Frances Watts Barker
P.O. Box 749
Parksley, VA 23421
jbarker@intercom.net
Hello classmates! Thank you for the response to the reminder for class news from the Alumni Office. This news reminds us of our ties with each other and with Mary Washington.
Although Provi Keelan Piovanetti had planned to attend our 60th reunion, she was unable to be there because of the death of her husband, Simon, after a long illness. We send sympathy to Provi and her family. Her grandchildren – Alfonso (a law student), Juliana (a psychology major in college) and Fernando (a high school student and violinist) – are a great source of comfort and pride to Provi. She intends to make it to the next reunion.
Hilda Crisman Pendleton wrote that she and Willard are well but have slowed down somewhat. They visit relatives in Virginia several times a year and plan to take a Caribbean trip. The activities of their children and grandchildren add interest to their lives. Hilda keeps in touch with three very special Mary Washington friends via e-mail.
Betty Walsh does volunteer work for St. Helena Episcopal Church in Beaufort, S.C., and on the island where she lives. She leaves the island only in case of mandatory evacuation during the hurricane season, which she has not had to do for several years. Betty’s voluntary work includes preparing for her church’s annual bazaar.
Chris Brauer Krausse plans bus trips for her church and friends. Chris and Spott remain active; their most recent adventure was to the “Grand Canyon” of Pennsylvania, sightseeing along the way. Most interesting was a visit to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Once again, Anne Dawideit Dickinson met Lois French Lockhart and Bets Roberts Johnson and husbands for lunch in Orange, Va. Isn’t it great that these three couples have been able to do this on a regular basis for so many years? Anne’s husband, DuVal, recuperated nicely from a hip replacement. Anne’s most exciting news is that there is a new addition to the Dickinson family – a great-grandson!
Traveling rates high among the interests of our classmates. Lillian King Everett stays on the road as long as she is able. Therapy and aqua-aerobics are strengthening her legs. Our 60th reunion in Fredericksburg was the highlight of Lillian’s 2005 travels. She also visits the sick and keeps quite busy with church business.
After many years, Kitty Hale Hudson and I have been in touch. Kitty lives in Stuart, Va. When her pharmacist husband retired, they enjoyed a great cruise to Alaska. After college, Kitty took a home course in interior design from Loyola University. Despite a painful foot problem, Kitty does volunteer work for her local hospice. Although she formerly was in touch with many Mary Washington friends, her only Mary Washington correspondence now is with Betty Sharp Seelinger.
Big changes have occurred in Jo Moss Shulke’s life. She moved from her home of 48 years to a retirement community in Hurst, Texas. Jo wrote that she misses her neighbors and friends of many years, but she does not miss the yard and home maintenance. She has made new friends and is involved with church activities, bridge games and retirement home outings. Jo added, “Can it be 60 years since we graduated from Mary Washington? Now, it seems strange to see and hear the name University of Mary Washington, but such is progress. Life is good.”
Liz Goffigon Johns enjoyed a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji with an Eastern Shore friend and a Mary Washington friend, Sally Jacob ’44. In May, she visited her cousin, Kathleen Goffigon Huston ’44, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
My apology to Virginia Ricker Hall for an error published in the Winter ’05 issue of UMW TODAY. She retired after 51 years as a Red Cross volunteer, a remarkable record of which she is very proud. Virginia has hung up her traveling shoes to far and wide places and now plans shorter trips. She and her husband now enjoy the San Diego area. She fondly recalls her roommates, Wilma Clare and Mary Rita O’Rourke.
Lura Korth Gillis retired after 32 years of teaching on Guam and in Fairfax, Va. She enjoys living in Florida with her husband, Arthur, and having their daughter’s family close by. After a Navy life of 24 years, she is happy to be settled in one location.
Marjorie “Jerse” Storms Reddoch and Ruskin live in Tarpon Springs, Fla. They are proud of their three children, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. To celebrate their 60th anniversary, Jerse and Ruskin toured Ireland for the Dublin St. Patrick’s parade and visited Blarney Castle. Jerse asks for your prayers because she is fighting ovarian cancer and taking chemo treatments. So far, reports are good, and she is planning to attend her granddaughter’s wedding in Tennessee in April. We applaud her positive outlook and determination. Jerse’s roommate, Betty Cochran Melius, passed away in October 2005 in South Dakota, her home since 1945. She and Jerse were in each other’s weddings.
June Ellen Minnerly Borden, who lives in Maryland, regrets that arthritis kept her from attending our 60th reunion. She and Leon are geographically close to four of their seven children, whom they visit regularly. Christmas is exciting when the family, all with varied musical talents, get together. The family chorus sings at church or at a nursing home. The Bordens spend summers in the Adirondacks and travel around the country in their RV, usually in the fall. “Life is still exciting and fun even in our 80s. I do have to admit that when I see myself in a mirror, I wonder who that old lady is!” June Ellen wrote. I think we all can relate to that.
All is well with Dorothy “Skip” Potts Taylor and Wally who are active within the retirement community where they live. Treatment for Wally’s idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is effective and allowing him to keep up his volunteer schedule. Following a very difficult year for their family, Skip is happy to announce that their daughter, Nancy, is cancer free.
Grace Bailey Lindner and Carl are comfortably settled in their new home at Westminster-Canterbury in Richmond. Grace says it is wonderful to be making new friends as well as renewing old friendships with former high school acquaintances. Moving from a home of many years was difficult, stressful and required much planning. However, Grace and Carl handled it well and are enjoying the results.
Betsy Shamburger Eggleston is a great source of information for class news. Outstanding among her activities was the celebration of husband Dick’s 90th birthday. Planned by their daughter, Sallie Lee, it was held on Flag Day and featured a patriotic theme. Betsy and Dick have attended two family weddings – one in Kentucky and the other in Texas. Last summer, they sailed up the coast of Maine. Betsy reported that Ann White Leonard’s husband was very ill, but is recuperating and doing quite well. She also informed us that Frances Stebbins Shelton’s husband, who was an invalid for seven years, passed away last October. We extend our sympathy to Frances.
Betsy stays in close touch with Trudy Kramer Larsen; in fact, Betsy hired Trudy’s son, who lives in Richmond, to do repair work on her home. Trudy and Betsy plan to get together this spring. Adrienne Herbert Doll ’44 took a world cruise and sent Betsy a card from Japan. Mary Boynton Goodloe, Betsy’s suitemate, lives in Colorado Springs with her husband, Richard Davis.
On a European trip, Gloria Post Goodsell and Roger, of Tyler, Texas, visited an Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where injured soldiers are sent from Iraq before returning to the United States. They took phone cards sent by their friends’ church in Tyler so the soldiers could make calls home. This was a meaningful and touching experience for Gloria and Roger, who thoroughly enjoyed their European vacation.
Life has not changed much for Jack and me. It seems the older we get, the less time we have, and the years pass too quickly. We are thankful for family, friends and many blessings. I will expect more news before the next deadline.