Muriel Chait Durbin, P’81
310-395-4389
msmuz@aol.com

Sally Hamilton Bundy had a knee replaced last August but is now healthy and keeping busy. She volunteers at an elementary school a few hours a week, exercises and makes quilts. She feels fortunate to have so many of her family living near her, although her youngest grandson is on a two year church mission in the Philippines. Sally has 15 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Ginny Turnbull Hecklinger, P’81, G’08 shared lots of news. She reported that Sue Peters Wirths, M.A.’79, G’13 is doing well. Sandy Newing lives nearby and they get together often. Ginny is on campus often and enjoyed taking part in some of the events for Dr. Volpe’s retirement. She ran into Mera Braungart Coblentz at the Hood Library. Ginny, Sue and Sandy went to Harper’s Ferry for lunch with Carol Oswald Carter, P’80, P’85. Carol and husband Powell are doing well. Ginny reminds us that we have our reunion next year and hopes many of us can get back to Hood, see how well things are going and meet Andrea Chapdelaine, the new president. Sydney Kahn Hamburger, H’93 is now living in South New Jersey on a blueberry farm. Her children all live in New Jersey and have families of their own. She has been a sculptor for the over 50 years. I received a long note from Judy Kreider LeRoy. After graduation, she received a master’s degree in Zoology and taught biology in Linden Hall in Lititz, Pa. Judy moved to Palmyra, Pa., when she and Bill got married. She has three children and four grandchildren. She has worked for a local florist, swims at the Y and plays a lot of bridge. I, Muriel Chait Durbin, P’81, still work as a travel consultant and love to travel. I feel fortunate to be healthy and try to make time to exercise. My third grandchild will be graduating from college soon and the youngest is finishing her first year. I hope the next issue will have more of our class news.

Jean Baker Leister Weikert
717-243-5364

News from Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and Pennsylvania highlighted communications this spring! Jeannie McCarty Bowen and Ray are still in their same Gaithersburg home. Ray is still enjoying dental work. Jeannie is doing photos on the computer and learning to use the iPad.  They are enjoying senior center activities (lectures, museum trips; jeanbo1@verizon.net). Kaye Peterson Boothman is an obviously gifted oil painter, sending a lovely note card with her painting of “Hardwick Center.” Although dealing with health issues, she had time to write and send a newsy letter which is much appreciated. Dorris Smith Radcliffe, although retired from being class reporter relayed a great letter describing her diligence with caring for Rip’s recovery from foot surgery. Another two or three months from April should yield better maneuvering for him. She was attending two high school graduations and three college commencements. Eagle Scout Honor Court prevented their attending the 2014 Hood Reunion. The past year was occupied with keeping in touch with family, friends, homemaking, church and continuing adjustments to eldest son (55) Andy’s disability from non-malignant brain cancer surgery, and ballroom dancing and gardening.  It was great to see Betty Remsburg Decoligny when she visited here in Carlisle. She, too, is dealing with extended health issues with Warren. Betty attended the 2014 Reunion as did Tillie Jacks Sunnygard.  Joan Wagner Tolbert lives nearby in Shippensburg. My grandchildren, ranging in age from 16 to 26 are in Hua Hin, Thailand; Seoul, South Korea; Mansfield College, Pa.; and, Hanover, Pa. I’m thankful for all of the blessings in life which continue to astound me.

