Class Notes

There’s more news this time thanks to holiday cards and letters from “Old Faithfuls.” I’d love to hear from more of you. Send news to the email address above or to the Office of Alumni Relations.

Since I wrote our last Class Notes column, Hurricane Sandy and snowstorm Nemo hit the East Coast. Fortunately, I had no damage but lost power and phone for several days during Sandy. I hope you all did as well with the weather where you live.

I attended my 66th high school reunion in Tenafly, N.J., last year and have lunch regularly with five high school friends, some of whom I’ve known since kindergarten.

Carol Bailey Miller in Cumberland, Va., had a scare when an allergic reaction to medication caused her tongue to swell so that she could hardly breathe. She was rushed to the ER, and it took 24 hours for the swelling to go down. More recently, a tree came down on her utility shed. Carol completed the biography of her 90-year-old sister, Ruth Bailey Conroy ’43, and had booklets made for herself, Ruth, and Ruth’s son, Patrick. Carol is historian emeritus for the Virginia Horse Association and continues to interview people involved with it. She joined the Cumberland historical society, hoping to learn more about where she lives.

Miriam Sollows Wieland sent an enlarged photo featuring her and her family at a reception on the lawn at Brompton. While UMW Magazine cannot include the photo, Mim said Tom and Jason have had fun with a box of slides she sent home with Tom, who is to send more enlarged and improved photos from them. Tom was heading to the Cape, and Mim hoped to go there for a bit and to spend a few days in Florida.

Billie Mitchell Hanes and Dick moved from their three-story house on the dune in Virginia Beach, where they lived for 40 years, to a one-story duplex apartment across the street. It’s adequate for two and senior-friendly. Billie enjoys her kitchen with new cabinets and stainless steel appliances, tall fireplace, and cozy family room. Dick still works from home and goes to the gym. Billie does water aerobics and spends time with friends.

At Marcy Weatherly Morris and Juney Morris’ yearly visit to Cleveland in July for Juney’s checkup, they learned that he can wait two years for the next visit. They attended Marcy’s 66th high school reunion at Pawley’s Island, S.C., continue to attend Mary Washington events, and are great fans of President Hurley and wife Rose. Daughter Ellen and husband Rod live nearby and own four alpacas that Marcy can see grazing from her back porch. Ellen works in Mary Washington Healthcare’s ambulatory surgery center. Rod takes care of their alpacas, golden retriever, horse, chickens, and huge garden. Marcy and Juney get fresh eggs and produce. Marcy’s son, Tip, and wife Laura, who teaches French at Toano Middle School, are in Williamsburg.

Nan Riley Pointer and Joe’s son, Glenn, and his wife moved back from North Carolina and live just down the road. Owen and Teresa live next door. Their son, Christopher, goes to community college and helps Joe farm. Nan is involved with the District Committee on Ordained Ministry, and she’s parliamentarian for the Conference of United Methodist Women. She and Joe celebrated their 60th anniversary in June at a dinner party with family and friends, and took a riverboat cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest, their first trip to that part of the world.

Gerry Boswell Griffin volunteers with special activities and entertainment at Davidson College in North Carolina. Helen Hopkins Timberlake flew from Florida for late husband Neal’s grandson’s wedding in Atlanta. The bride and groom graduated from Davidson. He’s studying for the ministry on a scholarship at Duke, and she’s pre-med. Helen bought a few “The Great Courses” DVDs and enjoyed From Monet to Van Gogh: A History of Impressionism.

Garland “Dorsey” Estes McCarthy of Humble, Texas, goes with her husband to Galveston at Christmastime to enjoy the beach. They drank coffee and ate beignets at Café Du Monde in New Orleans. Patti Head Ferguson traveled in August to the Arctic via Sweden and Norway on a luxury boat. They saw reindeer and polar bears with their cubs. Patti had her dropped foot corrected in September, staying in a NYC hospital and nursing home. She returned after Christmas to have metal pins removed and a cast put on, and looked forward to driving again.

