Class Notes

Our recent news was dominated by last fall’s Hurricane Sandy. We tried to express concern to all classmates who may have been affected but still haven’t heard from some and hope they’re OK. We got positive responses from several, like Mona Allen Spilo and Carol Dixon Yonan, who moved before Sandy hit – Mona from New York to Connecticut, and Carol to State College, Pa., where her oldest daughter lives. Many of Carol’s friends and neighbors’ Connecticut homes weren’t spared, and she said the beautiful Merritt Parkway will never be the same.

We learned that we recently lost Beth Gill Daniel and Margaret Wright Lewis, and that Jo Lister Jacobs’ husband, Frank, passed away last August.

We sent condolences to Sue Whidden Frisch, who lost her father, Reginald Whidden, UMW professor emeritus of English and former dean of the college. Jody Campbell Close reminisced about the lovely times she had as a guest in Sue’s parents’ home and at Sue’s home in Frederick, Md. Syd Collson Chichester called Dean Whidden handsome, dignified, and a monumental man for us while we were at MWC. She remembered him putting up with her when she wore her PJs and trench coat to his 8:30 a.m. class on Shakespeare. Sarah Forsyth Donnelly, a med tech student who had only one elective, is glad she chose the Shakespeare class. She called it a highlight of her Mary Washington experience and Dean Whidden a gentleman, scholar, and wonderful teacher who treated us as adults. When Sue took her father’s Shakespeare class in the summer, she remembers sneaking in the back door of the room at what she thought was the start of class, only to discover she’d misread the clock by an hour, and everyone bursting into laughter. As Syd so eloquently said, “Another legendary figure from our past is gone.”

Syd went to Florida for the winter and expected to be there until June. She volunteers at the Environmental Learning Center, does the touch tank for elementary school field trips, canoes and kayaks around the Indian River Lagoon, and hoped to volunteer at the nearby Fort Pierce chimpanzee sanctuary.

This year Joan Scarritt Reynolds visited friends on Cape Cod, her brother in Connecticut, and many places in Spain with her daughter-in-law, traveling mostly by train. Joan returned to the states for two weeks, then traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic with her Cape Cod friends. She planned another trip after New Year’s.

Pat Whittaker Donnell attended a November University of Houston symposium on the 25th anniversary of modern research on superconductors, led by Nobel Prize recipients and researchers from around the world. Pat was especially interested in the research for future military and commercial uses. An avid traveler, she took a September trip to Massachusetts, visiting historic spots and stopping at Niagara Falls. She plans more trips with friends.

Liz Hill Heaney and Bob decided to delay selling their North Carolina home and planned to move closer to the kids until the real estate market improved. In February, they got a husky puppy and took their annual trip to Park City, Utah, to visit friends and so Bob could ski. Their daughter, who had a total hip replacement but is skiing again, joined them.

Jane Denslow McCrohan and Ed bought a home on the Puget Sound in Washington State, where they see more of their only son, daughter-in-law, and two teenage grandchildren. Because of Ed’s structural work, their longtime family beachfront home on the Jersey Shore survived Sandy with little damage, and they sold it last year.

Joyce Jeffries Kendall trained for 12 weeks and won first place in the 70- to 74-year-old division of her first 5K race, with more than 500 participants. After 22 years of nursing, Mamie Sue Howlett Scott had a spinal fusion this past year to stop severe pain. She spent the holidays with family and hoped to travel more now that she can.

Sandy Poole considered changing her name because of teasing after Hurricane Sandy. Several of Gray Schaefer Dodson’s paintings are in Sunday Drives: Cruising the Back Roads of Amherst & Nelson Counties, and one is on the cover. The book, designed to encourage touring of the scenic mountainous area, includes maps and interesting sites to visit.

Iris Newton was recovering nicely from congestive heart failure this winter, her fourth since 2001. Sue Smith Goodrick took the trip of a lifetime, a Christmas cruise to Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Sue travels extensively, so her accolades make this trip one to put on our bucket lists.

