Winter 2019 News

Liz (Sylvester) Simons checked in last fall after reading the latest news column. She and Bill have lived in Arlington, VA since 1975. Both are retired now, Liz from a career in clinical and community social work, followed by a stint as a jewelry designer. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in March and will mark the occasion with a trip to Egypt in November. Christy (Lundt) Lambertus continues to work full-time as an estates and trust lawyer in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, but can do so at her own pace, leaving plenty of time for travel – most recently to the Basque area of Spain and France. To any classmate embarking on a cruise, Christy will be happy to provide transportation from hotel to port. Val (Dietz) Polansky and Gary follow the philosophy – Do it while you still can! Hence, in the summer they took a 39-day trans-Atlantic cruise from St. Petersburg, FL to St. Petersburg in Russia! They returned home via Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Iceland. In the fall they jumped in their RV and drove to the west coast and back, through 29 states, racking up over 6600 miles. Whew! In December Margaret Dunkle coordinated and emceed a Tribute to (deceased) Arvonne Fraser, an early advocate to end sex discrimination, and international leader for women’s rights, at the Woman’s National Democratic Club in Washington, DC. In addition to Master Gardening, knitting, and participating in two book clubs, Marty (Silcox) Hankins has been politically active since 2016 and quite involved in the 2018 midterm elections, registering voters and serving as an election judge. After a hiatus of over 45 years, Pat (Warren) Carlson has taken up bridge again, playing with members of her local AAUW chapter and bringing back memories of long sessions back in the smoker in Memorial. She also practices yoga with Hood alum, Cookie Bolig, with whom she worked at the Delaware Dept. of Education. Jill Stanley proudly reports that she is finally a grandmother! Daughter Rayna and husband Bill welcomed Emmet Barry Green on Feb. 25, 2018. His baby brother is due in May 2019. Virginia (Pagan) Schragel’s family now includes 18 grandchildren (some “steps”) plus one great-granddaughter and another on the way. Many live near her in the Phoenix area, others in Indiana and North Carolina. Ginny has had to give up horseback riding for now due to health issues, but hopes to be back in the saddle soon. Chris Diehl continues to teach as an adjunct at Gateway Community College. She also dabbles in watercolors and is active in her church. She stays in touch with Marya Rusinak, who is a Pilates instructor and plays in a recorder group which performs in the Cincinnati area. Carole (Downing) Staton and Roy were thrilled to have the entire family gather together for Christmas – the first time in 6 years. Son Andrew was promoted to Major in the Air Force. Carole pinned on his insignia at the ceremony at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX in November. They spent Thanksgiving with daughter Jennifer and Craig in their new home, doting on Austin (7) and Quinlynn (18 months). Cindy (Kannapel) Weiss and Glenn have plenty of opportunities to interact with their grandchildren, teenager Bryn and little ones, Will and Amelia. They look forward to their annual escape from the harsh Pennsylvania winter and another stint in Marco Island, FL, this time for 5 weeks of fun in the sun. As for me, Sayre (Roney) Steere, I’m slowly getting acclimated to life in the Pacific Northwest. Turns out moving was a wise choice, judging from what happened to Panama City, FL in the wake of Hurricane Michael. I’ve taken up pickleball and serious hiking – the trails (and views) around Mt. Rainier are breathtaking. In October we made another cross-country Tesla trip to USNA where Dave and the other 68’ers celebrated their 50th reunion. It was fun to see Jane (Ronald) Raglin and Barbara (Hussennetter) Larsh ’70 at the various events. Next for Dave and me – a wedding! Daughter Doris got engaged at Christmas and will be married in July, just a few days shy of our 50th anniversary.

Sue Auger Manory lives in Canton, NY and is involved with the North Country Children’s Museum located in Potsdam, NY.  She also teaches a class in the First Year Program at St. Lawrence University called “Smarter Living” which has a health/wellness theme with a focus on nutrition, using her Hood degree.

HUGE NEWS: Kellye Greenwald is now our Hood College Director of Alumni and Constituent Engagement!  Her kids are happy and healthy: daughter Zoe is living with her partner in Tumwater WA. and is the Director of Youth Services for a home for displaced/foster teens while son Ed is living in Gainesville with plans for nursing school next fall. Her email is greenwald@hood.edu – have Hood ring will travel!  If you’d like to host an Alumni gathering or event in your area, please email Kellye!

Joanna Kaldes-Kontanis’ older daughter Alissa graduated from Drexel law school studying for the bar exam. Her younger daughter Hanna will be working at Lancaster General Hospital after graduation this spring. She and her husband Kosta celebrated their 30th anniversary this year.

Patty Kenyon Grimm and Chris celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in June and are enjoying the downsized empty-nester life in Batesville, VA. Patty is a Patient Relations Representative at the UVA Medical Center and Chris is semi-retired from State Farm. Their son Beck and daughter-in-law Ellie recently moved to Colorado Springs, CO. Patty continues her work as a victim impact speaker for MADD. To read her story visit: https://www.traumasurvivorsnetwork.org/pages/patty-s-story.

Betsy Reed Ringel had a busy year! She and husband Jeff traveled to Dallas, Laguna Beach & VA Beach as well as Amsterdam & Brussels to meet up with daughter Elise who was studying in Sweden. In October, their son Chad got married in Baltimore with Jennifer Lee Matts and Jane Brophy Martinez in attendance.

Susan Waltz Hietpas started Simply Amazing, a non-profit foundation, inspired by the love and loss of her daughter Emily. Simply Amazing provides art and craft supply boxes to children living in homeless shelters or participating in at-risk youth programs. Visit SimplyAmazing.org to learn more.

