Class Notes 1950s
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1950
Dorothy Held Gawley
177 McCosh Road
Montclair, NJ 07043
dnigawley@juno.com
Greetings to all.
Clelia Boushee Bullard of Jacksonville, Fla., reported that she is in stable health. She has been in touch with Peggy Rudacille Chapman, of Suffolk, Va.
Nat Wilton, of Bellevue, Wash., has lymphoma and had surgery in October. She appreciates all the cards and phone calls from classmates. Mary Cottingham Hardy, of San Pedro, Calif., said her granddaughter had a lovely wedding in June. In August, the family went to South Carolina for a family reunion and Mary’s high school reunion.
Liz Garey Parode continues to do substitute teaching in Tucson, Ariz.
Patti Head Ferguson and Glenn are still very involved in Santa Fe, but say it is becoming too artsy-craftsy with the many summer tourists who come for the major market fairs. They do, though, enjoy the mix of people and nationalities that have settled in the area. Last year, they had a long, rain-drenched holiday on Kauai and the big island of Hawaii. They enjoyed the people, the history, and the culture; however, lava boulders falling into the ocean and warnings about dangerous currents made them happy to return to Santa Fe.
While she was in Santa Fe for a week, Rowena Simpson Renn, looked up Patti, who was in Tucson, and attended the opera. Rowena spent most of 2006 having her husband’s book published; Light Falling and is about the time leading up to the announcement by the angels that Jesus was to be born. Rowena had an overnight visit with Lucille Schoolcraft Commander and her husband in Carrollton, Ga.
Bad weather caused Billie Mitchell Hanes to miss a connecting flight on what was to have been a June trip to Spain with her granddaughter, and they decided to cancel at the last minute. Billie and Dick had lots of family visiting at Virginia Beach during the summer, and Billie has been undergoing some new treatment for her eye.
Marge Diener Knapp’s husband, Fred, passed away in July after a long struggle with congestive heart failure and severely compromised lungs from years in the feed and grain business. She’s doing well most days and keeps busy with church, choir, and friends, many of whom are also widows. She spent Thanksgiving with son Rick and family in Camas, Wash.
Jean Sprower Hampton, of Old Lyme, Conn., is enjoying her 4-year-old grandson, Gavin, who lives nearby. She is active in her church, does lots of reading, and writes. She planned to have written 365 haikus by the end of 2006. Carol Bailey Miller has been traveling from Pittsburgh to Florida for horse show events; while at an officials’ clinic in Tampa, she managed a visit with sister Ruth, in Naples. She and friends rented a cottage near Gettysburg for three days; they also rented horses for a guided tour of the battlefield. She is still active in the Cumberland Garden Club and the Red Hat Club.
Last spring, one of my high school friends met Kitty Keely Anagnost of River Vale, N.J., on an art trip – small world. Kitty wrote a nice note and said she was keeping up with her art appreciation received back in her college days from Mr. Schnellock. Work on her genealogy inspired her to return to Fredericksburg, where she had a great-grandmother in the well-known Willis family. Kitty was surprised to see how the city has grown and how little farmland remains. She and her husband, Jim, spend their summers in Ocean Point, Maine.
I find Elderhostel very interesting. We visited Richmond and many historical spots and homes. I was at my Cape Cod home last summer, and I had a few days in Maine with my older son. While there, I enjoyed Blue Hill and a schooner ride out of Bar Harbor. When I returned from Richmond, Shirley Cole Schleter’s son, Chris, wrote that his father, John, had passed away after a bout with prostate cancer. Chris had been working with the Olympics and now has a home in Utah. Many of us knew him when he returned to our reunions with our late friend, Shirley.
1951
Roselyn Bell Morris
907 Conway Road
Fredericksburg, VA 22405
classnotes@umw.edu
I have not received any news, but want to let you know that our class was represented at our reunion by only Lorraine Frantz Foulds and me. We can do better than that! We can also do better by getting news of our classmates published in the next issue. Thanks, and I really look forward to hearing from all of you.
