1963
Dorothy Snyder Engle, P’96
dengle3699@aol.com

Kathie Anderson Houchens reported that she and Dave had a relaxing trip with good weather to England staying out of cities and visiting places like Stonehenge, the Cotswolds, Lake District and Bath. She said that driving on the left took two of them, one to steer and the other to call out directions. They stayed at B and B’s and met lots of interesting people. Big news is Katie has retired! Lin Chait Solomon, M.A.’84, M.A.’95 said she cannot believe it has been more than a year since our 50th reunion. Lin is enjoying having the time to read, lunch, tutor and volunteer at the school where her daughter teaches. Lin’s taken several trips on the Mississippi and a wonderful enlightening trip to Central Europe. She visits grandchildren in Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut. Sue Oster Robinson and Dave have moved from New Windsor, Md., to a retirement community in Pennsylvania. Dottie Hussennetter Ritz and Bob are enjoying their new home that they built to accommodate six children and 12 grandchildren when they all descend at the same time. They stay busy with golf and keep up with their clan. A trip was in the works for Helen Pinckney Schafer and Bill as they spent several days in London before picking up their Princess Cruise for the sail around the British Isles. Mary-Verdella Wagner Nelson  and Paul have a wonderful one-bedroom condo in the north end of Boston not far from the water. They stay busy with their three grandsons and the rest of their family and loads of friends who visit them there and at the cabin retreat in Maine. Paul plays a big role in the management of their condo building. Sue Colton Gibbons traveled to Germany with her church choir to perform concerts, following the steps of Luther, Bach, Handel, Buxtehude and on into what was East Germany. This brings back memories of Sue’s trip with the Hood Choir doing a month of United Service Organizations shows. More military activities for Pat Taylor Santelli as her oldest grandson is off to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Carolyn Matusiewski Cannava, P’87 said the fire in Alaska that burned over an area twice the size of Manhattan was away from her. She visited daughter Tara Cannava ’87 in Seattle and then to Maryland for a visit with her Hood roommate Kathy Roach Hoff  . Carolyn traded Alaskan king crab legs for Maryland crab cakes and found Maryland colder than Alaska! Courtney Womack Pilgrim   reported that Denny, her husband of 52 years, died peacefully at home under Hospice care on April 30, 2014. He fought Myelodysplastic syndrome, a disease of the bone marrow that resulted from previous chemotherapy. As for me, Dottie Snyder Engle, P’96, I’m always busy. Bobby Campbell Rickman, M.A.’75, P’96, Sally Schaeffer Morse and I attended the alumni luncheon to hear that the class of ’64 had raised $87,000. When Dr. Volpe heard this, he said he did not like uneven numbers, so he pledged $13,000. In May Ron and I took a road trip to visit Dottie Hussennetter Ritz and Bob, and experienced their wonderful home and hospitality for several days. We left and arrived at West Point just in time for the last one hour tour of the day. We then traveled to Boston to visit Mary-Verdella and Paul after a great picnic with their daughter’s family and friends. The next trip was a Collette tour in Italy for daughter Robin’s 40th birthday. Heading south, we toured Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri then on to Florence. We visited the Boboli Gardens, the Ponte Vecchio, Gates of Paradise and had a quick trip to Pisa and another short visit to Verona to see the supposed home of Juliet. We loved Venice for the canals and gondola ride and the trip to Murano Island to the glass factory. Our last overnight in Italy was the beautiful Stresa. While there we took a short trip into Switzerland to Locarno and then it was back to reality. To all of our sisters who are suffering from falls, illnesses and other reasons for pain and sadness, we are holding you to our hearts. If I missed any messages you sent, misspelled anything or reported false information, credit me with literary license. We had a suggestion to, perhaps, have an “in between” reunion. I am up for that. Let me know if you are interested.