Mary-Lou Springhorn Leidheiser
828-693-0630
mlouleid6@gmail.com

Evelyn Bischoff Mitchell proudly reported that her granddaughter has won the highest Girl Scout honor awarded and will be feted at the State Capitol in Massachusetts. That good news helps blunt the sad news of her son’s death from cancer. Betsy Cannen Martin and Jack will be moving to a retirement community in Williamsport, Md., this summer. Natalie Colbert Bowers and her son attended the elegant, farewell party for President Volpe. See how lovely our May Queen looked by checking the Hood website photos. Betsy Dowling Barclay reported, “I spent Easter weekend in St. Mary’s County, Md., visiting my extended family. A grandson is having a destination wedding in Florence, Italy in September. Unfortunately, I am unable to travel there as I am on oxygen 24/7. I’m awaiting the birth of my 1st great-granddaughter.”  Doris Dreller Sosin was honored with The President’s Award from the Santa Monica Conservancy.  Dee, with co-founder Tom Cleys, established the organization in 2002 to preserve the city’s architectural heritage. Dorothy Handley Ewing moved to assisted living after her 97-day stay in the health care unit last fall. “I’m thankful that I had super help from nieces, nephews, friends and stepdaughter. I love my apartment and the political discussions with tablemates at meals.” Von Hepburn Virtue still enjoys theater, concerts and opera in and around Denver, plus weekly visits with her son and his wife. “I’m busy with the daily stock market. Scrabble is a favorite game when I’m not reading. I speak with roomy Claire Enany Trimpey.” Emma Jones Hann is busy volunteering with hospice, serving as a Presbyterian church elder, quilting, caring for her rescue cats and researching Hann genealogy. Joan Kniffin Orozco wrote, “My biggest news is that I have two great-grandchildren. They are such fun; I’m always going over to see them, what a blessing!!” Ruth Matthews Alger has moved back to her eastern Maryland condo, P.O. Box H, St. Michael’s, 221663. Phone: 410-745-3886. Her four children all live nearby. Madge Merkley Ziegler reported, “Jack and I spend six months on Daufuskie Island, S.C. to get away from the snow and ice in Pennsylvania. Our four children and eight grandchildren visit often–the last three are college freshman.” Mary Murrie Hardy reported, “We don’t travel anymore, except to family affairs, and that’s just a short ride away. Bob has heart problems and tires easily. We are proud great-grandparents of three and grandparents of 17. Everyone is healthy and busy; we are blessed.” Betsy Newcomer Payette still sees Barbara Hickman Reynolds, P’80 at Red Hat functions and talks weekly to Carolyn Rusk. “I enjoyed visiting friends in Mississippi in March–a welcome change from our Pennsylvania cold temperatures.” Ann Nygren Greenberg is savoring forsythia blooms after the bleak winter. “No special news but my knees and elbows are still working.” Dody Nygren Wisnom has moved to an assisted living facility. Sam visits every morning to share breakfast with her. Mary Sihler Sauerteig joined your reporter for Easter brunch, does Pilates weekly, volunteers at the Brevard Arts Council, the Brevard Music Center and Philharmonic Orchestra. Kay Spear Feldmann is awaiting the birth of her first great- grandchild in June and another grandchild’s marriage in August. “Excitement! At 84, I feel lucky to be in good health and able to participate in life.” Jane Taggart Whittaker, P’78 has moved from her beach home built by Frank’s father in 1948, to an apartment in Brandywine Senior Living 143 Franklin Ave, Pennington, NJ. 08534. Phone: 609-730-1401. “It’s like coming home.” (Frank and Jane had lived in Princeton for 25 years). She now is near two sons and daughter Sally. Nancy von der Heyde Needham has resigned as a hospital volunteer after 29 years.  “Keeping the home fires burning. Lots of company, mostly college kids. They love the beach (Virginia Beach).  I have 17 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Favorite pastime is fishing off my dock. Talk to Jeanne Zimmerman Gearey, P’79 (my roommate along with Ginny Green McDermott).” Jackie Wakeling is recovering, now at home, from a broken pelvis. She and Jack hope to move to a retirement community in June. Heartfelt sympathy to classmates who have lost their husbands: Dee Dreller Sosin (Rolfe E. Wyer), Ruth Matthews Alger (Shirley Alger), Franne Pickle Wetmore (Orville Wetmore) and to the family of Nancy Howk Forman. I have a new right knee. I joined Natalie Colbert Bowers and Jeanne Zimmerman Gearey, P’79 at Hood for the dedication of the beautiful fountain donated in Jeanne’s honor by her children. Keep in touch!

Eleanore Jackson Knott
843-681-8580
weknott2@aol.com

With very little class news to report I’m thinking that many of you have been in all winter to avoid the “unusual weather.”  Spring is here and I hope we’ll hear from more of you in the future. Ann Cummings den Tex sadly reported the death of her husband last May, multiple myeloma was the cause. Her brother Dave whom some of you remember from Lehigh house parties died in February. Ann fortunately is feeling better after being in and out of the hospital. Our best to her. Mary Lou Hoffman Huff is trying to keep her brain healthy by signing up for a year with Luminosity.com and finds their brain tests and games becoming almost addictive.  Cathie Strachan Upp keeps busy working with two first graders for the Reading Seed program. She still belongs to the Osher Life Long Learning where she takes various courses along with exercising and once-a-week service at the Tucson Med Center. She’ll be off to Iowa and Arizona this fall for two grandson’s weddings while her youngest granddaughter is still at Texas Christian Univ. Sadly her daughter is battling cancer. Pat Knobloch Jones is back in the office after returning from Florida. With 11 other family members, she had toured the wine country of California, the almond country, Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. While I was away last summer, Betsy McCain McAlpine wrote that she and Harry were leaving for a nine day visit with son Ken and family in California. She also reported that Carol Raymond Murray had passed away in June. Our sympathy to her family. Walt and I have enjoyed having family and many house guests here in Hilton Head this winter along with our three weeks in Florida. We keep busy with volunteer work and the usual daily routines. Now we look forward to attending the high school graduations of two of our grandchildren in the Boston area and then we’ll spend the rest of the summer in New England as usual.

Jean Wheatley Hilchuk
407-767-6863
jhilchuk@aol.com

Mal Barnett states she has nothing to report. Margaret Traver Emery is planning on selling her house and changing her location. Her son Nelson is with her at this time. Mildred Geiple Hufnagel’s granddaughter is coming for a visit. Her son lost part of his leg. Betty Black Newport is back in her own home. She is receiving meals on wheels. Millie Easterbrook Patzig is still in her lovely home in North Carolina. She has help come in to help her. Emma Vonderheide Rhoderick is enjoying her new home on the Chesapeake Bay. She is near her son.  Phyllis Fine Soza and her husband are doing well. They take walks, but they are not as long as they used to be. Janet Louise Coblentz Cover is still in Frederick living in a retirement center.  She wishes that more of us had come to our 70th reunion. Erma Stull Grove, Ginny Gambrill Hendrickson, P’72 and Buelah Munshower Sommer that lived at the same retirement center have all passed away in the last year. Nancy Ogden Carson and her husband live in a retirement center in New Jersey.  Their daughter who lives in Montana is coming for a visit. Gert Flagg Dalzell still lives in her home. She drives in the local area, but does not make long trips. Mary Lou Chorley Touart has two daughters that are actresses. Mary Lou is still editor of their local paper at her retirement center. Gladys Reinert Aungst broke her hip. Helen Stottler Leaver has started her biography. Jean Wheatley Hilchuk is in a retirement center in Florida and goes in the outdoor pool daily as that is the only place she can walk.