Nell Grieve Swanson and Betty Gavett Breeden live in San Diego. Betty is still in her apartment and sings in two choirs. She fell and broke her right arm in August and had to put her library-book mending on hold. Family members helped provide five weeks of round-the-clock care, and a church friend helped with transportation when Betty was put in a brace and could wear real clothes and do more for herself. She returned to driving before Thanksgiving.

Rosemary Miller in Benzonia, Mich., still plays in the symphony and returned to directing the church choir, while they advertise for a new director. Barbara Lloyd Hiller retired from her Women’s Club newsletter job, found a great replacement, and hoped to get back into quilting. Husband Jim was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, so they have questions about their future.

Marilyn Noel Perry ’74 relayed that her mother, Edith Wilhelm Noel, passed away. Edith taught math, mainly algebra, for 37 years. After retiring in 1988, she was active in church and volunteered in the community. A bad fall in 2009 resulted in broken bones and a move to a long-term care facility. When her eyesight declined, Marilyn read our Class Notes column to her, and Edith enjoyed hearing about classmates. Mary Mount Lind’s husband, Dick, relayed that Mary passed away. I was shocked, as her Christmas note was upbeat, though she’d recently lost her sister, Sally. Mary and Dick faithfully attended our reunions.

I thought I’d get more responses from you all. I miss you.

Edgar is having some health problems, but I’m doing OK, still running my mouth at Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop three days a week. I was looking at a yearbook…boy, so many memories. I got a big laugh at a picture of the fencing club that Louise Lawson started with our help.

Ruth DeMiller Hill and I communicate often. She’d been under the weather for a few months but was better. Sarah Herring Estes fell during a snowstorm and was in the hospital, rehab center, and nursing home before she returned home.

Jacquelyn Hobbs McDavid has traveled to all continents. Shirley Williams Rees called about her name being listed on the “Memorial Gifts” page of the fall/winter issue of UMW Magazine. I checked with the Office of Alumni Relations; it was a different Shirley Williams. Our Shirley is fine and keeping busy.

Kathryn Hope Allcorn Kasfeldt has two children, five grandchildren, and a new great-grandchild. She also has a new address at a senior complex, where she lives with her cat. She keeps in touch with Janet Scott Allen, Ruth Southard Hoffman, and Norma Resnikoff Sater. Norma didn’t send a Christmas card this year, and Kathryn hopes she’s OK.

Cynthia Medley England has had two children’s plays published, one in Australia and one in England. She receives royalties for both and for a lyric she wrote that was recorded by Nina Simone in the ’60s. Cynthia enjoys her stress-free life in a Naples, Fla., retirement community.

Nancy Tate Tossey spends most of the year in Ohio and part of the winter in Florida. Her husband passed away several years ago, but her three children and their families remain close and she sees them often. Nancy still hears occasionally from Ginny Pierce Carmichael.

Well, classmates, take care of yourselves, enjoy life, and send news!

I moved back to Raleigh, N.C., in January 2010 and continue to miss the Fredericksburg region and being involved in UMW events and activities, including the Ecology Club. Having a much slower pace has advantages, including swimming, walking around nearby Shelley Lake, reading, and watching birds compete for my backyard feeders. My favorite time is spent volunteering with a reading program for disadvantaged first-graders.

In February, Joan Cornoni Huntley and I caught up over lunch at a Raleigh art museum, where she serves on the board. Growing-up Fredericksburg friends Betty Walker, Bobbie Caverlee Schuler, and I have frequent phone visits. Barbara “Pritch” Jones and I send each other New Year’s greetings.

In November, Stacy Pierce, UMW associate director of planned and reunion giving, met with alums for dinner here in Raleigh to explore potential interest in establishing a UMW network for the Triangle area. Several alumni participated in our MWC Triangle organization picnics and parties; lists were updated in 1984, 1990, and 1999. Many, including Gayle Winston Roberts and Jane Loyd, indicated an interest in a get-together but had previous plans.