I (Karen Larsen Nelson) had a delightful Christmas week at our daughter’s in the Las Vegas area. All three granddaughters – and various boyfriends – were there. Ellen’s twins, our 2.-year-old great-grandbabies, were a delight; we loved being with them for short periods but were grateful to be able to escape to our RV when things got hectic. Ellen’s boyfriend gave her an engagement ring. Our son in Florida earned an associate’s degree, is pursuing a degree in education, and hopes to teach high school history. In two years, we hope to travel to Florida, where he and his oldest daughter are to graduate together from the same college. We visited Florida in May for the high school graduation of our youngest grandson, a Marine.

My (Jody Campbell Close) son David is home from Afghanistan, and both sons are preparing to retire. How can we be old enough for our children to retire? Our eight grandchildren are proving to be overachievers. I completed a three-year genealogy commission to supplement an 1882 family Bible at my local library. It weighs 13 pounds, and I think my report does too.

As we wrote this submission for the summer 2013 issue of UMW Magazine, we realized that our 55th class reunion is two years away. By this time next year, we’ll be starting to plan. Mark your calendars now for May-June 2015. We hope you’re enjoying summer and look forward to hearing from you. Many will hear from us monthly via email newsletters and birthday greetings.

Please send news to the designated Class Agent according to the first letter of your maiden name.

From Connie: Mary Gilliam Dodson Larson spent a month in Seattle with her first grandchild, a girl; Rowan Caroline James Grollman arrived in December.

Carlotta Croghan Clark and Pres were in Florida until April, playing tennis despite arthritis. They plan to take the entire family of 10 to a Lake George resort for a week this summer for their 50th anniversary. Their four grandchildren are teens, and two are driving. Our freshman class president, Graham Walker Burns of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., transferred to UNC but loves being in the loop. A mother of seven, she has a disabled son living with her, sells real estate, and helps her daughter with her two daughters.

Many of us, including Betsy Ottley Taggart, were shocked and saddened by the death of Mary Jane Fitzpatrick in a December fire at her Richmond home. Mary Jane was a music major, as was Betsy, and an incredible pianist who taught at VCU.

Clara Sue Durden Ashley and Clarence babysat son Dennis and Maria’s three redheaded boys, ages 4, 7, and 11, in St. Augustine, Fla., in February, while the parents went to Puerto Rico for a week with their fourth son, an infant. They visited us in Durham, N.C., en route from Columbia, S.C., and planned to visit family and friends in Florida in March. Clara has long worked at the Vienna Quilt Shop, which was to move to a new Virginia location and reopen in April as the Quilt Shop of McLean.

Dee Doran Cairns and Doug’s grandson, Chris Brown, married Jordan last fall. Doug’s mother, Doris, is 96. His sister, Patty Cairns Hourin, and Jim live in Diamondhead, Miss. Their three sons hosted their 50th anniversary celebration in March. Patty and Jim visited Patty’s brother, Scott, and wife Debbie in London. Patty plays golf and tennis, and Jim golfs.

Ellen Gotwalt Willing and Bill of York, Pa., wintered in Naples, Fla., and traveled to Bryce Mountain, Va., and Ocean City, Md., with Ellen’s daughter’s family. Despite recent medical issues, Bill enjoyed his 90th birthday celebration in January with all the kids. Ellen takes exercise classes and swims. Babs Buse Johnson cleared out her Bowie, Md., home of 46 years this winter so she can sell it and move to her new house in Orlando, Fla., near her younger daughter and family. Babs’ older daughter lives in Seattle.

Jean Ryan Farrell and Frank traveled to China and Tibet, skied in Utah, went diving in Curacao, and explored the West from Southern Utah to Yellowstone. Sons Frank and David, who live nearby, spent much time with third son Bobby last summer, when Bobby’s family, Singapore residents for several years, were at Jean and Frank’s lake house. In October, a washing machine hose burst in the night, causing a major flood and three months of repair.

Eleanor Knight Jensen and Cliff of New Fairfield, Conn., spent five fall weeks on St. Barts. In December, they took a Caribbean cruise, followed by a cruise around South America. Janie Riles and hubby Jim’s two daughters and their families visited them in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where Janie and Jim had been since December. They took bridge lessons, and Janie attended an art workshop in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to get ideas for her own September art workshop in France. They planned to return to San Diego in April and add an art studio and a bath to their home.