1952
Corley Gibson Friesen
P.O. Box 533
Silverthorne, CO 80498
corleyfriesen@comcast.net
Our class will celebrate its 55th reunion this June. Gwen Amory Cummings, Anne Smith Harman, and Rita Morgan Stone are co-chairs of the big event, and they will be in Fredericksburg to greet all those who can be there. Rita, Gwen, and Anne attended the September inauguration of Dr. Frawley, so our class was well represented. Anne and her husband now live in Callao on the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Rita and Jake sold their beautiful home on the Potomac River, where they had lived for 39 years, and moved to Lakewood Manor, a lovely retirement community in Richmond, not far from Short Pump Town Center. Carol Oliver Headlee has moved to a villa in the same retirement community. Carol’s husband, Tom, broke a hip, and their two-story home with upstairs bedrooms was no longer practical.
Last spring, Anne Hart Martin enjoyed lunch with friends who attended Mary Washington a few years after we graduated. They reminisced about the campus, dormitories, Quantico, and other happy memories. She has been in touch with Ruth Williams Webb, Shirley Bowman Stotts, and Jane Self Ellis.
Please remember our class president Janet Heilman Meador in your thoughts and prayers; she is in poor health. She and her husband, Dan, live in Westminster-Canterbury Assisted Living Retirement Home in Charlottesville, Va.
On a happier note, Dorothy Davis Craig and Daley entertained the 1946 Waynesboro High School football team as they celebrated the team’s 60th reunion. Although Dottie and Daley have officially retired from the croquet circuit, they hosted the Virginia State Croquet Tournament at their home last summer. Daley has his pilot’s license, and they plan to visit their oldest grandchild who plays goalie for Johns’ Hopkins University lacrosse team.
Jaci Epes Lauck’s husband, Charley, passed away in August 2006 after a long illness. Jaci is grateful for the 54 years they had together, and she is also grateful for the fact that she lives near her children and grandchildren in the Lexington area.
Priscilla Roberts Lefurgy is now Mrs. Gridley R. Dement. She and her new husband live in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Priscilla and Gridley met while they both worked at the Hilton Head hospital and were married in February 2006. Best wishes, Priscilla!
Susan Hutcheson Jergens and John are still active and happy. They hosted a big fund-raiser for their church in October 2006. Susan is still an avid bridge player, and her daughter gave her a keyboard, so Susan is starting to renew her piano-playing abilities. Susan and John have two grandsons who will graduate from college with honors.
After living comfortably in Richmond for 54 years, Mary West Crocker Ball and her husband, Bill, decided to leave their large home and yard and migrate to less stressful accommodations in Winston-Salem, N.C. They now live in a single-family cottage on a campus which includes 104 cottages, large high-rise apartments, and all levels of health care. Mary is looking forward to our 55th reunion.
Joan Britten Lucas and her husband, Dick, of Vacaville, Calif., rarely travel because they traveled so much when Dick was a doctor in the military. Three of their children live nearby with their families. They have a 7-year-old great grandchild! Joan and Dick will travel to Charlottesville this year to see their grandson graduate from U.Va.
Claire Sims Braun continues with her art and has had numerous shows. She went on the cruise ship Victoria with a party of 17 children, grandchildren, and friends last summer to Nova Scotia. Claire has some news about her old roommates. Jerry Foley Crouch lost her husband last year. Pat Moran Machelor has moved from Payson, Ariz., to Tucson. Claire visited Ruth Rivenburgh Crouch in Maryland.
Nancy Cundey Peacock has left Williamsburg, Va., to live in a carriage-house community in Denville, N.J. They are happy to be near family and not to have to rake leaves. A real treat was attending their grandson’s football games in nearby Mountain Lakes, N.J. They plan to spend part of each year at their other home in Newport Beach, Calif. Mary Eleanor Bruce McCombie was walking on the beach near her home at Virginia Beach when she met Charlotte Adams Harrell quite by accident! They recognized each other and exchanged the sad news that both of their husbands were hospitalized at that time.
Finally, here is news of one of the Gibson twins who live far apart but who communicate often. Marjorie Gibson Blaxill continues to serve on the Princeton, N.J., Civil Rights Commission. Margie is active in Princeton where she has lived for more than 50 years.
I still live in Colorado. My husband and I went to his 60th high school reunion and had fun seeing old friends who are still in pretty good shape! I enjoy being your class agent because I am able to hear your news first. Thank you for sharing the events of your lives. See you in June.