Alberta Shelton Stornetta’s first book, Arnold, Maryland and Neighbors on The Broadneck, was to be available to the public in May. The book is an outgrowth of the history committee project of the Arnold Preservation Council. Alberta has been collecting information and interviewing current and former residents of Arnold for seven years. By writing stories of the area, Alberta hopes to help readers understand the rich cultural heritage of Arnold and how it’s influenced current residents’ quality of life. Alberta and husband Wake have lived across the Severn River from Annapolis for 48 years and were to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June. They have four living children, five grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

California seems to be in the grip of some sort of desert climate, as our annual rain total was hovering near zero. Today, March 15, the temperature is about 80, and it’s clear and sunny. I shouldn’t complain, but it foretells water rationing, which we do so well that water rates go up.

My granddaughter, Morgan James, was accepted to UMW. She lives in San Leandro, Calif., but she’s interested in international relations and discovered that UMW is one of the best. She’ll be the third in our family to attend Virginia schools. My dad graduated from U.Va., I graduated from MWC of U.Va., and Morgan will attend UMW!

Sally Hangar Moravitz and Fran took a February trip to Barbados, where they boarded the Royal Clipper, the world’s largest full-rigged sailing ship. They stopped at numerous islands, snorkeled, and met interesting people. Of the 200- plus passengers, Americans were among the smallest groups, with lots of British, Germans, and Swedish. Sally’s granddaughter, a UMW student, spent spring break building a Habitat for Humanity house in Albany, Ga., with other UMW students.

Betsy Blackwell Fowler fractured both hips in 2011 but managed to travel to the Bordeaux region of France in between. After lots of rehab, she now functions more or less normally. Last year husband Jim suffered a stroke, which left him with dementia. He is in assisted care. Betsy stays busy with family and friends, and lives in a retirement center apartment that made an exception to a 20-pound pet rule when they fell in love with her 120-pound English Lab.

Charlotte Fisher Klapproth was in the middle of an East Coast snowstorm in March. Hurricane Sandy hit on her birthday in October, there was the June derecho, and she and Chris experienced a fire on their anniversary. They go to dinner and movies.

Patricia Seitz Hartel was accepted into the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. She keeps busy – I presume with her real estate business. Polly Stoddard Heim of Lewiston drove in January with her husband to Maple Valley, Wash., where grandson Zachery was born.

Nancy Shope Armbruster relayed the February passing of Jacquelyn Whitehurst Hertz, her dear friend and sometimes roommate at MWC and since, after a prolonged journey with cancer. She passed the same way she lived, with grace, courage, and dignity. Jackie was lovingly cared for during her final year by daughter ChaCha and ChaCha’s husband. Jackie was married for 57 years to retired USMC Capt. James Otto Hertz, whose military career took the family to California, Hawaii, and the East Coast. Jim was in a nursing home in the Virginia Beach area but was to be moved to the veterans hospital in Washington, D.C., close to son Jay and Jim’s younger brother. Jackie taught second grade at Trantwood Elementary School in Virginia Beach for 20 years and enjoyed enduring relationships with teachers and former students. We’ll miss her.

Joan Kleinknecht had cabin fever after Fairfield, N.J., got 35 inches of snow in addition to the mess caused by Hurricane Sandy. Then there was the sadness of Sandy Hook, about 20 minutes from Joan’s home. Joan volunteers, serves on a library committee, and is involved with the Gaelic-American Club, where she studies genealogy. She turned 80 on St. Patrick’s Day.

I had lunch in March with “Red” Rosanelli Metzger, Beth Poteet Pollard, and Angela Walton Barksdale at Angela’s Richmond home. Beth traveled to Maine and Nova Scotia last summer. Her husband, Oliver Pollard Jr., is a retired judge and accomplished artist. Angela traveled to Istanbul to visit her granddaughter during her junior year abroad and to the Grand Canyon with two of her children and another grandchild. Red left Richmond to spend six months in New Hampshire. She visits Rome annually with her son, Father Joe of Blessed Sacrament in Norfolk, Va., and recently traveled to New York and stayed at The Homestead.

Peggy Wood Ayres lost husband Ed last year. She has eight grandchildren, ages 16 to 22. Six are in college, with two set to graduate this year, and two – a sophomore and a senior – in high school. Carol Petley Toone stays active with swimming therapy, book clubs, and teaching ESL in Culpeper, Va., and recently joined the Madison County Historical Society. Her grandson, a 2012 UMW graduate, works in Boston.