I received a new right lung in December at Duke University Hospital, where Andy and I had been since August. I no longer need supplementary oxygen, am gaining strength through pulmonary rehab at Duke’s Center for Living, and hoped to return to our Wilmington, N.C., home in April. We’re grateful for this miracle and for the love and support of classmates, friends, and family.

From Renee: Marcia Minton Keech and hubby Bill sponsored a February meet-and-greet for President Richard V. Hurley and wife Rose in their Savannah, Ga., home, and Marcia is excited about the direction in which he’s taking UMW. She talked to Sylvia Garland Wickwire and Jerri Barden Perkins, who is semi-retired from National Institutes of Health and moved to Hilton Head, S.C. She skied in Sun Valley, Idaho, in March. Bill’s cancer was back, and they planned another trip to Johns Hopkins and to see their children and grandchildren in Northern Virginia on the way up. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Bill has beaten this monster before, so hopes are high he can do it again. Marcia and Bill’s twin granddaughters were impressed when they took them to UMW in the fall.

Peggy Howard Hodgkins’ last winter escape was from Maine to San Antonio. Nephew Scott and wife Jill welcomed twins. Peggy spent three weeks with her sister, Jeanie, in Athens, Ga., and visited Lynne Williams Neave and Sandy in New York in February. When the snow in NYC prevented long lines for Broadway shows, Peggy saw Superman, Newsies, My Name Is Asher Lev, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Peggy’s grandson, Matthew, 15, took third place as “ski master” for class-A skiers, competing in downhill, alpine, and slalom.

Nancy “Pepper” Jacobs Germer and Hank spent three weeks in New Zealand, seeing border collies work the sheep, going to the top of the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, and exploring the North and South Islands. Sylvia McJilton Woodcock’s husband, Stuart, had hip surgery and was back to exercising at the wellness center. Sylvia was to attend a spring meeting of the UMW Foundation, which is building the Hyatt Place hotel at Eagle Village.

I completed a few days of chemotherapy before Thanksgiving and two months of radiation in February. When I feel stronger, I hope to take another cruise. Thank you all for your loving wishes and prayers.

From Lynne: I received little feedback this time, with several comments about the brutal winter. We were fortunate to spend some time at our little place in Florida. We put the condo on the market and would like to travel more while we’re still healthy. I’ve become slightly addicted to bridge and have been taking lessons and trying to earn duplicate master points.

Lloyd Tilton Backstrom and Art still love to ski, traveling to Vail, Colo., and Sun Valley, Idaho. Dave and Sue Wilson Sproul enjoyed a four-day snowshoeing/ Nordic skiing house party in the mountains. They spent Christmas in Albuquerque, N.M., with Dave’s sister and family, then spent a week in Tucson, Ariz., where Sue weathered 19-degree days and knitted caps for homeless children in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. During spring break, Sue went to Virginia, where she saw “roomie” Bette Marchant George, an executive coach, on a trip there last year.

Bitsy Wright Coxe’s knee was recovering nicely. Jim and Carolyn Spell Robertson celebrated their 50th anniversary in June at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Ala. Their kids held a dinner for them and invited their closest friends. Sandy Walters Julifs retired from the Community Action Agency in January, but a torn rotator cuff was delaying her and Harold’s desire to travel.

After a bad fall in January that required transfusions, platelets, and a month of constant at-home care, Judy Saunders Slifer planned a May cruise with Eleanore Saunders Sunderland from Budapest, Hungary, to Bucharest, Romania.

Greetings to all our 1962 sisters, who entered MWC as goats in 1958, more than 50 years ago! Our 50th reunion last year brought a renewed joy to visiting and sharing memories. Please keep sending news, and include your complete name, and newest email and physical addresses.

Rosalie Alico Turner’s sixth book, March With Me, a historical fiction dealing with the civil rights movement during the ’60s, came out in March. Alma Powell, wife of Colin Powell, and former Mississippi governor William Winter of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation endorsed it. Rosalie divides her time between Birmingham, Ala., and the New Mexico mountains. She scheduled book talks around the country and was to be in Roanoke, Va., in May.

