Dottie Snyder Engle

301.371.5170
dengle3699@aol.com

Bobby Campbell Rickman contributed to the RLEEF(Resident Life Enrichment Endowment Fund) which is to provide experiences to residents at Homewood, a retirement community in Frederick. She gives money and also time spreading sunshine and delivering mail.  Jo Cissel Doyle‘s beloved husband Jim died suddenly February 2018.  She is slowly adjusting to “singledom” and contemplating life’s changes. Jo is still active with activities and organizations in Salisbury and has the support of family, but they are not in close proximity. Marcie Smith White and husband, Derek, were downsizing and ready to move into Pennswood, a retirement community in Newtown, PA, after years of being on the waiting list, when Derek died suddenly in December of 2015. Marcie left their home since 1977 and moved on and has found friends and worthwhile issues in which to be involved including peace, social justice and continuing learning. Their one son, a twin, died of pneumonia at age 45 and the other twin got married to a gal whose mom is a Hood alum. Marcie keeps in touch with Mary Batten Preston who lives in Wilton, CT, and Verna Larson Lyons. Verna reports that they found a condo (2900 Redmont Park Circle, #200, Birmingham, AL 35205). They have traveled to Perth, Australia and Indonesia, Lake Tahoe, Chicago, New York, and spent Christmas in Redondo Beach, CA, with their son. Sue Colton Gibbons has settled in Norwood, MA, with her daughter and three grandchildren. Her title is Granny Nanny which involves transporting, shopping, cooking, laundry and delightful times. She’s active in church, teaching ESL to two adults from Brazil, and home schooling one of her 11 year olds. She would like to catch up with others in the Boston area. Kathy Anderson Houchens and Dave attended our 55th Hood reunion in June 2018, and visited family and friends up and down the East Coast. First stop after Frederick was WV to see Kathy’s sister and husband for a mountain top experience on Lookout Ridge. Then on to friends in Wilson, NC, and on to Durham, NC, with a visit with daughter, Janet, and Ed.  In August, they had a lovely trip to New England and in September were in San Diego where they caught up with Brenda Eklund Pearson.  Then they traveled back to DC, for the Prostate Conference.  Nancy Craven Jacobus sold her home in Elon. She is still near the Elon campus and her old activities. Her main activities are yoga, quilting and trying to help her retirement center get their computer websites up to date and into the modern age. She and her family really enjoyed the Christmas festivities. In June, our class celebrated our 55th reunion, and like the past several reunions, everyone was invited to the Engle Inn for Friday evening dinner on the deck and catching up. We had about 20 in attendance, sadly missing our host, Ron. Gail Kloeblen Spertzel was about to take a 14 day cruise when the apartment beneath her caught fire, and she had to deal with smoke damage.  She was able to get her travel stuff out first and while she was away, the apartment got cleaned.  Cindy Klopp Butler, flew down from Ottawa and spent six nights with me during the reunion before I delivered her to her brother who met us in Annapolis. Cindy and I visited Lin Chait Solomon and her family at a brunch where we got to meet her children and sister Jo. Her one daughter had already had two kidney transplants and was awaiting another. Her granddaughter also was on the transplant list.  Dottie Hussennetter Ritz came and spent three nights, overlapping with Cindy.  I see Diane Lawson Hadermann once a month at our high school dinner. Lois Baumgardner Spurrier has been having a lot of health problems and looking for a retirement placement. Mary-Verdella Wagner Nelson has many challenges due to Paul’s declining health and other matters, but handles all with grace and is buoyed up by the love of her three fantastic grandsons. Zabbie Huff Quinn reports that the riots in Paris have been close to them, but not on their street.  They were off to London to have Christmas with their two daughters and their families.  Sarah Schaeffer Morse is busier than ever helping her middle sister who had complications from knee surgery and a broken leg where she had been living in NC.  Sally gets help from other family members and her sister is now in a full care unit near Sally.  A new granddaughter will enter the Morses’ lives in February, 2019, and will join her brother thanks to daughter, Ellen. I, Dottie Snyder Engle, recovered from my broken right hand and elbow that I incurred in January 2018 and a shattered vertebrae in July, so that Robin and I were able to go on a 16 day trip to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.  Great trip, but I feel it was overshadowed by our trip to southern AZ in September.  We flew into Phoenix, spent four days there including visiting Scottsdale, Taliesen West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home then drove to Tucson for six days visiting all the national parks, botanical gardens and driving within seven miles of Mexico to see the organ pipe cacti at Organ Pipe National Monument. We plan to go back one spring and hope to find the cacti blooming, See America first! On December 14, 2018, the basketball court at Middletown High was officially dedicated to Ron with his signature on both sides of the court.  I have sent the remarks that I made, a video and some news articles to some of you who knew him best. If anyone else would like any of these, let me know. He spent a great amount of his time there and loved almost every minute.  We had a joke that he loved basketball more than me, and he said, “But Honey, I love you more than track.”  Stay upright, out of hospitals and keep on truckin’.