Dean Murphy Gilmore lost her husband in 2010. She has three children. Dean has a cottage in Nags Head, N.C., and works at the Y two mornings per week. She took a Caribbean cruise with her husband for their 50th anniversary and has cruised twice since with her sons. Elizabeth “Boo” Rountree Duke, a retired math teacher who still tutors, is Dean’s neighbor, and they play cards together with friends. Boo’s children live in North Carolina. Dean is also in touch with former teachers Fran Powers, Jean Harris Overman, and Barbara Martin Reighart, who lives in Florida.

At least three classmates live at Westminster-Canterbury in Richmond – Louise Robertson, Ruth Estes Tanner, and Anne “Stokey” Saunders Scott. Jeanetta Bishop Patane and Anne Henry Brugh live in a retirement community near Roanoke, Va.

Beverly Almond Tucker, Suzanne Borke Grasberger, and Louise Hanselman Bowman attend the Montpelier steeplechase races every November. Louise’s son is a Benedictine priest in France. Lorraine Coppen Turner retired from a long teaching career at St. Joseph School in Petersburg, Va.

If you were interested enough to read this far, please help me by sharing your activities. If you don’t have email, call the Office of Alumni Relations for my address.

I saw several crocuses this morning and the sun was shining, so it seemed spring was just around the corner!

Mary Montague Hudson Sikes’ latest novel, Daddy’s Christmas Angel, came out in November and was a perfect Christmastime read. Also in November, she spoke to the Christopher Wren Association at the College of William and Mary about her writer’s journey. Monti was January artist of the month and did an open-house painting demonstration at Petersburg Regional Art Center, where the acrylic painting on the cover of her novel Eagle Rising won a cash award in a January juried show. In February, original pastel paintings and giclee prints of paintings from her Hotels to Remember coffee table book project were on view at This Century Art Gallery’s art education center in Williamsburg. Monti has developed an interest in encaustic painting; two of her latest such works were in the show. She and husband Olen are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans and took a two-week vacation to Jupiter, Fla., for spring training.

Joyce Bristow Wrestler and Cliff prepared Easter music with their church choir. They were grateful that Cliff’s blood had been stable for a few months. They were in Hawaii in November but weren’t ready to schedule a long trip like the one they had to cancel last spring.

Elizabeth “Libby” Fordham said Foncie Lawrence Williamson lives at Sunrise in Raleigh, N.C., due to a severe diabetes problem.

Not much news from our classmates this time. Sorry!

Anne DePorry McGrath lives and helps with her grandchildren; fourth- and fifth-grade math are a challenge. Photography takes up much of her spare time, and travel revolves around photographic spots like Mexico; Ireland; Tangier Island, Va.; and St. Michaels, Md. Anne is still active with the ElderStudy Learning in Retirement group and lives close enough to UMW to attend lectures and music programs.

Judy Townsend Bainbridge and her husband toured Spain and Portugal in the fall. Judy taught a winter class on Greenville, S.C., as a mill town for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program at Furman. No papers, no tests, no grading, just 70 interested people…a professor’s dream! She continues to write a biweekly “Heritage” column for The Greenville News. Mary Towsend Bates earned a master’s degree at George Washington University and was asked to march in the May 2012 academic commencement procession on the National Mall, attended by about 25,000 people. Mary was one of 16 Emeriti Society members leading the procession.

Meredith Busby Frank and husband Jim like southwest Virginia, where life is slower but there’s still lots to do. Daughter Helen Powers is the afternoon host of Monticello Media’s Charlottesville-area WZGN. Meredith has been in touch with her roommate of three years, Claudia Broom Hendren; their senior-year suitemate, Georgianne Tunsion Andrews; and her sophomore roommate, Charlene Creekmore Wiser, who went to U.Va. her last two years. Meredith asks if anyone knows how to contact Joyce Anne Pugh McCoy. Meredith also reported the death of Patty Sue Hess Griffith. Patty spent three years at MWC and her final year at U.Va., majoring in medical technology.

Lucas turned 4 in April and had a bounce house party. He takes karate lessons and started in March at Montessori preschool.