1953
Rebecca Spitzer Harvill
1058 Woodmont Drive
Staunton, VA 24401
becbub@earthlink.net
1954
Ruth Gillespie Simpson
6610 Elgin Lane
Bethesda, MD 20817
Regs2000@aol.com
Vera Bestwick Willis has a new address in Alexandria, which is available through the UMW Office of Alumni Relations. Since 2003, Vera has had two hip replacements, and now she and her husband limit their travels while two adopted tabby siblings – Sophie and Tucker – keep them amused. They enjoy visits from English relatives who tour on their own via the great D.C.-area Metro system.
Carolyn Osborne Jenkins took a wonderful and educational cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg. She deemed the churches lovely, the icons beautiful and plentiful, and the food OK. And then there was Moscow’s magnificent summer and winter palaces and awesome Metro system. They met their new twin grandchildren – a boy and a girl – in Italy, and they took a side trip to Venice where the piazza was already under water – which usually doesn’t happen until January.
Betty Bartz Bradford and Wally have traveled to just about every country in Europe. Last fall they took a river cruise from Nice to Paris. When their oldest granddaughter, 23, graduated from college in May 2006, they took her on her first European trip – to Paris and Amsterdam. Betty is an active member of a local Woman’s Club, Garden Club, Red Hat Society, and Questers, a club for antique lovers. Betty said anytime any of you are in the Philadelphia area, the welcome mat is always out.
Toula Drogaris Fotopoulos is another bionic woman; in the last six years she has had knee, hip, and shoulder replacements due to arthritis. She can still play tennis – but chooses bridge instead – and baby-sits nearby grandchildren.
My sister, Mary Ann Gillespie Corbett ’50; her husband, Gordon; and I took a wonderful three-week car trip in May 2006 through Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and West Virginia. We had wonderful visits with family, and enjoyed beautiful scenery; young owls in the trees near our lakeside cottage in western Maryland kept us alert all summer. More recently, here in Bethesda, a noise at 3:30 a.m. scared me into calling 911, only to have it traced to an owl on my deck. Was I embarrassed! We also enjoyed a West Virginia scenic train ride on a perfect day when the fall foliage was at its peak. Thanks for contacting me and don’t forget to submit more news.
1955
Christine Harper Hovis
1481 Balboa St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
chrishovis@aol.com
Thank you to those who wrote with news. Any late news will be held for the next issue.
Betsy Land Johnson and her husband spent part of January and February of 2006 in Spain at Costa del Sol. In response to my question about the greatest influences at Mary Washington, she remembered the library and head librarian Dr. Quenzel. She also enjoyed her Mary Washington Spanish class. I recall that in Spanish class, we would always ask Dr. Cabrera about his trips to Spain, and he would begin telling us, in Spanish, of his many adventures. We, of course, were trying to avoid grammar lessons.
In June 2006, Barbara Trites Peterson and her husband traveled to Alexandria, Va., to attend the celebration of Eileen West Grenfell and Fred’s 50th wedding anniversary. It was held in the Oakton area at the Grenfell’s home. Barbara remembered Dr. Alvey from her years at Mary Washington. She said he gave her many tools and information to take into the classroom when she started her teaching career.
For Virginia Marco Hancock, the past two years have been filled with many nostalgic events, such as seeing her freshman roommates at our 50th reunion. That year was also her reunion for her nursing school class at U.Va., 13 of whom were inducted into the Thomas Jefferson Society and walked down the lawn with the class of 1956.
Jayne Jones Kent lived in Willard her first year, and Framar her second before transferring to the University of South Carolina, from which she graduated. She taught school, married a naval officer, and had two children. Though her husband passed away, she is busy with friends and, when needed, substitute teaching. She spent Thanksgiving with her daughter, four grandchildren, and 96-year-old mother.
Eileen Cella Manze is finally settled in her new home in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and knows she will not miss the Pennsylvania snow and ice. She did make a trip back to the University of Pennsylvania for surgery, and now is feeling much better. Eileen sent an article from the Orlando Sentinel in which UMW was listed as a “fit” college.