Hood College Class of 1978 Grreat in ’78!

Hi all, I have taken on the role of class reporter, you can reach me anytime at klsandman2002@yahoo.com. You can also “check-in” on fellow classmates on our Facebook page or our Hood College site page.

I have been as you all- amazed at how time “Flies” weren’t we all just standing and throwing up mortarboards yesterday?!? I am back in hometown- Waynesboro, PA. After a career as MSW-family therapist I have traded in one desk for another at the Construction office beside hubby Herb. Son, Brian (Virginia Tech) is married with one darling baby girl, self employed, in Indiana. Son Matt (Academy of Art) is married with adorable 2 y.o. son and self employed in San Fran area. Daughter Katie (JMU) is a nurse in Roanoke; very happy and beautiful! Although some may call Herb and me “empty nesters” we have 2 horses, 3 labs, and 2 cats that disagree.

I have heard from a few of you and hope to hear from more by Winter Issue.

Jo-Ann Bourguignon shared some sad news- I just learned that my Hood roommate, Eileen Rafferty Lebherz, passed away on May 6, 2015, from breast cancer.

Please keep her family, husband Joe, and Luke, Emma and Jane in your prayers.

Suzanne Bohn Richardson sadly reported that her mother, Catherine Bohn died March 12, 2015; our sympathies are with the family.

Martina (Crum) Martin identifies that “I am back in college J As an official empty-nester I decided to get my ECE Teacher Certification in California. I am enrolled at Folsam Lake College her in northern California and will have completed my first semester on May 19^th. I am enjoying all my classes; but had forgotten how much work is involved!” Martina writes that she’ll receive her certification in thin December2015

“Hal and I are adjusting to life sans enfants!” She had a visit to Sausalito to celebrate birthdays and met up with friends for high school to hike the Muir Woods and “general tomfoolery” including a visit to Chateau Montelena (made famous in the movie “BottleShock”).

A foodie group from Sacramento ‘Farm to Fork’ movement is following the careers of the Voltaggio brothers (Michael here in CA and Bryan in Frederick) “we have bragging rights with them because of Hood College in Frederick near Bryan’s restaurant ‘VOLT’.”

She sends greetings to all and an invite to stop by if visiting West Coast.

Lynette (Cuthbertson) Smith informs us: Last June I retired from public education after a  36 year career as an educator.  During that time I taught first grade, third grade, and was a reading specialist for a K-6 elementary building in the Parkland School District in the suburbs of Allentown.   Next I worked as an Elementary Curriculum Coordinator and Language Arts Coordinator for grades K-12 in the East Penn School District.  I ended my career as an elementary principal in both the East Penn and Parkland School Districts.  I was so blessed to have such a rewarding career!  In the fall, I began to volunteer in the Allentown School District two days a week providing intervention instruction for 4 groups of primary students.  I also began a second career as an instructor in the Education Department for Penn State Lehigh Valley, teaching Language and Literacy courses.  I will continue my work at Penn State Lehigh Valley full time next year as an instructor for freshman composition and rhetoric courses.

My husband Mark and I will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary in September.  Lauren (Wagner University), our oldest, has recently started a social media marketing business in Allentown, PA called Eleven Eleven Social and our son Alexander, who recently graduated from George Washington University is working in commercial real estate in Manhattan. Mark continues his work in real estate development in the Allentown area as well as in Manhattan. He is currently on the Board of Directors for MANAR, the Manhattan Board of Realtors, Mark and I are fortunate to have time to travel , and also spend time in Manhattan and Seabrook Island, South Carolina.

I see my Hood roommate, Susan Dornbusch Sohn, a few times a year.  Susan is also retired from a career in education and travels extensively.  For the past few years she has traveled to Nicaragua with her church to teach Bible School to young children and in May of this year, she is traveling to China to teach English to college students.  Susan’s daughter Betsy, teaches third grade in  Baltimore County and her son Andrew  graduated from St. Mary’s College and lives and works in St. Mary’s City, Md.  with his wife, Jessica and their two beautiful young children, Grace and Luke.  Susan substitutes regularly for the Baltimore County School District and spends a lot of time at her home in Ocean City, Maryland.  Susan and I have met up with another Hood graduate, Linda O’Connell Fansler, in Ocean City and in Frederick on a few occasions.  Linda, her husband Rod, and her daughter Grace live in Columbia, Maryland.

