Class Notes

Rob Hall and I still live in Southwest Virginia, where Rob has made great strides as Saltville’s police chief. I teach yoga, including chair yoga for seniors and those recovering from surgery or illness. It’s rewarding to reacquaint so many with their body’s ability to move and breathe.

Jackie Alby Gardner works for the growing nonprofit Vitiligo Support International and hopes to garner enough funding to hire a director, so she can step back into a part-time position. She’s looking for volunteer support and help with Facebook, Twitter, data entry, or marketing. Husband Jud Gardner ’80 had another tough but successful year in insurance and still plays golf. Older daughter Lauren teaches kindergarten in Charlotte, N.C.; Bryn is marketing manager for an events venue in Nashville, Tenn., and son Morgan graduated from the University of Alabama and plans to pursue a master’s in accounting toward becoming a CPA.

John and Marjorie “Susie” Jordan Lavender, manager of the cancer cytology unit at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, have been married 21 years. Susie is still a Girl Scout leader and probably will remain one after Katie, a recent high school graduate, leaves the troop. Katie plans to study elementary education and music at Wingate University near Charlotte. Gary and Laurie Fisher Calloway have been married for 30 years, and Laurie has taught music at Fredericksburg Academy for 18 years. Daughter Beth is part of a prostate cancer research team for Duke University Health Systems. Son Adam, a 2011 graduate of the Naval Academy, is stationed at Quantico, Va. Son Neil continues communications studies at Virginia Wesleyan College. Laurie and Kim Barlow Hoffman ’78 are part of a knitting group started by Vanessa Vance Moncure ’78, who provides the knitters gourmet food. Laurie and I have been playing online Scrabble.

Tommy and Janet Ogden Thompson of Mechanicsville, Va., took their 24th Caribbean trip. Janet is retired and volunteers at Memorial Regional Medical Center and at her church gym. She trained her miniature dachshund as a therapy dog, and they work at Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Center. Tommy is owner/manager of Mechanicsville Drug Store and has other businesses. Daughter Kate, 25, has a criminal justice degree and was accepted to the VCU School of Pharmacy. Mary Catherine has a UMW chemistry degree and studies culinary and pastry arts.

Steve and Kathy Diehl Hartman took a Hawaiian cruise to celebrate getting all four children through college with no debt for anyone! Kathy is helping daughter Amanda Hartman ’05 plan her wedding. Kathy’s friends, Kathleen Baldwin Geary and Jody Nutter Amberly ’76, are helping their daughters plan weddings, too. Mary Anne Ruiz Pace is a therapeutic treatment counselor with the Empowering Families Program in Charlottesville. Son Nick works at electronics retailer Crutchfield. The twins graduated from American University and U.Va. Husband Mike, a U.Va. environmental science professor, teaches and does aquatic ecology research. Mary Anne said Elaine Wagner Jaber and banker and businessman husband Paul Jaber live in Rocky Mount, N.C. Daughter Katie is a teenager.

Vicki Sprague Ravenel married William Ravenel last November in Hilton Head, S.C.; Terrie Martin Dort, Craig “Skippy” Strickland Robinson, Pam Roberts Albrecht, and Jo McTague Townsend were there. All planned to attend our 35th reunion. Vicki planned to work remotely in sales after she and William moved to Charleston, S.C., in March. Her boys are in Nashville, Tenn., and Lexington, Ky. Lynn Walton Lowe of Abingdon, Va., read in UMW Magazine that I’d moved to Saltville, Va., and she and husband Bill met Rob and me one evening to traipse down memory lane. Lynn is counselor and coordinator of the trustee workforce program at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority’s Abingdon facility; Bill retired as a lieutenant with the Bristol, Va., Police Department, where he was in charge of the crime division.

Myra Fleenor Foreman ’78, an elementary reading intervention teacher in Frederick, Md., completed her reading specialist master’s certification. She has been married 31 years to husband Steve, who works for the federal government. Son Brian works for a Washington, D.C., public relations firm. Daughter Martha is a senior at Towson University, majoring in chemistry with an emphasis on forensics. Take care and send news anytime to the email above.

Condolences to Judy Kemp Allard, who lost her mother, Elizabeth Kemp, whom I remember from when I roomed with Judy in Russell and Framar. She was lively, and Judy was fortunate to have her live with them in recent years. I’ll miss Mrs. Kemp’s emails full of family news.

Jane Daniels Ferguson is a regional sales manager for individual business in the northern part of Virginia for Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Husband Tom is principal deputy under the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. Son Jack is on track to receive a master’s degree in public administration from West Virginia University in December. Alex is in the Air Force in Colorado Springs. Jane and Tom met Jane’s Mary Washington roommate, Susan Lawler of Norfolk, Va., for drinks while she was in town. Susan retired from Bank of America and is volunteer coordinator for Lee’s Friends: Helping People Live With Cancer. Last year the nonprofit provided thousands of rides to cancer patients going to medical appointments and trained volunteers to provide emotional support to patients and families.