Ann “Mimi” Denty Schoonover shared her memory of having a cold, wet head of hair going from swimming to her next class at Mary Washington! Coralyn White McGeehan remembered Dr. Parkinson, who taught child psychology at Mary Washington. A student asked him about Parkinson’s disease, since he had the same name. He explained the disease, and that his ever-so-great relative had researched it, and, thus, it was named for that Dr. Parkinson. Sadly, Coralyn lost her husband of 49 years, Bob, to that disease in August 2006. Our class sends our thoughts and prayers for what must have been a difficult time through his illness and death.
Carole Kolton Bryson’s memory moment was her favorite professor, Gwendolyn Beeler, from the home economics department. She got Carole interested in dietetics and encouraged her to apply for the Margaret McDonald Scholarship in Dietetics, which Carole received. She was the only person from Mary Washington who won that scholarship. On a sad note, Carole’s son, who was in his early 40s, died unexpectedly last year. In September 2006, her mother passed away at 104. To Coralyn and to Carole, our class sends our condolences on your losses.
Until next time, stay safe, have fun and, most important, keep sending news.
1956
Ann Chilton Power
7301 Lakota Road
Remington, VA 22734
acpower1@earthlink.net
1957
Joan Callahan Frankhauser
7722 Falstaff Road
McLean, VA 22102
frankhauser@cox.net
The big event to plan for is our 50th reunion at Mary Washington June 1- 3, 2007! Mark your calendars and be on the lookout for the information packet with all the details, which should have arrived by the time you read this.
Foncie Lawrence Williamson went to a reunion planning meeting at UMW in October to help make plans for this special weekend. She and Sandy Ball have had their heads together for months thinking up fun things for us to do to make the weekend really great. Foncie wrote a terrific letter, which Sandy edited (just like the old Battlefield days!). Hopefully, you have already received this and are getting excited about attending. I know I am, and so is my sweetheart, Mahlon. Remember, the reunion is only as good as the people who are there!
Please update your email addresses with Becky Kocher in the UMW Office of Alumni Relations at rkocher@umw.edu. I am trying to update my list, too. If you are interested in circulating your address with other classmates, please send me your email address, and I’ll send out an updated list.
Elizabeth “Libby” Fordham and Foncie have had a very busy autumn. They and two friends rented a thatched cottage in Ireland for two weeks and really got a feel for the country. They enjoyed Irish stew, fairies knocking on their cottage, a million shades of green, an 11-force gale, ancient sites, and beautiful countryside. They attended their high school reunion in Portsmouth in October, and also went to visit some old camp counselor friends in Seaford, Va.
Marlene Bost Braun and husband Carl went on a two-week tour last summer starting in England, continuing to Scotland, Wales, and returning to London. They enjoyed sightseeing, had outstanding accommodations, and ate delicious meals. Their tour director made the trip very educational with his vast knowledge of the history and geography.
Mary Lou Davis went to Mary Washington through her junior year, married her high school sweetheart, William “Whitey” Clarke, and transferred to U.Va., where she received her degree. They retired to lovely Hilton Head, S.C., 13 years ago and now spend time traveling, boating, and play tennis and lots of golf. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with the families of their three daughters, including five grandsons. Mary Lou and Meredith Puller Townes were high school as well as college classmates; last spring they had brunch together with Meredith’s husband, Jack. She enjoys reading TODAY and hopes to attend our 50th reunion.
Bruce Ritchie Spain visited with Lois Prime Liles last summer, and they took up like it had been only yesterday since they had seen one another. Lois’ husband, Sherwood, passed away two years ago. She is busy with family and takes wonderful trips with friends. Lois looks fabulous and pledges to come to reunion. Bruce is thinking ahead about reservations so we can all stay in the same place. So, be sure to address this issue as soon as the packet arrives! Evelyn Nitti Ewald wrote that she had visited her daughter and family in Richmond and had lunch with Bruce who, coincidentally, sings with the same group as her daughter. They had not seen one another since leaving Mary Washington.
Mary Montague Sikes – an elementary school art teacher, free-lance writer and artist, and possessor of boundless energy – completed a Tapestry for Peace panel for the National League of American Pen Women. The panel, one of about 75 nationwide, was showcased last April at the Pen Women’s annual conference in Denver. The plan is to sew six panels together, creating more than 10 larger panels and, when complete, the art will travel the country. Congratulations, Monty!