Tonya Finton shares: I retired from the Federal Government last April and am loving my new life!  Keeping busy with volunteer work, house projects and travel.  We spent Christmas in Florence Italy with our youngest son who is doing his Junior Year Abroad there, had a fabulous time.  I will get to see him again in London in April for his spring break.  Enjoyed a wonderful trip this past year to Palm Beach, Florida and San Francisco with husband.  I’ve been up to Hood recently and enjoyed seeing Nancy Gillece ’81, and have seen Linda Crites and Carol Lipson Fivozinsky for dinner with our husbands.  Life is good.

Earl ‘Frank’ Miller communicates from Florida:  My major was economics with a lot of “electives” in many other areas, from several law courses to one in home econ. I wanted to get a very wide variety of exposure. My major and position when I retired don’t quite mesh.  After almost 31 years with “the company”[IBM] my position was Advisory Engineer/Scientist and my job was (ready for this title?)  Personal Systems Entry Systems Division Engineering Change Manager. Too long to put on a business card, so I dropped the title, besides, I couldn’t bank or eat the title. Having started a family rather late, my third grandchild presented himself last December, bringing the total to two grandsons and one granddaughter.  I try my best to spoil, and be involved with them.

Nancy (Newman) Thevenet sends greetings and lets us know: Rick and I lived in Rye, N.Y. and Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. before moving up to Lenox, Mass. last July.  Being ”Empty Nesters”, we decided it was a great time for a move.  Rick has a wonderful new job with Berkshire Bank and we love this area of the country.  I am still in touch frequently with Lisa Muran, Margaret Harrison and Priscilla Graham.  I share news at Christmas with Maggie Lindsay and Bev Greenwood and am on Facebook with a few ”Hoodies”.  Our three children are doing well – no marriages yet.  Sadly, my father passed away in 2009 and my mother passed in 2012.  I miss them dearly.  Love to all!!

Kathy Reichbach shares: We had a great 35th reunion in 2013, and missed those classmates who were unable to attend.  It was so much fun to catch up on each other’s lives and talk about how our perceptions of others at the time we were at Hood were not necessarily true.

I finally realized my dream of attending law school, graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004.  I stayed in St. Louis after graduation.  I’m licensed in Missouri and Illinois, and have had a variety of legal experience ranging from clerking in federal court to private practice.  Currently, I’m working for a small firm doing insurance defense work, which is way more interesting than it sounds.

Susan (Dornbusch) Sohn was in St. Louis for a conference in July 2013 and we were able to arrange to meet for dinner one evening.  I would love to see anyone else if you find yourself here for any reason in the future.

Social media has made it so much easier to stay in touch with far flung friends.  I look forward to the next reunion and finding out where we will all be in 2018.  I truly treasure the memories of my Hood years and am grateful beyond words for the education and friendship that began in Frederick.

Lori Rehrer Garonski informed me that we do have a Hood College Class of 1978 Facebook page so let’s “keep in touch” there too, post those pics!!

Susan (Smith) Smith shares: ‘My husband Darby and I  love living in Hagerstown, MD after a recent move. It is close to Frederick, but without the taxes. There is a lot to do here and we have been to several performances at the MD Theatre. Our son Darby and his wife Dawn are living in San Antonio, TX and love it. Our daughter Catherine is a NICU nurse at Bethesda Naval hospital, she amazes me everyday. Our niece Anna has been accepted to Hood, has visited the campus and is hopefully making her decision soon.’ It would be great to have her go to Hood, although they don’t consider it a ‘legacy’ unless it is a daughter or grand daughter (at least not in terms of tuition help).

Sue (Stillwell) Tyng updates that she and husband Rick have moved to Kent Island, Md., to boat and golf. She is working part time with a Builder in their area as a Selections designer. Their daughters are married and Sue has 2 grandchildren.

Patricia Zigler-Wachter sends: Here’s my latest news:

My son, Thomas, has a Criminology and Criminal Justice degree from UMD, College Park.  He is a specialist in the US Army.  He is stationed out of Ft. Gordon, GA and is currently deployed to Kuwait.  I’m hoping he’ll be able to make it home to visit sometime in the fall.

My daughter, Kirsten, has a Business degree from UNC, Wilmington.  Her husband, Sgt. Randall Teal, recently returned from Iraq, his fourth deployment.  She is an assistant manager for Reed’s Jewelers in Wilmington, NC.

Since the passing of my husband in 2013, I continue to live in our house in Frederick, with my two dogs, Kota and Kam, a lab/cur mix and a plott hound, great companions.

Friends and I get together for dinner occasionally, including Lois Roney, ’76, our big sister class, who lived in the same dorm, Shriner.  For the classmates who don’t live or visit Frederick, the campus of HOOD has changed tremendously.  They should take a look.

Thank you all for sharing.

Kathie (Brownie) Sandifer

 

 

 

 

Sara “Sally” Zimmerman
813-971-8390
revsaraz@aol.com

From Betty Appel Bailey: “Nothing has changed …. fortunately. All is well.”

From Jane Bollman: “Teaching art classes and taking art workshops, two book clubs, two bridge clubs, occasional R&R at our little one-room cabin in Tidewater Virginia, and some travel out of the country keeps me out of trouble.” Jane’s April update: “I’m happy to emerge from a long cold winter so I can go outside and do some plein air painting.”

