1966
Dianne Beebe Barske
eldibarske@gmail.com

Gathering news can create such a mixture of sadness and joy. It was with a great jolt of sadness that I learned of the passing of Laurie Wheeler Brown. Laurie died on May 8, 2019 at her home in Melbourne, FL, where she had managed the Museum Store and the Museum’s national and international travel program, and had served as president of the Board of Trustees. Following her retirement from the Museum in 2003, Laurie and her husband Fayette (Brownie) split their time between Florida and their second home in the mountains outside Asheville, NC. She and Brownie had been married for 53 years and have a daughter Melissa of New Orleans, LA, and a son Alexander, of Leicester, NC. Many of us at Hood will remember Laurie rushing off to visit Brownie many weekends at Yale, or heading off to the stables to ride. I am very grateful for the time I had with Laurie during our 50^th reunion three years ago. We had a long walk together to downtown Frederick on a hot Saturday afternoon to get ice cream, visiting, and sharing much laughter on the way. Words of happy developments in their lives came from five classmates. Sarah “Sally” Bruce has taken up both the banjo and the hammered dulcimer! She is also a quilter, working on a queen-sized quilt. And since moving to Vermont, she’s been painting some barn quilts for the outside of her home. “I have a lovely upstairs guestroom if anyone is ever in the area and would like to stop by.” Sally is teaching classes online in advanced scientific writing and medical technology, and enjoying gardening more now that she has two bionic knees. Mary Marguerite Melville totaled up her family members for us. “My four children are doing well, and I have nine grandchildren and five greats!” Mary still teaches one day a week, working with gifted children in a small school district in Northern KY. Other activities include babysitting a granddaughter and ushering at a theater in downtown Cincinnati for Broadway shows, the symphony and local theatre. Betty Schmidt Martin is another grandmother babysitting a granddaughter. “Harold and I just spent a week in Orlando, FL babysitting 3-year-old granddaughter, Mackenzie, while daughter-in-law, Serena, gave birth to 9 lb. 4 oz. Bryce Cameron Martin.” To be closer to this growing family, they purchased a condo in New Smyrna Beach, FL, just two blocks from the ocean. Son Chad and his wife Kori have four children and live north of Austin, TX. Daughter, Suzanne, is a traveling physical therapist. Betty and Suzanne try to travel abroad once a year, to the Galapagos Islands most recently. Betty also went to Normandy with a Hood College tour. She enjoyed it so much, she hopes to go on another Hood tour. One of the fun aspects of putting together this column is going back and forth with classmates who respond, sharing Hood memories. Carolyn Wyckoff Platt and I both have memories of art history courses at Hood. You may remember her as Cammy. She explains, “I was Cammy only at Hood.”  She’s continued her interest in art history, visiting art museums and spending a month each year with husband Andy in Paris. That’s where they met almost 50 years ago. “I’ve never used my French professionally, but it has added so much to my quality of life. Yay, Hood!” Carolyn was emailing from a family trip. “Andy and I are now at Point O Woods on Fire Island with my children and four grandchildren – no cars here on the island, only bikes and wagons – and sailing with no motors!” (I’m still smiling over our shared memories of art history professor, Miss Randolph, and taking notes from her slides, in complete darkness.) Kenni Ward Pinckard shared her news from her home in Gainesville, FL where she, like Sally, has offered a guestroom to Hood classmates. She states that she and husband Tom “have a good life there” and adds “Tom has coffee and lunch with former golfing pals and builds model boats in the back bedroom. I swim in an aerobics class, volunteer at church and attend ILR – Institute of Learning in Retirement – classes.” It truly does sound like a “good life”. Highlights of recent months have been attending grandson Kyle’s graduation from Texas A and M, and traveling to Italy to visit grandson, Matthew, during his semester in Rome, studying civil engineering, also with Texas A and M.