Ellen Hertz Hewitt wrote of the tragic deaths of their son, Charles, Jr., and his girlfriend in a house fire in October. The family had gathered the day before to celebrate his birthday by doing an autumn clean up of his yard. It was a beautiful, warm day, and they had lunch on the deck. I cannot imagine their pain and grief, and ask you to remember them in your prayers.
For those of you who didn’t know, Doris Russell Swaringen passed away five years ago.
Okay, devils, see you all in June! Plan to come and celebrate our big 50th! Dig out your old pictures and memories of wonderful days spent at Mary Washington. It will be a great weekend, but only if you are there!
1958
Susannah Godlove
6 Peyton St., Apt 1-E
Winchester, VA 22601
sgodlove@valleyhealthlink.com
Unfortunately, I am unable to submit news for this issue. My mother suffered a stroke in September, and I’ve spent most of my days and evenings assisting her through the recovery process. My mom, who celebrated her 94th birthday in rehab in October, is now at home. Please send me news for upcoming issues.
1959
Edna Gooch Trudeau
8200 St. Peter’s Lane
New Kent, VA 23124
ednanewkent@aol.com
Beth Shochat Cole emailed with sad news about Barbara Boiseau, who died Sept. 27, 2006, after complications from surgery that day. The loss is so very sad. Beth’s happier news is that she has sold her home and moved to Jacksonville, Fla. – something she is very excited about. She was in Tucson, Ariz., for Christmas after a visit with her daughter in Denver.
Dodie Reeder Hruby’s daughter, Liz, is happy her husband has returned safely from Iraq. He will be in the Washington, D.C., area for one to two years while he awaits new orders from the Pentagon. Lois Gaylord Allen remains active on the County Mental Health Board and the Judicial Child Placement Review Board. Her grandson, Marcus, a high school senior, is being courted by many colleges. He has won medals in track at local and state levels, and he is seeded number one at the state level in hurdles. He works as an animator, but he wants to be a social studies teacher like his grandfather.
In June, Audrey Dubetsky Doyle and Tom visited friends in Lorcene, Ore., where she said there are many wineries. In September and October they went to Dana Point and Las Vegas, and spent five days in San Antonio at a reunion with VP-45, a Bermuda-based seaplane squadron that Tom was in 43 years ago. They made some side trips, too, and had a great time. Audrey’s grandchildren are all fine. Audrey and Tom walk more than two miles each morning and see all the gorgeous sunrises. Audrey lost her mother in December, and we all send our condolences.
Mary Carolyn Jamison Gwinn and her mother visited friends and relatives in Virginia for two weeks. All is well for her in Florida – grandson Mason loves kindergarten. Catherine Swaffin Howard sent a super picture of herself with their seven grandchildren.
Celeste Shipman Kaufman and clan have returned from their yearly LSU vs. Alabama game, this year in North Carolina. They also saw Wisconsin play Pennsylvania. They went to Nassau and Vero Beach, took a cruise from Boston to Montreal, and rented a house in Keystone, Colo., for two weeks. Celeste’s husband, Alan, continues to enjoy his golf coaching; they won their last tournament in San Diego. Celeste and Alan’s grandchildren, Smylie and Luckie, are quite the golfers. Smylie, 14, qualified for the U.S. Junior Golf Championship at San Diego’s Rancho Fe Golf Course. Luckie, 12, has been winning his share of junior tournaments. Julie and John’s Austin, 17, came in ninth in cross-country at a state meet and made All-State. He has already heard from the Naval Academy. Granddaughter Francie is in ninth grade and is a cheerleader. Sarah, the youngest, is into piano, dance, and tumbling. Celeste’s daughter, Tammy, is a professor in Orlando where she has textbooks being published. She loves life in central Florida with her three dogs and one cat, and she likes to travel. Celeste saw Pamela Raumitz Laveck in Ponte Verde, had a five-hour lunch with Carol Daehler Leonard in South Dakota this summer. Celeste says both Pam and Carol looked great.