Marjorie Simmons Carlson: “Bill and I have reached a new family “milestone”: our granddaughter, Molly, junior at MD U in Elementary Ed, will be married July 11.***Our grandson, Christopher, Jr., will graduate from George Washington Law School in May.” signed “L.L.” (aka “Library Lady”)

Ann Holmes Flatt observes: “2014 was a wonderful year, filled with many happy family gatherings, several travel adventures and good health. Our three ‘kids’ are all well, engaged in various activities and trying to keep up with their kids, our 5 grandchildren! The oldest grandson, 20, is now a sophomore at William and Mary. Youngest grand twins are now 4 and we are lucky to have them living not far from here. We enjoy frequent times spent with our special needs daughter who lives in a nearby town. Our RV continues to bring us on amazing trips and adventures throughout the US. Having left it in AZ for the winter, we drove it home to MA travelling through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut – so many beautiful sites. We loved every mile!

Here winter is throwing us an impressive punch. With today’s latest storm we have a good five feet of while fluffy snow. (Ann’s update on 2/19/15: “We’re now up to 8 feet, 9 inches.”) We have been enjoying some wonderful skiing on our local Mount Wachusett Ski Area and cross country skiing and snow shoeing on many nearby trails. Tonight’s temps will plummet to below zero – a bit less fun! More snow is expected in the next few days with ‘significant accumulation’. So far I’m still loving it! At the end of Feb. we are travelling to Switzerland for 10 days to surprise JP’s brother on his 80th birthday. In late March we are going to Mexico with one of our grandsons, continuing our plan to take each grandchild on a trip when they reach 16. I am still singing with the Worcester Chorus now rehearsing Bach’s St John’s Passion for our next concert and also enjoy taking a painting class at the Worcester Art Museum.”
From Caroline Fischer Giles: “Other than surviving severe winter storms here in New Hampshire, we have been planning our trips for the year ahead. We are scheduled to go to Monterey, CA in March to visit our son and daughter-in-law Katy. This June we plan to be in Brazil (Sao Luis) visiting with another daughter-in-law’ s family and then in September, a house exchange with our cottage is planned for Normandy, France. We are fortunate to enjoy good health and try to stay in shape using the fitness center at UNH. I still love my work with the UNH Marine Docent Program and Brian continues his work with environmental issues at the state and local level. One of the greatest joys these past few years, has been our times with our grandchildren, Brenon (3 and 1/2) and Benjamin, (1and 1/2). As you might guess, we are the oldest grandparents of the youngest grandchildren, and we are thoroughly enjoying our roles as Nana and Grandpa.”
Sunny Griffin writes from Thailand: “Our year has been pretty wonderful with my oldest daughter, Kelly, getting married in a fabulous wedding at the home of a billionaire on the beach in Malibu in September. Kelly is a movie producer, she married an agent, and the wedding was a gift from the billionaire. It was like a Hollywood dream come true ….. followed immediately by a 2 week trip to China for my husband and me. The Chinese importer of my skin care line, Astara, invited us to Beijing and Shanghai to do PR for the product line and treated us like celebrities the entire time we were there. There are 300 million WEALTHY middle class people in China today, all potential customers for us, and the country is amazing and must be seen to be believed. A Chinese website, TMall (that carries Astara products as well as thousands of other brands) sells $1 BILLION A DAY!!!!! We will spend the rest of the winter in Thailand and return to Telluride sometime in May.”
Nancy Turner Heckscher observes: “Not much news here except I see Judy Hammond Blatchford as she and Park live next to us here in Berwyn. We did go to Hong Kong for Christmas to see our Grands and stay with step son, Chris and Evonne and my son Jon and Amanda and their 3 girls! Such fun and busy household with a 9 month Labradoodle!!!!”
Susan Shinnick Hossfeld says: “Carl and I are still traveling while we are able. Fall found us on a river cruise from Bucharest to Budapest and on to Vienna for three days. Late January 2015, we leave for Big Sky, Montana , winter in Yellowstone National Park and on the way home we are stopping off in San Francisco, Monterey and Carmel. We leave in March for Snowmass, Colorado with the children and grandchildren for a week of skiing. (Unfortunately, I had to give up skiing) In late July we leave for Scotland and London. Our summer plans include a trip to Rehoboth Beach with our extended family of twelve.”
From Doris Dalziel Kimball: “George and I drove out east last fall to French Canada by way of Cape Cod. The fall colors were exceptional all the way north. A trip of walking and hiking back and forth between Vermont and Canada provided by Road Scholar inspired the whole trip. We were headquartered in a wee town called Glen Sutton which is where wildly famous Canadian author Louise Penny wrote her first Inspector Gamache mysteries. Three Pines was fashioned after Glen Sutton. Some of my friends are actually jealous that we were seeing places that inspired the author Louise Penny.” April update: “After volunteering for the Lake Area Free Health Clinic for about 8 years, I added the beautiful hospice facility in my town to my helping list. After hearing a group of women singing to the patients I joined the local Threshold Choir singers (one of about 1700 groups nationwide) and will soon be singing to the patients as well as assisting family and staff as they bid their loved ones a final good-bye.”
Penny M. Mardoian writes: “I spent a week in Budapest, Hungary at Thanksgiving. My life is going forward since my husband Art passed away. My oldest grandson, Michael, is at Trinity College in Hartford and so I get to see more of my PA family.”
Susan Auf Der Hyde Markscheffel responded to my remarks in an email about food in the Virgin Islands: “I enjoyed reading of your pleasure in roti!!! Made me hungry!!! I’m a “foreign” (?) food junkie and love Ethiopian, West Indian, Indian, and Middle Eastern foods. I’m fortunate to have a daughter and granddaughter who will enjoy it all, right along with me. (oink!)”
Janet Zwinck Morrison asks: “Remember sun bathing on the gym roof? We even used baby oil mixed with iodine to improve our tans. As a result I now call my skin color “age Spot.”