Nancy Powell Sykes, editorial director of the free Newport News, Va., publication the Oyster Pointer, retired from real estate last year and recovered from last summer’s knee replacement surgery. At high school events, Nancy often sees Pat Mackey Taylor, who lost her husband last year and was walking without help after a long recovery from a broken ankle. Nancy also saw Betty Fox Berry of Maryland. Betty and her husband are retired, have a granddaughter, and planned a trip to Russia this year. Another friend said Carolyn Livingstone Masik of Boston was recovering from a broken bone in her neck.

In February, Maggie Walker McAllister, Barbara Schwab Jesser, Emily Lewis, Bettie Stewart Kienast, Mary Sue Miller McDonald, and Joan Akers Rothgeb had lunch in Waynesboro, Va. Joan planned to see Jeanne Craig Gough in Albuquerque, N.M., this spring when she and husband Eddie were to be in the Sedona area. Last summer, Jeanne took a trip to Scandinavia with stops in Stockholm and Copenhagen. She and husband Bob are involved with church, and their son and his family. Mary Sue took a winter trip to Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and visited one of her sons in California. Barbara and husband Bill are still in Charlottesville. Bill retired from U.Va., where he’d been a professor and department head. Their daughter and her husband moved to Charlottesville and built a home; their son lives in Atlanta.

Maggie McAllister enjoyed the reunion and looked forward to spending more time with our MWC sisters. In September in Waynesboro, Va., granddaughter Sarah married a Marine she met when she was a UMW student. They are in New Bern, N.C., but he was deployed to Afghanistan for six months. Maggie’s son and his wife were based in Bangkok, where he was to be CEO of Ascend Therapeutics and was working on a therapy for those with brain injuries. They kept their Northern Virginia house and their Northern Neck river place but took their dog with them.

Bonnie Booker Kinzer of Southport, N.C., left MWC after her sophomore year to study nursing at U.Va. Husband Joe is retired military. Her mother, who is 94, lives nearby. Betty’s older grandson graduated last year from Appalachian State, where the younger one is a student. Another nursing student, Anne Lindgren Olwine of Vancouver, Wash., still has a private counseling practice. Donna Floyd Parker attends her grandson’s lacrosse games and travels to St. George Island, Fla., and to Virginia to see her sister and her beloved mountains.

Fran Rowell retired from the federal government and Arlington County government seven years ago at 66. She lives in a Hanover, Pa., active adult community and arranges monthly dinners, casino trips, and horseshoe games. She exercises and swims at the Y, sees first-run movies, and has three puggles, a mix of pug and beagle. She’s an usher at Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, volunteers at the annual Gettysburg Festival in June, and still belongs to the ParTEA Dolls chapter of the Red Hat Society in Manassas, Va. Fran had cataracts removed from both eyes and recently saw Million Dollar Quartet at the Kennedy Center.

Adrienne Ames, who’s been in Nashville, Tenn., for 36 years, thanks the 1962 class agents for agreeing to gather news for UMW Magazine. She’s retired but is still a senior consultant for the Executive Nursing Administration at Vanderbilt University, where she holds a faculty appointment with the School of Nursing. While Adrienne’s major responsibilities have been in nursing and hospital/clinic administration, she was a family practice practitioner in her early years. She spends time with family and friends, volunteers, and travels.

Kay Mizell Heppinstill spent 10 days away from her apartment while she was without heat and electricity after Hurricane Sandy. Kay is retired, enjoys bridge and book groups, volunteers for church and the community, and has long served as a lay member delegate for the Greater New Jersey Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Louise Couch Girvin and John of Kentucky have seven grandchildren. The first, Emily, is to head to college next year. Granddaughter Jenna was on a banner and programs at an Orlando cheerleading competition. Louise and John planned a spring trip with their church group to Branson, Mo., and a fall Road Scholar trip to San Antonio. They come east to visit John’s sister and Kathleen Sprenkle Lisagor, who has three children and eight grandchildren. Her third granddaughter was to begin college. Daughter Amy is a minister of music.

Joyce Wilborn Lacy’s eighth grandchild, Louis W. Lacy III, arrived on Christmas Eve, joining sister Campbell Grace Lacy, 2, and six cousins, ages 9 to 16. With two family members named Lou already, they decided to call him Kip. He’s already attended several U.Va. basketball games with his parents and grandparents.