Robyn Whittemore lives Avon, CT with her three children. Robyn’s daughter Kori is 16 and is a National Team hockey player; she has twin boys, Garrett and Kyle (13) who play soccer, hockey and baseball.  Robyn continues her career in Contracts in the Aerospace & Defense industry and in her spare time she has started a small manufacturing company called “Whitt’s Whey” – you can order Robyn’s unique and delicious “Proteinola” through her company’s Facebook page.

As for me (Alison Drum Althouse), my husband Michael (USNA86) took a new job with Barclays Bank in Wilmington DE and we now live in Avondale PA, a mile over the Delaware line.  Our older son, Drew Althouse ’12, got married this summer and is an Athletic Trainer for Madonna University, located in Novi, MI. Fun fact: my husband was the officiant for our son’s wedding in Mentor, OH.  Our younger son, Evan, is a Data Scientist with MITRE (doing “math stuff”) and is finishing his Masters from Georgia Tech. I continue to shoot Navy Football and Lacrosse (and sometimes Basketball) for @TheMidReport and love being able to get so close to all the action.  I spent a wonderful beach weekend in August at the home of Stacey Robins Baum with Sarah Bowersox Cody ‘87, Jane Brophy Martinez, Chris Hom Wilson, Jennifer Lee Matts, Betsy Reed Ringel, Alex van Gigch Mores, and Maria Viola Cable ’87.  Marcia Groobert Ortiz visited for a weekend in October and she’ll be here in January for a visit with Janet Drogin Wilson and Teresa Rivera Bean ‘87.  Just before Christmas, I was lucky enough to have a Hood85 dinner with Chris Santrizos Chagaris ‘85 and Meredith McQuoid-Greason ‘85 at the home of Susan Audino, but I missed out on their group’s visit to Longwood Gardens the next day.  There’s really nothing like a HoodLum reunion of any sort.  I always have an available bedroom (we “upsized” with this home) if any friends/classmates want to visit… just let me know!

Laila Grabowsky Bottomly and Kirk have had a great first year of retirement. They traveled to DC, Mexico , Paris and New England and spent a month as campground hosts at Yosemite, among other camping trips. Their two kids (Jenny, Emergency Medicine doctor and Matt, Intellectual Property attorney) are both happily married and have given them 7 grandkids between them. Yet another due in 2019! They keep busy with church, exercise (her 10th year doing Master Swim), local food bank, Master Gardener and home/garden activities. Sacramento area has great weather and they live in a beautiful wooded suburb with rolling hills and dozens of fruit trees. Laila and Kirk are loving each day!

Life is still wonderful south of the border for Rhea Bel-Jon Calkins and Steven. Steven just returned from a daunting swim trek in the sea of Cortez and they are both looking forward to their whale watching adventure in the Baja in February. They are finally at the end of their years of construction and renovations and the silence is heaven. Just when she thought they would kick back for a while, Rhea offered to help a local NGO and there went the kick back. She is now treasurer of Mujeres en Cambio (Women in Change) which evolved into far more time and work than anticipated, but this kind of “work” is a true pleasure. We provide scholarships to 175 under-served girls and young women in the surrounding rural communities.

Jackie Testa Ciminera and Bill now have three beautiful grandchildren.  Their newest, Nathaniel, was born to their daughter Bonnie and her husband at the end of May. Their other two, Ella and Liam, are almost four and almost two, respectively. Bonnie and her family live in New York City and Bill Jr. and his family near them in suburban Philadelphia.

Happily, Jackie reconnected with one of our classmates, Libby Miller, who’s doing well and living not too far from them in Pennsylvania.

KC Henry is downsizing her business and moving toward retirement.  Woooohooo!  She moved her office Into her house and started a pottery studio!  She has been honing her new skills at the very progressive, fantastic and new ceramic department at Hood! She loves taking workshops on our beautiful campus and the enthusiasm and professionalism Joyce Michaud, associate professor and director of the ceramics program. Our old science labs are now ceramic labs – much more fun than those chemistry classes were.

Diana Beck Walters became active in rescuing and training herding dogs after the sudden death of her husband. She found her new passion in flyball, which is a team sport for dogs. She manages and trains a local team (24 dogs, 18 people) in Fayetteville, NC and race just about anywhere she can drive to. Flyball is a wonderful sport for “older” people; her dogs run approximately 25 mph but the handlers do not. If you’re looking for something fun to do with your dog, look up your local Flyball club!

Al Weinberg joined Hood’s Board of Trustees in October and is looking forward to helping President Chapdelaine move the College securely into the future while navigating the difficult issues facing liberal arts colleges. Based on his first series of meetings, he is extremely optimistic about Hood’s outlook. Meanwhile, he is enjoying retirement in their new home at Wormans Mill in Frederick. His daughter gave birth to his first grandson, Turner, a year ago, while his two granddaughters, living in Pittsburgh, keep getting taller and more talkative. Al’s partner Connie Schlee and a friend have mostly completed work to save the Helen Smith studio. He is gearing up for a new project interviewing Vietnam veterans.

Thank you to everyone who shared their news. I continue to work full-time designing the retirement plans for small businesses. My mom, living in South Carolina had massive stroke Mother’s Day weekend and we were so fortunate my brother was visiting at the time. She’s improved a lot but still needs skilled nursing care located in Tryon NC.  On the happy side, my son Matt and his long-time girlfriend Samantha got married in October. Matt, Sam and a group of us went to Cabo and had a great time celebrating, relaxing by the pool, eating great food and drinking margaritas. We survived the October wild fires in Northern California which came within two miles of our house. It’s so nice to live in the mountains, but the California droughts make every summer and fall stressful.  Wishing you, your families and friends the best for 2019. Debbie Page Rath