From Lynn MacDonough Morrow: “George and I returned Feb. 8 from a 2-week mission trip in Nicaragua. It was my 6th time to go; each year it gets better as I am building relationships with team members, the missionaries and especially with the local Nicaraguans. I practice my modest Spanish with the children and teens who know some English and we share a lot of laughs as we use body language and the little we know in each others’ language to communicate.
One of the jobs I do each year is to help fill over 600 backpacks with school supplies, purchased on the local economy with funds donated by supporters in PA. The Nica. school year coincides with the calendar year so school resumes the first of February. We reward the local kids who earned good grades the previous school year with the supplies they need to start in their new grade. Public schools are so poor that the kids have to supply their own notebooks, pencils, etc. to copy what the teachers write on the black board because there aren’t text books for the children. Without supplies the children can’t go to school; the families in the community typically can’t afford to buy the spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, rulers, etc they need, so our donations are not only a reward for past learning but also make it possible for the children to continue their education.”

Lynn’s April 2015 update: “I think my biggest news is that my hair color is now silver.
Years ago we all made our own decisions about whether to color our hair when the gray appeared. Some of us who “hit the bottle” are still a youthful brown or blonde but others have gone through the transition to “natural”……whatever turned out to be hiding under the purchased color. I had fretted for years over how I would let the bottle brown grow out. My mother had stunning white hair but close examination in the mirror of my roots before monthly coloring had convinced me that I had not inherited her white hair genes. Last summer the sun, swimming pool chlorine, lighter purchased color and advanced years all combined to indicate it was time for me to go natural. The sun- and pool-bleached color was so light that I hoped the demarcation line wouldn’t be too hideous so I returned my unopened packages of Preference hair color to remove temptation and never looked back. Last month my hair dresser cut the final tips of colored hair and I have to say that I’m happy with the “real me.” It took about 7 months (August to March) and I do have rather short hair so it wasn’t as dreadful as I had feared. What is funny is that I have noticed that friends my age and older tend to comment about my new color but younger people don’t mention it…..do they think it would be rude, like asking someone about the big zit on their chin? I want to say, “I know it’s gray…..It is my choice…..you may comment because I know it’s a big change.”

From Barbara Arthur Pretzsch: “Bob worked in Utah last summer. I drove out alone but back with Lyn and the grandkids. We visited in the Ogden area then on the way home stopped at Bryce Canyon, Best Friends in Kanab, then Colorado to take the Silverton Durango train and then a stop at Pagosa Springs for a dip in their hot springs.
In July I took a trip to the Crochet Guild conference in Manchester, NH and took a few days before to travel up the coast with a friend and visited Teal West Hugo. I also visited with Gail Wood Fortin, Marvia Slade Perreault and Linda Martin McManus the end of the summer at Fenwick Island, DE. We have been taking a trip together for quite a few years now.
My line dancing is one way I stay active. We had a nice cruise in November with other line dancers. We got a taste of what it was like on a rocking ship for the dancers who put on the evening shows we saw each evening. We learned a new line dance on the stage one afternoon.
Our 4 legged kid situation has changed. Patches, our Shih Tzu, was with Bob last summer. I decided to add another dog to the family: a little Chihuahua (with the name Patches) we named Little Patch. I was worried that Patches might not approve but they get along fine.
I wish anyone traveling along the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Interstate 10 would stop and say hi, or stay overnight with me. We are about equidistant between New Orleans, LA and Mobile, AL. Call me at 859-588-3911.”
Arden Reynolds echoes what most of you in New England are saying about January/February: “As I write this I’m looking out at more snow falling, after the two feet of snow a few days after the blizzard of 2015 here in Massachusetts. We are also knee deep in converting our screened in porch to a year round sunroom. It all started when we decided to switch from electric heat to gas heat, and from there it snowballed (another winter reference!) to a kitchen renovation and sunroom.”
Liz Decker Rogers in CA: On hearing my news that I was doing ministry in St. John, V.I. in January, Liz wrote: “I have fond memories of that island.”
From Barbara Stewart: “We are in constant battle with SNOW and the frigid cold here in Downeast Maine. In spite of it all we are still loving our life here. I have made up for lost time by taking up watercolors, rug hooking and quilting. I was not able to enjoy my crafts while working. Paul enjoys shoveling snow, weeding, mowing, and house painting.
We have been taking long road trips in the US and Canada. We will be heading for San Diego in June to celebrate another big birthday with my daughters and their families. At this point in our lives, all is good. You can’t ask for more than that!”