Peggy Downs Gerber’s sixth grandchild, William Lincoln Maher, was born in August 2012 to Peggy’s daughter, Marge, and husband Mike in Philadelphia. Will joins brother Evan, 4, and sister Carley, 2. Also in August, their son, Pete, who has a masonry company, married high school teacher Tami Rappa, and they live in Wilmington. Peggy, John, and son Dave looked forward to a Florida vacation and visiting Kathleen Lisagor in March on the way home.

Jane Walshe McCracken has progressed steadily after her stroke and is back to working two days a week. She wants some of the West Coast girls to surf around for news for the next edition of UMW Magazine. Joan Akers Rothgeb has been contacting classmates for news, babysitting grandchildren, and traveling to their mountain cabin with Eddie.

Our sympathies go to the husband and family of Donna Stevens Boyd, who passed away in October, and to Ann Tench Huml, who lost her sister in December. Please send this type of news to the class agents or the Office of Alumni Relations.

As ever, thanks from your three faithful agents. Let us hear from you by letter, email, or phone… starting now!

This column is being written before Reunion Weekend, but with the wonderful planning, I’m certain everyone had a great time! I enjoyed talking with classmates while calling around to help us get the highest participation possible. I discovered one we’d lost touch with – Nancy Hicks O’Dea, who left after junior year to finish and pursue a higher degree at American University. A bit of sleuthing by Cynthia Whitaker Finnelly found Nancy in Northern Virginia.

Beth Taylor Schreiner and I live in Northern Virginia and got together for lunch in March after talking about it for years. Beth and her husband bought a starter house and now that their three children have moved out, it’s the right size again. They lived abroad for several years in Bangkok, Thailand; Vienna, Austria; and London. Beth is active in U.S. Masters Swimming competitions, traveling around the U.S. and Canada. At reunion time, she was to be in Sacramento, Calif., for the high school graduation of her grandchild, who is valedictorian.

Kathy Friedman Levinson, a private-practice family therapist, and husband Sandy, a retired vascular surgeon, live on the water in Rowayton, Conn., which Kathy describes as a mini Nantucket. David in Breckenridge, Colo., and Karin in Los Angeles often come home to visit. Leah Headley Samuelson does fundraising and landmarks properties with Historic Pueblo Inc. She and husband Gordon stay in touch with their two grandsons in Michigan via Skype.

One of our classmates wrote, “It’s all mundane stuff, but it’s my mundane stuff. Patches of my life.” We all lead different lives, and what may seem mundane to the writer is news to the reader!

Bev Jackson Johnston’s first grandchild, Abigail, is 3 months old. Bev and her husband’s Jersey Shore cottage escaped damage during Hurricane Sandy last fall. Their rescue dog and two rescue cats travel with them from Fort Worth, Texas, to New Jersey.

Melinda Wilson Watterson Thiesing ended seven years of widowhood, marrying someone last May whose sister and mother she’d known for more than 50 years. At 69, it was a huge decision for both to remarry, move, and buy and remodel another house. Melinda hoped to take her husband to Virginia this spring and would love to touch base with alums in Oklahoma.

Norma Bass Mears lost her retired USMC lieutenant colonel husband last year after a long illness. Since Norma’s 2004 retirement, they’d had wonderful experiences traveling together around the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Their most special trip was a Christmas week in Paris, where they toasted in the New Year with friends at the Eiffel Tower. Norma still travels with family and friends. Her daughter and her family and children live nearby, and her son and his wife and children live in Richmond.

Pat Hess Jernigan is retired but travels and has volunteered at the Smithsonian for 15 years. She started a new job assisting with data input for the memorial project at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center.

Bonnie “Be” Davison Herrera, a sculptor, plans to be in Washington, D.C., Richmond, and Westmoreland County for Thanksgiving to set up exhibits and workshops for 2014 and 2015. She’s involved with three exhibits of her North American labyrinth photos. Be worked in Oregon and California in winter and spring and was editing Oregon’s Botanical Landscape, about native plants in their own habitat. She teaches a four-part poetry-writing series for an ARC program and worked on a new series, “Phenomenal Women,” coinciding with National Women’s History Month. Be said Pat Hurston Lin wrote the play Zelda at the Oasis, about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife. It opened before Christmas at St. Luke’s Theatre at Times Square and was getting rave reviews.