Lois Gaylord Allen was to become a great-grandmother in July, thanks to oldest granddaughter Giana. Gay and husband Howard are hospital volunteers. Gay has served on the boards of Salem County Mental Health and of Child Care Review, and she supports the Humane Society. Her own menagerie includes six cats and three dogs. Since an October 2011 hip replacement, Gloria Winslow Borden had progressed to using a cane. Her hip was fine, but she’d been sidetracked by osteoarthritis in her feet and carpal tunnel in her hands. Still, she attended the graduations of granddaughters Michelle from King’s College and Kristie from high school in Stockton, Calif. Both girls are Beth’s daughters. Cliff’s family is also in Stockton. During Fourth of July week, the entire family celebrated Gloria’s 75th birthday at Lake Tahoe. She took an October cruise to New England and Canada, and a Thanksgiving road trip to the Biltmore. Caroline, Gloria’s oldest daughter, and her husband live in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and work at Oaks Christian High School, where daughter Jennifer is a student. Their twins, Kate and Beth, teach at an elementary school nearby. Gloria’s youngest daughter, Cynthia, an athletic trainer, and husband Rob, a coach, moved from Houston to San Antonio.

Jane Tucker Broadbrooks’ husband, John, had a July visit from son Jon Karl, communications director for Illinois Realtors; grandchildren Tucker, Anna, Virginia, and Jeff; and their 95-pound chocolate Lab. Wife Catherine was with her parents in Tennessee helping her dad recover from surgery. Tucker, 15, is in the marching band. Anna, 12, likes to cook. Virginia, a Girl Scout, is into glitter and sequins. Jane and John spent Thanksgiving with them. John loves being a landscape architect even more now that he works from home. Jane heard from JoNeal Hendricks Scully, who moved to Richmond, close to one of her sons, after her Charlottesville home of 25 years burned. Read more about JoNeal on page 45.

Ann Brooks Cousoubinas watched the lights go out on the George Washington Memorial Bridge during Hurricane Sandy, and power outages left miles of New Jersey shoreline dark for days. Paramedic son Gregory worked with the National Guard for 22 days straight.

Audrey Dubetsky Dowye works out and does water aerobics. She and daughter Tiffany went to Hawaii. Tiffany and husband Rick flew to the UK to spend Christmas with daughter Cynthia, who’s pursuing a master’s degree at Oxford. Audrey’s other children are fine. Mary Carolyn Jamison Gwinn lost her mother in 2011. Mason, her 12-year-old grandson, is in sixth grade and is taller than Mary Carolyn.

Marcia Phipps Ireland and Gary toured Michigan’s Mackinac Island in June, took a September cruise down the Rhine with friends, and followed with a tour of Switzerland and Italy. All four grandchildren are doing great. Kristen’s oldest daughter, Caitlin, was studying in South Korea for her junior year.

Celeste “Pug” Shipman Kaufman and Alan, as coach, had been preoccupied with the University of Alabama golf team, which placed third at regionals. They visited Vero Beach, Fla. Alan has recuperated well from prostate cancer and, after taking a stress test, had quadruple bypass surgery and was given a good report. Pug said he plans to make this his last year of active coaching. The team went to a November tournament in Kauai, Hawaii, and will play in the September Topy Cup in Japan. Pug volunteers in the University of Alabama Hospital’s palliative care unit and takes Zumba. Her children are fine. Jeff’s boys are at LSU; Smylie is a junior, Luckie a freshman. Julie’s son, Austin, in his second year of grad school at Alabama, runs distance track. Her daughter, Francie, is a junior at Alabama. Sarah, the youngest, is a high school freshman. Tommie, Pug’s youngest, is a professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The entire family took a summer vacation in Nassau. Pug saw Pamela Raumity Lareck in Florida last spring and planned to see her again this year.

To celebrate Julia Coates Littlefield and Mo’s 50th wedding anniversary, the entire family, including two children, three grandchildren, and Julia’s sister, Lucy, came to Lexington for a June weekend, golfing and dining at the restored Southern Inn. The celebration continued in July with a condo weekend in Belfast, Maine, with Scott’s family and the Littlefields. Julia said Ann Johnson Maxwell and Tom moved to Lexington but kept their house in Bedford, where their kids assemble on weekends.