Liz Kovacs Dudley Washburn observes: “It’s hard to believe we’re approaching 75! Looking back, the “Cold War” loomed large. Now we have new dangers. I’ve been very fortunate to have lived in England, Kenya and Turkey as well as the East and West coasts of the USA. All of them were political “hot spots”. In all those places there was violence; criminal as well as terrorist. Yet what really stands out is the beauty, warmth and hospitality of each. Reading what other ’62 alums have done, I would say we are a well traveled group. All this traveling around and international connectedness is making the world a better place. We retirees are so blessed! We have time to graciously volunteer, be there for our families, “fill in the cracks’ as one friend put it. My husband and I are very involved in family life, our church, art: I paint, he makes furniture. We do charity work, travel, do animal care, reading and a movie group. Life is full! We live in Lake Oswego, Oregon, near Portland and would love to hear from fellow alums who may travel this way.
We are in a thought provoking study series at church, “Why Evil Exists”, video lectures by Prof. Charles Mathewes, PhD (Great Courses series). He surveys 3000 years of history, philosophy and theology. The course is immensely helpful in trying to understand the “evils’ that exist in today’s world as well as the past. So I give credit to our Liberal Arts education at Hood and our excellent professors, Dr. Mehl, et al. for instilling in us a lifelong love of learning.”
In Liz’s April update, she commented on the Feb. online column. She said, “It is inspiring to read what everyone is doing. It is humbling to acknowledge that we made it through the 20th century to live into our 70’s, many of us now grandmothers. Love does make the world go ‘round, so it seems.”

Jody M. Watson says: “Peter and I just celebrated our 50th anniversary in November and we’re certainly looking forward to many more. We may downsize to eliminate some of the hassles of home-ownership, such as shoveling out from the blizzard we just experienced here on the Maine coast! We haven’t heard too many complaints about that kind of a move.
We do look forward to a Florida trip in early March.”

From Pam Roberts Welham: “Our planned Baltic cruise was cancelled for two reasons- one, Vladimir Putin and second, Walt was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Instead, we had a “radiation vacation” for two months in Jacksonville, Fl in July and August. Jacksonville has one of about twenty centers for proton-beam radiation therapy in our country. This is an extremely effective treatment for prostate cancer which has minimal side effects. We had two friends who had their treatment in JAX and recommended it highly. We had a great time- Walt chose to have the treatment every weekday morning leaving the rest of the day and weekends for sight-seeing in the area and visiting FL, GA and NC friends. JAX is a wonderful city with beautiful beaches and great restaurants. All in all, everything worked well for us. We are strong supporters of proton-beam treatment, which is becoming available for more and more types of cancer that need radiation treatment.” In a few days we leave on what Walt calls his “sayonara WestPac” cruise- Hong Kong to Beijing. We will travel with Navy friends of over 50 years!! My first trip to Japan was in 1964 when I met Walt’s submarine- I expect to see great changes!!!”
From Judi Ziobro: “Ed and I are healthy, enjoying our lives, and look forward to getting together with our friends whenever the opportunity presents itself. We are close (physical distance) to 5 of the 6 grandchildren (all 8 and under – so they still enjoy being with us), and that fills our “spare” time. I am still very active in music — vocal choir and handbell choirs at the church – various church committees (mostly dealing with $$), and sewing (of all kinds). I seem to have no lack of things to do. Ed, on the other hand, while he still dabbles in real estate, is pursuing perfection in retirement. Life is good!”
And now, from me, your class reporter, Sara (you can call me Sally) Zimmerman: I was diagnosed with a small breast cancer last fall, had a lumpectomy in October, and radiation therapy the first week in December: five days of radiation (“brachytherapy”), twice a day, very focused. Then later in December, when the last-minute opportunity came up to travel to St. John, V.I., and do three weeks of ministry there in January 2015, I jumped at the opportunity, and all worked out just fine. April update: More recently, I enjoyed lunch with Caroline Fischer Giles and Brian during their visit to nearby Tarpon Springs, FL; and spent a couple of days on Anna Maria Island with Doris Dalziel Kimball and George. Great dolphin and bird watching! My 2014 stage one breast cancer surgery and radiation are well behind me now, and I’m feeling well and grateful.
I share the interest that many of you express in other places, countries, and cultures. That reminds me: remember Heba Brynjolfs (Mrs. H. Heba Brynjolfs Wilde ’65) from Reykjavik, Iceland, who attended Hood in ’61 and ’62? She lived in England for many years but is now back in Reykjavik. We kept in touch for awhile, and Hood provided me with her current contact information, so that when my daughter Jenny and a friend visited Reykjavik last summer, Heba and her son met them for coffee.
I loved hearing from everyone and thank you. Sally Zimmerman, Tampa, FL revsaraz@aol.com

To classmates:

Here is a revision of the winter email version of class news. This version will go online.   Only two classmates asked me to omit their news from the website version, so I will delete their news before sending to Ashley Wilson at Hood.  I will condense this to the 750-word limit for the summer magazine.

If you have a classmate/friend who does not use email, please print out a copy and send it to her and encourage her to mail me her news.

Many thanks to Mary-Lou Trout Haddad for spearheading the class Blazer Brick project.  Her original goal was to solicit donations for a $700 6×9 brick for the special Plaza near Alumnae Hall.  Classmates quickly contributed over $1,000, so the Class of 1959 will be remembered with a larger brick.

