace she’s never been.

Susanne Landerghini Boehm’s agent business books instrumental trios, quartets for weddings and parties, and professional singers for church services. She is program chairperson for a Vienna, Va., businesswomen’s group, and her hobbies include making beaded bracelets and necklaces, reading biographies and history, and yoga for seniors. Husband Ralph keeps getting more private violin, viola, and cello students and plans to teach orchestra at Osbourn High School in Manassas at least another year before he and Susanne head south, perhaps to winter in Florida. Younger son Karl returned to Virginia as director of a Fairfax online marketing company after being self-employed in Los Angeles for four years. Elder son Maurice is a programmer/consultant in Arlington, Va., and occasionally travels overseas.

On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Susan Hanes Chaney and Bill were inconvenienced by a tornado, earthquake, and hurricanes, but their property wasn’t damaged. They traveled to Norfolk for a September reunion of Bill’s shipmates, saw veterans from Korea and Vietnam, and found that Bill and one other man are the only ones left from WWII. In October, Susan and Bill toured France; spent time in Brittany, Normandy, and Paris; and enjoyed ornamental gardens, cathedrals, chateaus, and the impressive Omaha Beach Memorial. After a family Thanksgiving in Ohio, Susan and Bill returned home to concentrate on gardening, landscaping, animals, volunteer work, and preparing Bill’s new 15-foot Boston Whaler for fishing on the river.

Eileen Goddard Albrigo also had no real damage after the earthquake and storms. She sent heart-warming photos of her family and grandchildren, all of whom live nearby. Last year, they celebrated John’s dad’s 90th birthday, John’s 45th reunion at Georgetown University, Eileen’s 45th reunion at UMW, and their Liverpool High School 50th reunion (a year early, combined with the class of ’61), and they took their annual family vacation at Hilton Head, S.C. Kathleen Goddard Moss and husband Tom had all eight grandchildren together last summer for an extended visit. One family lives in Spain, so it was the first time the young cousins interacted in person. Kathleen and Eileen spent several winter weeks caring for their 92-year-old father during surgery and rehab before he rejoined his wife of 69 years in their assisted living facility. Despite the severity of the situation, both daughters relished the opportunity to spend long, quiet hours with their dad, reminiscing about old times and shared adventures.