Martha Spilman Clark and Paul have nine grandchildren. Fifteen of their 17 family members came from Texas, California, and Peru for Christmas. Johnny and family left in December. Janie left with Jared and Alexandria in January. Billy, Yashmin, and their three daughters live across the street. Paul led five leadership-training courses during the last half of the year.

Joan “Joni” Whittemore Loock said tourists have returned to the beaches, and their condo has been rented steadily. She and Jim had a quiet winter and spring, mostly playing golf; made their annual trip to Wisconsin to visit Jim’s family; and continue their annual trip to Mexico. Joni was to have a knee replacement in January, when son Curt and family were to visit, and hoped to be in superb shape for a March cruise to Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti. Joni and Jim’s oldest daughter, Mandy, sold her Virginia Beach restaurant, Blue Turtle. Mandy had knee surgery and spent Christmas with them. Kristen and the girls planned to come for spring break.

Barbara Gordon McNamee’s husband, Bob, plays golf and attends dental meetings. Barbara volunteers teaching water aerobics at the College of William and Mary, coaching synchronized swimming, and as secretary to the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Board of Directors. She went to the Olympic test event in London, the Masters World Championships in Italy, and the Pan American Age Group Junior Championships in California. Bob went with her to the International Swimming Hall of Fame Diving Grand Prix in Florida. They had their annual family beach week in Nags Head, N.C., with Karen and Tony, Buster and Margie, Lynn and Stephen, and Chris and Yougne, and their children. Brad and family could not attend with 16 grandchildren. Tony’s oldest son, Brandon, married Krissy last year.

Mary Massey and husband Jack Meimers are in good health and took fall hiking trips to Delaware beaches and Maryland state parks with their dog. They went to a July get-together with Jack’s family in Walla Walla, Wash., and planned to attend the biennial Appalachian Trail Conference in North Carolina.

Barbara Barndt Miller and husband Wayne Seeley spent Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania and went back to New York for their third winter in the cabin, adding a chimney and stone fireplace. Last year Barbara moved Rosie the pony to the New York farm then went back to Pennsylvania for the Devon Horse Show and the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame induction, and to award the annual Ralph D. Miller Perpetual Memorial Challenge Trophy. In summer, they gardened and cut wood for winter.

Eleanor Markham Old’s Arthur and new wife Martha were organizing their Fredericksburg home. Parker, Eleanor and Arthur’s oldest grandson, graduated from Maury High School and is in his first year at Virginia Tech, where he is a fifth-generation Hokie. Tyler, the youngest, a Maury High senior, was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design. Jim has a new job as the Norfolk area director of operations for Conley and Associates. His wife, Beth, is the Norfolk area care manager for the Amerigroup Disease Management Centralized Care Unit.

Sally Warwick Rayburn and Jim travel in their Winnebago RV. Sally saw Barbara Lewis Leddick in October. She and husband Ken are fine. Phyllis Hartleb Rowley and Jim took a three-month world cruise. Highlights included riding elephants, seeing polar bears and pyramids, and visiting the Great Barrier Reef and Taj Mahal.

Anne Saunders Spilman is well. Ann Watkins Steves and Bob drove north to visit their children, then down to Bridgeport from Rhode Island. Irene Piscopo Rodgers and Don took the Bridgeport ferry to meet them. Sally Steinmetz is retired but misses teaching; belongs to the local college group, Longtime Learners; and sings in the college chorus.

Patricia Brown Wardlaw’s house was spared during Hurricane Sandy. She lost her mother last March at 100 years old! Pete’s oldest son, Chris, and wife Ryoko visited Patricia in summer, and she visited son Rob and wife Toni Lynn in Naples, Fla. Charlotte Wohlnick Wiggs and Archie sold their antiques shop in March, took trips to southwest New York, spent August in Holland, were in Connecticut and Massachusetts in fall, and visited granddaughter Molly, Tracey’s daughter, at MIT. Tracey retired from Procter & Gamble in October.

Our 55th is around the corner. Can you believe it?!