Joan Whittemore Loock’s Jim had hip replacement surgery last January and was on the golf course and pain free in two and one-half months. He does some consulting work for Frito Lay. Joni loves working in a Coldwater Creek store twice a week for fun and a discount. In August, Joni and Jim traveled with friends to Cancun; in October, they spent two weeks at the Royal Hacienda Resort in Playa Del Carmen, and they planned to travel again in February to celebrate Joni’s birthday. Daughter Kristen expects to have her second child in May. Kristie, Chad, and Emily visited in May and the Loocks reciprocated in October. Daughter Sarah’s children are growing quickly and are into sports. Daughter Mandy’s restaurant in Virginia Beach is doing great. Curt, Peggy, and twins Samantha and Amanda had Thanksgiving together. The big news from Joni was the addition to the family of a maltipoo named Minnie – seven pounds of white fluff has stolen their hearts.
Julia Coates Littlefield’s year began with an awesome visit to her ancestral home, Oakwood, in Warrenton, Va. Oakwood was a wedding gift to her great-great grandmother in 1805, and it was sold out of the family more than 100 years ago. The new owners, a French couple who have restored it and the adjacent property containing the family graveyard, hosted Julia and Mo and served them a five-course meal. The couple showed them the graves of Julia’s 19th-century ancestors, John and Betsy Scott. The person who introduced the Littlefields to the new owners after all these years was Kay Rowe Hayes!
There was a Littlefield mini reunion in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., in February. Daughter Bess, Mike, and Jack Henry visited from Mechanicsville. Eighth-grade Jack Henry is straight-A student and is active in sports and woodworking. Son Scott, Susan, and Chris visited from Augusta, Ga. Chris, at 5, likes to draw. The Littlefields keep busy with church, where Julia’s commitment to the adult and children’s choir remains unabated.
The Littlefields had a visit from Mary Massey and Jack Meiners in the spring.
Mary and Jack’s highlights for the year were supporting the University of Maryland’s women’s basketball team and watching their NCAA championship games on campus. Their best Elderhostel this year was Las Vegas, the least enjoyable was San Francisco with poor weather, a crowded city, and worse, but, they said, the lecturer was fabulous. They spent two weeks in Oregon and Washington with Jack’s family, where they had a spectacular hike with views of the Columbia River, snow-covered mountains, and carpets of wild flowers. In the fall they went on a very nice Elderhostel trip to northern Wisconsin. Mary has been hiking almost every Sunday for 37 years. They continue to take classes at University of Maryland Legacy College and attend a wide variety of performances from classic to country. They so enjoy being with Jack’s children, their grandchildren, and their dog. Jack sings and plays the harmonica at a nearby senior center and Mary is in her 14th year as a volunteer for the Audubon Naturalist Society. They are looking forward to an Elderhostel program in Key West and the Everglades, and then a trip to Corning, N.Y. They will also attend the biennial Appalachian Trail Conference in mid-summer in Mahwah, N.J.
Kay Rowe Hayes reported good news: her daughter, Kathy, is recovering from cervical cancer. Hallelujah!
Sally Warwick Rayburn and Jim finally quit living on their boat in February and moved into their new house in Cape Coral, Fla. They interrupted their unpacking, settling in, and landscaping for their annual trip to Hawaii. It rained the first two weeks, but the second two were back to normal. In May, they went to Greensboro for the graduation of oldest granddaughter Stephanie – Steve and Cindy’s daughter – who now attends Wake Forest. She is a member of a dance company and is in a theater group. On their return, they visited son Dick; his wife, Angie; Kelly; and Hannah in Smithfield, and they later saw friends in North Carolina and Tennessee. Daughter Ginny’s children are fine: Sarah Kate is into soccer, Andrew and Samantha are taking tennis lessons.
Anne Saunders Spilman wrote that all was well with everyone. Anne Watkins Steves and Bob have eight grandchildren ranging in age from 18 months to 22 years! Son Bruce’s daughter, Sarabeth, is a National Merit Scholar. Anne and Bob had a fabulous trip to Provence, France, in June with two weeks of exploring on their own, eating wonderful food, and hearing good music. In August, they went to daughter Linda’s condo in New Hampshire, and then visited with son Bill’s family in Vermont. In August, they attended the Four Corners Folk Festival.