I planned to guide another group to France in July and was looking forward to it after a long, troubling winter that began in fall with Hurricane Sandy, then moved on to a huge Halloween snowstorm and the unspeakable pre-Christmas massacre of 26 children and adults in Newtown, Conn., 40 minutes from where I live. After almost 45 years, former freshman roommate Sally Crenshaw Witt and I found each other by reading Class Notes and have become like those 18th-century ladies who regularly exchanged voluminous letters, except we correspond through email. If you see someone you remember when reading Class Notes, head to your computer or take up your pen and write! You’ll be amazed by how much the renewed relationship adds to your life.

I’ll send reminders about the next Class Notes due date. I find reading your letters moving, bringing back floods of memories. I hope you enjoy reading the news too. People really do love to hear from you. Good wishes to you and your families and friends.

Due to major computer problems in February, I lost lots of files; if your news didn’t make it into this issue, please resend it! Also, please send updated email addresses as you move or retire. Only two more years until our 50th! Stay in touch so we can have a great crowd at our reunion!

I have two new grandchildren. My daughter had a son, Sutter James McBroom, in November, and my daughter-in-law had a daughter, Caroline Elizabeth Weisser, in March. Both families live in California, so I still travel a lot. My son was in the Middle East again, so my daughter-in-law was alone with the baby and a 3- and a 5-year old. Her mother was with her for the birth, and we planned to help until my son returns. Most of us turn 70 this year, and the aches and pains come more frequently, but I’m determined to continue playing tennis another few years.

Susan Ford Irons and husband Jim, a golfer, are retired. Susan attended her 50th high school reunion in Newport News, Va., and met former classmates in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., for Fourth of July, in Palm Desert in December, and in Hilton Head in April. They took a river trip from Amsterdam to Budapest in May 2011, and several friends they made then joined them on a trip to Italy last October. Son Tyler lives and works in Southern California.

Martha Jones Burke ’66, Nancy Buchanan Perry ’70, and Nancy Coates Wilson are retired, rang in 2013 with their husbands at the Asheville, N.C., Grove Park Inn, and belong to a dinner group started more than 30 years ago. They’ve also traveled with their husbands to Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Cape May, N.J.

Pat Hartman Brownlee went to California after graduation to teach school in San Diego, met John, a Marine, and married. They live in Trabuco Canyon, Calif., and have four daughters, all but one of whom are married, four grandchildren, and six granddogs. They all live close and get together a lot. John is retired and Pat is semi-retired with Mary Kay. They travel a lot and got together with Kathy Burke House and husband Bill of Frederick, Md.

During a weekend in Charlottesville, Helen Hutton Smith and Donna Gates Mason celebrated the 70th birthday of Joan Peatross, who recently retired from Martha Jefferson Hospital. Joan’s daughter, Cameron, and husband Travis were also there. Joan and Helen have known each other since second grade, and Donna was Joan’s MWC roommate.

Barbara “Bobbi” Bishop Mann notified us that our beloved class sponsor, George Van Sant, suffered a stroke and passed away peacefully in January. His wife, Milena, asked Bobbi to relay his gratitude for seeing so many of us at our 45th reunion, one of his many career highlights. His memorial service was at Grace Episcopal Church in Kilmarnock, Va., and his burial was at Quantico. He will be sorely missed.

Kathleen Crawford Hoffman retired as deputy executive director of the Association of Social Work Boards, where she still works as a part-time editor. Kitty Downs Gregg and husband Don of Denver vacationed in Washington, D.C., and Florida in May. Son Chris returned home after a year in Iraq, finished a master’s degree in finance at the University of Colorado, and works for the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research in D.C., where Kitty worked for several years after leaving MWC.

Linda Mitchell Spiers, an Episcopal priest near Hartford, Conn., had a challenging year because of the Sandy Hook disaster. She’s rededicated her energies toward making a better world for our children. Catherine Cantwell Luria and husband Eric retired the family practice, Harbor Health Associates, in Gig Harbor, Wash., after 35 years. Cathe still works part time at her new mental-health-only practice, Minerva Mental Health. The Lurias had a big retirement party, then flew to St. Croix for a week of English country dancing, their favorite hobby. Eric joined a community college ukulele class. Cathe still plays flute, continues voice lessons, and was thinking of learning the oboe and joining a Spanish immersion program.

