Allison Horne
610-429-3202
auntieal@verizon.net

Hello classmates….long time, no hear. I hoped to see many of you at our 35th reunion in June!  I have been very remiss in getting reminders out to all of you over the last 18 months so you could send me updates, but I received some in the last week that I wanted to share. Susan Patton Fox and her husband Bob relocated to Northern Virginia in 2007. She sold her law practice in Connecticut and ‘career-switched’ to teaching middle school social studies and language arts. Their oldest daughter Ashley received her master’s degree in theology and catechetics at Franciscan Univ., of Steubenville, Ohio and is now working as a DRE (director of religious education) at Our Lady of Angels in Woodbridge, Va. She and Susan write a blog together: Hopeinlove.org. Their son graduated from Longwood Univ., in Virginia three-years-ago, received his accounting certificate and tried his hand as a professional golfer in Florida, before deciding to go for the young life as a CPA in Manhattan while he was still single. Their daughter Katharine graduated from Franciscan two-years-ago and has been working as a neonatal intensive care nurse at National Children’s hospital in DC. She married Jonathan Boulos last June and was expecting Susan’s first grandchild Lucy in late May! Their youngest Maryjacqueline is due to graduate from Franciscan this year as an elementary education teacher. Susan said they are all incredibly grateful for God’s blessings. Jen Goerk Lyden wrote that last fall, three of her photos were selected for a group show entitled “Five Artists,” at Heaven Gallery in Asbury Park, N.J. One of the pieces sold to a local collector and the curator was her Jr. High art teacher in Ridgewood, N.J.  Diane Cain Proctor has a new job as reading specialist and started her own private tutoring business. She uses the Orton-Gillingham approach to tutor dyslexic students in every grade, K-12. Her three daughters are all on their own now: Alison is 27 and finished a year in the Peace Corps in Namibia and then worked in New Delhi, India for her internship. She finished her master’s degree in May 2014 in intercultural service, leadership and management from SIT, Brattleboro, Vt. Middle daughter Sarah just turned 26, finished her Master’s degree in clinical psychology and lives in Valdosta, Ga., with her husband Andrew who is in the U.S. Air Force. Sarah is now working as a case manager at an out-patient psychiatric hospital. She does psycho-educational/skill building groups, assessments, discharge planning and chart audits. Her youngest daughter Andrea, age 23, just finished college at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y. She loved this college! She majored in psychology and art and would like to explore art therapy options in the future. Diane lives in Massachusetts and has been taking care of her elderly parents, both 83. She has taken up gardening, knitting, crocheting, walking and spending lots of time with family and friends in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Valerie Cerrone Nelson passed on the news that her daughter (Alexandra, age 26) got married in September to Christopher Mann! It was a lovely party and they were thrilled to have Cathyann McCann Ray and Judy Reamer Egan ’81 with them for the event! She really enjoys her new career as a midwife and the practice at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. She said, “Catching babies is wonderful and I love working in women’s health!” Deborah Sheetenhelm Hammond reported that she retired from local government in March 2014 and since that time has published two novels: In the Eye of the Storm and The Big Sky. Both are available through amazon.com, so check them out! She has a third novel, called The English Rose that is available now and has five additional books in development. Jennifer Reinbrecht is a massage therapist in Denver, Colo. After Hood, she headed west for the Mountains, following Carl Kline, Hood’s interdenominational minister, to South Dakota for peace and justice work. She met her husband, became a graduate teaching assistant and earned her master’s degree in Sociology while waiting for her husband to graduate. They have been in Denver for 30+ years, having enjoyed hiking, backpacking, white water rafting in the past and now enjoy road trips, day hikes, gardening and exploring whether and they can afford to retire. They are active Airbnb hosts and have met wonderful people from all over the world.  As for me, I have been with Marsh USA for over 22 years, working in Philadelphia as the finance manager for the Mid-Atlantic offices. I live in an old, historic house in West Chester and love spending time with my family and friends, especially on the Eastern Shore of Maryland or at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Mary Newton Deighan wrote, “Since graduating from Hood in 1980 my life has been filled with raising a family. In the years after our marriage in 1982, my husband Mike and I welcomed nine children into our lives: five daughters and four sons. We learned the art of tag-team parenting and homeschooling, bringing dance, theatre and sports into our lives as well. We’re not quite empty nesters yet as half of the children are still at home, but we’re getting there! Our children have been finding their talents and paths in the world: Justin (age 28) received his bachelor of science degree in physics from the College of William & Mary in 2007 and went on to receive his Ph.D. in engineering physics from the Univ. of Virginia in 2012. He lives with his young family in Boulder, Colo., where he works on the MAVEN mission to Mars at the Univ. of Colorado. Mikaela (age 26) graduated from Christendom College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. She is currently studying the art of Chado (Japanese Tea) at the Midorikai School in Kyoto, Japan. Kathleen (age 24) graduated from Christendom College in 2013 with a bachelor of arts degree in History and is a 2nd grade teacher at St. William of   York in Stafford, Va. Sean (age 22) graduated from Christendom College in 2014 with a Bachelor of arts degree in political science and economics and has found work in the world of retail sales. Madeleine (age 20) is a junior at Christendom College, majoring in political science and economics; she is looking at a 2016 graduation. Veronica (age 18) is graduating from Piedmont Virginia Community College in May 2015 with an associate’s degree and plans to transfer to a four year college. Colin (age 16) is a sophomore in high school and is the first of our children to attend public school doing so in order to participate in team sports. Our daughter Erin (age 14) and son Padraic (age 10) are homeschooled in the 8th and 5th grades respectively and are keeping us young and on our toes! My education and experiences at Hood followed me into my life. I used my German and communication majors to work for German subsidiaries for 10 years and for the past 22 years have been a part-time bookkeeper for a software development company. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Hood theatre and still keep my hand in that creative art by costuming local community theatre productions.”