John and Carol Middlebrook planned to travel to Charleston, S.C., in March for the house and garden tour, Ireland in May for a walking trip, and the Greek Isles in August for a cruise. Carol’s Mary Washington roommate, Lisa Jenkins, planned to move from NYC back to Washington, D.C., to work with Standard & Poor’s. Gayle Petro plans to retire in October as a teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools and works with the UMW Alumni Association Board. Gayle said Nancy Quaintance Nelles’ daughter, Kelly, had a baby girl in February. Gayle, Lisa Bratton Soltis, Sally Hart Morgan, Lisa Roberts Jett, and Donna Anaya went to the annual horse races and tailgate party at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Va. They stayed at the Holladay House B&B.

Joan Newcomb’s son, JT Newcomb ’09, was to marry Heather E. Dunn ’08 in May.

Cheryl Blades Kennedy works at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., and travels a lot for work, including trips to Italy, Spain, France, and Germany. Husband Carl took early retirement for health reasons but was doing better after surgeries. Son Aaron and daughter Sabrina graduated from Metropolitan State College of Denver in May 2011. Cheryl and Carl have three grandchildren. Kiki Connerton Smith ’83 and husband Dixon, a Navy rear admiral and commander of Navy Region Southwest, moved back to San Diego from Hawaii. Tara Corrigall ’82 of Virginia Beach, who works for UBS, visited them in January.

Our oldest graduated from college and our youngest from high school in May, so Tom and I were preparing to be empty-nesters. Work takes us across the country, but we’re often in Washington, D.C., where we’re active in health industry organizations, co-chairing and serving on committees.

Mary Ann Mayer’s nephew expected to be the father of twins. Cathy Cooke received a doctorate from the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology and passed the licensing exam last fall. She was finishing post-doctoral work in pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School, researching behavioral interventions for children on the autism spectrum with disruptive behavior problems. Cathy visited Becky Hobbs Shermer and Hope Chenault Martin in Hockessin, Del. Lisa Harris Coleman is a NASA contractor. Daughter Kate, a high school junior, and sister Erin, an eighth-grader, ice skate, take music lessons, sing in the choir, and play volleyball.

Pat Reinhart and husband Tom Liszewski have lived 13 years in Wayland, Mass. Her business, Reinhardt Lippincott & Co., helps companies in need of restructuring outside of bankruptcy. When they aren’t at ice hockey, lacrosse, chorus, or ballet, Pat and Tom and children Adam and Sarah spend time on the vineyard and in their garden. Susan Goyette and Henry Caldwell, who has two teenage daughters, planned to marry in June and move from Alexandria, Va., to her hometown of Roanoke. She visited with Susan Jurkiewicz Nelson, husband Chris, and son Andrew during their February visit to Washington, D.C.

Sidney Griffith Keith of St. Augustine, Fla., is pursuing a master’s degree in instruction and curriculum at the University of Florida. She’s taught Earth and space science and American sign language in Jacksonville for six years. Husband Mark serves the state of Florida by providing services to parents, school districts, and professionals involved in educating children with disabilities. Son Ian attends St. Johns River State College. Sidney’s mother, Jolene Moyer Griffith ’57, and father moved from Luray, Va., to Florida and live just down the street.

Susie Ferrett Stough of Richmond is a speech-language pathology consultant with the preschool where she worked for 10 years. She plays guitar with a church group, quilts, and sews. Husband Mike Stough ’86 is general auditor and senior VP for Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Daughter Laura attends Virginia Wesleyan College, Eagle Scout son Michael is a high school senior, and daughter Carolyn is a freshman.

Laura Abenes, who focuses on product liability litigation, and husband David Cagle, who focuses on estate planning and elder care law, practice law in Maryland. Daughter Isabelle, a sixth-grader at Friends School of Baltimore, visited Charlottesville last summer and saw U.Va., where her parents went to law school. Laura also wants her to visit UMW and David’s alma mater, Amherst College.

My son, Chance, is an 18-year-old high school senior. If anyone wants to take over as class agent, let me know. I have a list of classmates’ email addresses that makes the job easier.

From Kim: For 16 years, Ken and I have run a computer repair company. My father passed away in July 2011, which required two trips back to my hometown of Richmond. Despite circumstances, it was nice to be home, and I spent time with Bev Newman ’88.

Toni Moore Milbourne switched jobs and is editor at the West Virginia Shepherdstown Chronicle. Carol Harlow Anderson was to earn a master’s degree in special education from UMW this summer. A single mom with three pre-teen boys with disabilities, she’s proud to have finished in three years. Michelle Evans graduated from George Mason University’s accelerated BSN program in August 2011 and sent her youngest son to Virginia Tech the same month. After three years in Northern Virginia, she decided the traffic isn’t for her and is relocating to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Kemetia Foley was appointed to the advisory council for the 2012 Office* tradeshow event and was to present an educational session at the Administrative Professionals Week program at Germanna Community College. Jane Ellen Brennan Herrin is with DAN Talent Group and was in season four of Party Mamas on the Slice network. She was party planner for a military fundraiser and fashion show and is a stylist and publicist for people across the country, including authors, social media speakers, and country/rock band Scarletta’s Nathan Stoops, who returned to American Idol for season 11.

Keep the updates coming, and remember I’m on Facebook under “Kim Jones Isaac.”