Anne Meade Clagett’s husband, John, supported her while she campaigned for six months for Republicans in the November elections. They planned to be homebodies after visiting John’s favorite cousins and Anne’s sister’s family. Their dear cat, Night, is more than 18 years old.

Susan Roth Nurin and family celebrated her mother’s 99th birthday in January. Mrs. Roth, from a Jewish immigrant family, graduated high school at 16 and earned a master’s degree when most women didn’t attend college. She spent decades as a principal and Hebrew schoolteacher, tutor, and instructor to native English speakers who couldn’t read, and traveled to all seven continents. Susana is following in her footsteps with her travels and love of life in New York. She took a fall cruise from Santiago, Chile, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Musician son Justin and his wife moved to Baltimore. Daughter Tamara, a freelance journalist in Philadelphia, has a serious boyfriend but has never married.

Yvonne March and traveling companion Judith planned a May trip to Spain. Genie McClellan Hobson survived a difficult 2012 and hoped for a better 2013. Genie had hip issues, and Don had several surgeries with complications but regained enough strength to resume volunteer work as chairman of the PMD Foundation, which serves those affected by Pelizaeus-Merzbacher, a genetic disease that attacks the central nervous system. Genie and Don attended a March Leukodystrophy Alliance conference in Florida, then canoed the state’s rivers and visited Genie’s stepmother and other relatives. Genie works full time as head of the Neurogenetics Research Lab at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., concentrating on understanding and developing a treatment for PMD, but she dreams of retirement. Genie and Don have a son, a daughter, and two grandsons who live nearby. Son Byron owns and manages Limestone Therapeutic Massage and treats his mother to weekly massages.

Susan Hanes Chaney and Bill of Deltaville, Va., flew to Mobile, Ala., then drove across the Gulf Coast to Biloxi, Miss., and along the Mississippi River to Natchez. In May, Susan and Bill traveled to Ohio to reconnect with relatives, then toured the American Southwest, starting in Durango, Colo., and hiking through Mesa Verde and Monument Valley. They grow vegetables and flowers, tinker with antique cars, volunteer, and socialize. Bill fishes and Susan does yoga.

Lois Rucker Scott and husband Sam, who were in the same class at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., had their 50th reunion in October. Lois served on the reunion committee and felt obligated to attend, despite Sam’s recent triple cardiac bypass surgery. He’s back at work and in a cardiac rehab program. Lois and Sam traveled to Los Angeles for Sam’s annual medical conference and to visit nieces and nephews. They visited daughter Holly, who moved to Redlands, Calif., when it became part of her surgical equipment marketing and sales territory. Daughter Melanie and family, including Lois and Sam’s three grandchildren, moved to a house across the street from them. Lois attends knitting and quilting retreats in North Carolina.

Sandra Hutchison Schanné visits daughter Amy’s family in Denver. Layne is 5; twins Alexis and Van are 2. Sandra and Rich hosted them, son Brandon’s five from Texas, and son Ricky’s five from Aldie, Va., at Christmas, then spent a week at Massanutten Resort in Virginia.

Joan Cuccias Patton still travels as much as possible and substitute teaches high school math. She took her first trip to Hawaii this winter with her daughter and son-in-law and spent a week in February in Tampa, Fla., with friends. She’s involved with her children and grandchildren, loves golf, and joined Heritage Hunt Little Theater in Gainesville, Va.

Kathleen Goddard Moss and Eileen Goddard Albrigo lost both their parents. Florence, 91, entered hospice care in August. Glen, 93, developed a fever and passed away in September. Florence died in December. During the summer, most of their family was able to visit and enjoy the 70th wedding anniversary celebrations. Eileen and John’s ninth grandchild, daughter Liz’s first child, was born in July, and they expected another grandson this spring. Eileen and John traveled to Syracuse, N.Y., to celebrate the 90th birthday of John’s mother, Julia, who still lives independently with husband Frank, 91. Kathy works part time supervising young therapists. She and Tom attended the Yorktown High School 50th class reunion in fall. Tom still feeds and comforts distressed patients at the nursing home he trained in after retiring.