Priscilla Brown Wardlaw was at the Jersey shore when Hurricane Ernesto blew in – quite an experience. She stays busy with the vestry at church and in community activities. Since her 96-year-old mother is not driving, Priscilla takes her everywhere. Son Chris and Rioca have a lovely duplex in Tokyo. Son Bob gets home fairly often from Naples, Fla.
Charlotte Wohlnick Wiggs and Archie spent three weeks in New Zealand, and also took trips to Lake Placid, Niagara Falls, and Ohio. Daughter Tracey, Andy, Molly, and Anna moved to Iowa. Charlotte and Archie have visited them as well as sons Alan and Dale in North Carolina. Charlotte and Archie went to their annual apple butter-making trip to Turner’s Farm, visited some army friends, attended Charlotte’s 50th high school reunion, and also managed a visit to the Williamsburg Inn this year.
Jane Tucker Broadbooks planned to spend Christmas in Utica.
Eleanor Markham Old’s Arthur wrote that Jim is still working as a Booz Allen Hamilton consultant and getting the U.S. Navy on the right track! He completed his service as vice president of the Mallory Country Club and continues with the lacrosse league as well as coaching soccer and lacrosse. Jim’s wife, Beth, graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in nursing to go along with her degree in architecture. She practices at King’s Daughter Hospital. Grandsons Parker, 13, and Tyler, 12, are into soccer and lacrosse. Arthur still participates in the Sons of the Revolution, does some substituting at the Lancaster County Career and Tech Center, and still does a little flying.
Gloria Winslow Borden took a trip to Anarctica last January. She described the beauty of Ushuaia, the mountains, the deep blue skies, glaciers, icebergs, watching birds, seals, penguins, and whales. She hopes to move to an over-55 community in mid-2007. In March, she traveled to Hawaii with daughter Cynthia, Rob, and the three grandchildren. In July, she underwent surgery on three herniated disks in her neck. She is doing fine. During the year she took trips to New York City, the beach, Wintergreen, Calif., and Texas. She visited Cynthia’s family in Houston, where they were joined by daughter Caroline and Cliff. Gloria planned to spend Christmas in San Francisco.
Irene Piscopo Rodgers is working only two weeks a month, mostly along the East Coast. She and Don filled the slack in her work with lots of tennis, social travel, and company. She took her Lake Tahoe ski trip, went to Las Vegas in January, and to Malta in May. In October, they cruised on the Veendam to Key West, Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Unfortunately, Don suffered a heart attack this year, but now he has a pacemaker and is choosing his trips. Irene tore her rotator cuff and opted for physical therapy – she is passing with flying colors due to her belief in mind over matter.
Geraldine Jenks Winston and Addison have moved into a retirement home in Daleville, though they still have their home in Roanoke.
More than two years ago, Jane Howard Buchanan and Peter outgrew Vermont and moved to a retirement center with 425 interesting residents in Charlottesville. Dodie Reeder Hruby and Dale have visited them, as did Nancy Lanford Carr and Al and Ann Pittman Whittington. Jane has spoken with Martha Blake Cooper, who lives near Wintergreen. Her husband, Charlie, is in a nursing home.
Barbara White Ellis is maintaining life on the farm with many “boarders” – her two horses, two dogs, and six cats.
Barbara Bardnt Miller closed down her large barn and has reduced her livestock to three horses and six dogs. Ending a 40-year business has been quite an ordeal, not only with equipment but with emotional ties. She has been doing a lot of biking everywhere, including trails in Pennsylvania. She has continued to show her 2-year-old pony filly, Rosee. She traveled to Ocean City, N.J., for two weeks in September, and then in October she went on a disaster aid trip to New Orleans. Barbara does a lot of gardening and continues to judge hunter trials.
As for me, I did not do a very good job on my Christmas notes this year, but I thank you so very much for all the kind and caring cards you sent. I lost my sweet, old Tom on December 23. He just wore out. Much to our surprise and shock, the cancers were invading everywhere. He tried his best. He stayed at home, which was his wish. He was lucid, brave, and accepting to the end. I know others of you have suffered this experience, but I must express to you how much my old heart is broken.