Class Notes

Kathryn Courtney Kelchner switched schools this year and is a marine science coordinator/teacher and art teacher at St. Mary Star of the Sea School in Hampton, Va. At a recent meeting at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia Beach, she found the senior pictures of James Whalen and Gary Witzenburg on the wall. It took her back to those Custis days freshman year!

I celebrated 23 years, from cartography to program management, with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. I cart my three boys to soccer and Scout events. I lead my son’s den and took them to a January men’s basketball game, where they had a blast watching UMW beat Penn State-Harrisburg. My Scout activities also introduced me to fellow pack parent David Rider ’96, who lives in the Manassas area with his wife and two children.

I recently learned I’m neighbors with Heather Jackson Priddy ’89. Our sons, Brett and Jack, are friends and classmates at Jennie Dean Elementary School. The world gets smaller all the time. Classmates, please share your experiences with us. We’d love to hear from you.

Hello, Class of 1991! Please send news and updates anytime. Look for Class Notes deadlines in this issue. I hope to hear from you soon!

I had the flu for weeks last fall, so Tom and I spent a low-key Thanksgiving at home in Johns Creek, Ga. I was better by Christmas, so we visited my family in Lexington, Va. In February, Tom took me to Mobile, Ala., for Mardi Gras, and we watched parades and ate fresh seafood. After several years, I resigned from my volunteer positions on my neighborhood’s homeowners association board, and as social director and community newsletter editor. I hope to spend more time with Tom and the Atlanta Outdoor Club. We want to lead more hikes and camping trips through the Southeast. I plan to paint our house interior and remodel our master bathroom. Then our home will finally be completely renovated. We planned to visit my aunt and uncle in Sarasota, Fla., hunt for sharks’ teeth, and explore Myakka River State Park and the Ringling Museum of Art.

Donald Rands Fuller deployed with the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade to Afghanistan in March, was promoted to chief warrant officer 5, and decided to deploy again. He hit his 20-year mark last November.

Jeff Jakimtschuk of Palm Beach County, Fla., has been a nurse anesthetist for nine years. He and wife Misty started a thriving vacation rental business and hope to expand it in Costa Rica, where they married. Daughter Emma is 9; son Leo is 18 months. Jeff hosts an annual Mary Wash golf weekend, which includes Brian Bodson, Brady Chapman, Thomas Brophy, Jay MacNamara, Scott Ross, and Drew White.

Missy Hall Houck left Geico in August 2013, after 20 years, and celebrated sixth months in March with Cisco, where she gets to travel and can work from home.

Thanks to Donald, Jeff, and Missy for sending news. Some of us keep in touch through email and/or Facebook, but this magazine’s format is a wonderful way to stay connected with Mary Washington and one another. I hope to see more updates in the future.

I enjoyed a weekend of sun, swimming, and bachelorette shenanigans in Scottsdale, Ariz., with Willard Hall roommate and bride-to-be Kira Stchur, who was putting the final touches on her San Antonio wedding. Congratulations to Colleen Minion, who married Matthew Gill in a small April elopement in Union, Wash. She’s now stepmom to Sydney, 8, and Benjamin, 20 months.

Kate Lulfs Ehrle and Richard Ehrle ’85 welcomed William McDonald – 8 pounds, 5 ounces, 21 inches long – in January.

Class news was a bit slow this quarter; I’ll blame it on everyone hibernating through the terrible winter. Drop me a line to share summer memories and highlights.

I hope this update finds everyone happy and healthy. My husband and I were married a year this past March, expect our first child in September, and are looking for a new home. Keep sending updates my way!

Chad and Jenny Moss Van Riper welcomed Connor Moss Van Riper – 7 pounds, 13 ounces, 20.25 inches long – in February.

Brian Straight finished his diplomatic assignment to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, took four months of intensive Portuguese classes in the D.C. area, then transferred to his current posting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last year. He took a monthlong work trip to Uganda, visiting Rwanda and touring the country’s genocide history. He planned to marry, was expecting his first child, and hopes his next assignment, due next year, will be Havana, Cuba.

Keith and Flora Adams Mays and son Porter moved from Birmingham, Ala., to Louisville, Ky., for Keith’s job and welcomed triplet girls in May 2013.

Jimmy Rhodes married Meredith Camp Rhodes ’03 in an outdoor October wedding at the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, N.C. In attendance were John Thibodeau, Chuck Markley, Jim Archy, Matt MacDonald, Paul Junod, Jeremy Duval, Alex Panek, Matt White, Chuck Floyd, Steve Lamanna, Mike Holmes, Ted Tschan, Jason Gleason, Melissa Floyd, Jay Hartey, Amanda McLennan MacDonald, Jaimi Lacaria White, Jen Amrhein Junod, Jen Hartey, Jennifer Flynn Duval, Jarrett Whitlow ’00, Kevin Bird ’02, Gina Nardi ’03, and Kellie Shanahan Bird ’03. Meredith and Jimmy, who met in an alumni tent at the 2008 Mary Washington Homecoming, planned to sell their Falls Church, Va., condo and buy their first house together this year.

Stephen Charnoff is a partner with a Tysons Corner, Va., law firm. He and wife Katherine Fry Charnoff ’00 have a 3-year-old son and welcomed a daughter in February.

Corey Sell earned a Ph.D. in education last May from George Mason University and accepted a position as assistant professor of elementary education there in fall. After 13 years teaching elementary students, Corey was enjoying higher education and working with pre-service teachers.

Carol Chace married Marlon Washington in September. Martha Smith, who’s still in the film business, and Susanne Eymer Maurer, who welcomed son Owen in winter, attended.

Laura Reilly Lewis, her husband, and daughter Reilly welcomed Lane Elizabeth in April 2013.