My husband, Dan, and I are retired and living in Lexington, S.C. I am active in my church, I write, and I garden. Dan and I have seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Judy Douglass Everett and Keith vacationed in Brazil, visiting youngest daughter Emily, who speaks Portuguese and was completing her master’s of divinity degree on an internship there. Judy works part time for daughter Jennette’s company, which is involved with the Beyoncé tour. Oldest daughter Buffy was to visit Judy on spring break with grandson Aiden, 3.

Sandi Lawhorne Green of Great Falls, Va., is a retired reading specialist for Arlington County Public Schools and still works for the county on short-term assignments. She volunteers at church, attends a book club, and sells Silpada jewelry. Son Justin is a Loudoun County Fire and Rescue captain. Daughter Ashley teaches second grade. Sandi lunches often with Donna Sinclair Seward and Catherine Wilson.

Frances Suzanne Gills Giles married Gary Lee Giles in January 2012, after being divorced 30 years. They spent a month on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They live on the water in Seaford, Va., sail, and spend time with their combined five children and nine grandchildren.

Nancy Jones Stodart’s company, Fourth Lloyd Productions, released the title Let’s Talk About Early Language Development this spring.

We’re proud of Patti Boise Kemp, who took office last summer as president of the UMW Alumni Association, after two years as president-elect. She was the reunion vice president for our 40th in 2009. Patti was invited to be keynote speaker at the March Junior Ring Ceremony. She asked us on Facebook to send memories or pictures from the 1968 Ring Dance, and it was truly a “blast from the past.”

Iris Harrell, Karen Kilgore Ralston, Suzanne McCarthy Van Ness, and Phyllis Newby Thompson got together in California while Karen was there visiting her sister. Suzanne and Phyllis live two towns over from Iris. Karen lives in Memphis, Tenn., where she curates vintage clothing displays at the Woodruff-Fontaine House. She also is milliner to the stars at Playhouse on the Square, provided costumes for Willy Bearden educational videos at the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum in Tupelo, and was interviewed by BBC Radio when she wore a hat she embellished to England’s Ascot Racecourse. Karen also makes jewelry from vintage brooches, knits, and crochets.

Phyllis, who lives in California, and Donna Cannon Julian of Naples, Fla., each hosted UMW President Richard V. Hurley and wife Rose in their homes for alumni gatherings. Donna hosted a small group in January, and Iris and Suzanne helped Phyllis host a March gathering, including alumni from all decades and a tour of Phyllis’ home, for which Iris did renovations.

Donna, with Lyn Howell Gray, CeCe Smith Riffer, and Ann Simpson Brackett, was planning a mini-reunion in June, when Lyn would be home from Liberia, where she and husband Jim still live. Ann’s daughter married in California in January. Two weeks later her husband’s son married in Sarasota, Fla. Donna and husband Gene had dinner in February with Jean Polk Hanky and husband Jack, who were visiting the Naples area. Iris heard from Bev Holt, who’s retired in North Carolina, and Pam Hogan Baynard, who’s retired in Suffolk, Va.

Jeanine Zavrel Fearns has worked for Commonwealth Orthopedics for 19 years. She spent a fall week in Vermont and upstate New York with daughter Erin and planned to visit relatives in Chicago in May. She drove from Fairfax, Va., to meet in Abingdon with UMW roomie Ann Witham Kilpatrick, who drove from South Carolina. Jeannine also visited suitemate Suzy Bender Winterble at her Chesapeake Bay home near Yorktown, and they planned to visit Suzy’s roomie, Toni Turner Bruseth, in Austin, Texas, for the opening of her husband’s exhibit of the recovered 18th-century sailing ship La Belle.

Bonnie Page Hoopengardner and husband Roger took a January trip to Indochina. Bonnie still works as a CPA but is thinking of retiring. After two knee surgeries in three years and little skiing, biking, and hiking, Lou Myers Daly of Vail, Colo., challenged herself. She went to real estate school and now works in that field.

Connie Cline Bukzin and dentist husband Mitch traveled in February to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Their two grandsons live nearby in Northern Virginia. Connie’s suitemate, Connie Hinson, a part-time spa coordinator at the Tides Inn, vacationed in Hilton Head, S.C., last year.

I’d like to hear from more of you. I hope everyone is having a lovely, relaxing summer.