JANE ATMORE BROWN

I would like to give you my new address as of April 6th.  2100 Indian Creek Blvd East.  Apt A. 317, Vero Beach, Fl 32966.  This is a retirement community, where I will be living in independent living.  Email address remains the same for now.

ELEANOR BROWN WHEELER:   Hello to my classmates, and a big thank you to Anne for keeping us together.

I am happy to report that for Phil and me there is no news, and that is good news. We still live in the same house, with our son and daughter both living “just near enough.” The grandchildren are all teens, which keeps us well aware of how quickly time passes.

Who would have guessed back in 1959 that I would find history fascinating? But I continue to enjoy working on genealogy. I sent in a DNA sample to ancestry.com and I am hoping to track down some of my 87 fourth cousins. I would enjoy hearing from anyone else who is working with their family history.

And I was part of a volunteer project to retype scanned copies of our local paper from the war years (1941-1946). The quality of the papers was such that they were not searchable. Figuring out all the words and transcribing them into notepad, then linking to them from our local library, made them usable. If you would enjoy a glimpse at life in the first half of the 1940’s, visit www.krl.org.kitsap-history.

Wishing everyone the best – Eleanor

TARUN COMEGYS JOHNS

(from Florida Keys) I am very pleased to be named temporary skipper of Ariosa by Mike Pittinger. After such a wonderful experience this winter, I am just glad to have learned so much about the boat that I am very comfortable taking care of her. I have joined St. Columba church choir and sang for the first time yesterday. Sat. night was a potluck and music night here at the marina which is always fun meeting new people and the music was great. Last night was dinner at the Alehouse — 2 for 1 from 4:00 to 6:00! — and a delicious meal of coconut shrimp. Shared this with Carolyn Jensen and two friends.  With Greenville being the coldest spot in the state with -14 chill factor, I am very happy to be enjoying 85 degree days and warm ocean water. Will try to post some pictures when there is less pressure on the internet

April 13:  Sunday at St. Columba was a day to celebrate Travelers, those of us only here in the winter. After special blessings for safe travel home, we enjoyed a picnic at Sombrero Beach. This is quite close to the harbor and the sailboat is coming out Sister Creek from the harbor. I shall certainly miss all at St. Columba.

Tarun

NANCY FLETCHER ARTLETT

My three sons and families are well and busy.  Karen Coppage is a freshman at William and Mary.  She loves it—quite an adjustment for her after growing up in Hungary.

I know Hood is searching for a president.  No way I would want to follow in Dr. Volpe’s footsteps.  He is so enthusiastic and has accomplished major changes with apparent ease.

Hope to attend my 60^th high school reunion next September.  Time has gone!

GLORIA FRIEDMAN GREENSPUN

Thank you for the nice note regarding Jamie.  She does make me so happy and proud.  It was really Joel who recognized her talent and told her to pursue the craft.  She had to try performing first, but, then knew how much she needed to write.  She loves it, but, it is so demanding, and uncertain.  This prize, among others she has won, does help to keep her pursuing her profession.

It does make up for the rejections you have to endure along the way.

We are in Naples for the winter.  Came on December 30th and don’t go home until April 7th.  It sure has been nice being away from the cold North, but, it has been unseasonably cool and windy many days.  No need to complain though.  When we return we will only be home a month and then we leave for a month in L.A.   Our 3 families there are all having milestone events.  My oldest son Bart’s two sons graduate, one from USC and the other one from high school.  Jamie’s son Huck is being Bar Mitzvahed, and her daughter is in a musical at school, plus a very important ballet recital.  Dick’s son and his wife are celebrating their daughter’s Bat Mitzvah over the Memorial Day weekend.  So we go there on May 13th and return on June 9th!  We are renting an apartment in Westwood,  just a few blocks from Jamie.  It will be a fun time, and a busy one.  Wouldn’t miss it all for anything!

GAYLE HAMILTON BLAKESLEE

March 5, 2015 (during East Coast snowstorm):  Been a wonderful trip, been from Sydney to Perth, to Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Kakadu, Darwin and now Alice. Took trains from Perth to Adelaide and Darwin to Alice Springs. Ayers Rock and Cairns to come. Hope your snow and ice have finished by time we return late next week. Is 90 here.

Natalie and I had a wonderful month in Australia. Understand why Gail Painter loves it so.

Getting a little old for all this running around.

EDEE HOWARD HOGAN  

Hi there. All is well with me and I divide my time between my co-op in Washington DC and my Beach Home in Bethany Beach DE

Have had some great travel experience including taking granddaughter and daughter-in-law for 10 days in London.  (Martha Allen joined me.)  Had a great well-located apartment and enjoyed all the best of London–Museums, Food, History, and Theatre, etc.

After a great season at the Beach with lots of family and friends visiting, it was back to DC to enjoy all it has to offer.

Travel to Mexico (a Spa week) and then to Madrid in February.

Involvement with my co-op (am running for the Board) as well as continuing my very part time (1/2 day a week) as a Food and culinary consultant keep me busy as well as my work with another Culinary Group Les Dames fills my time. Plan to attend Ron Volpe’s Retirement event in March with Martha Allen and we will stay with Carol LeGore.  Cheers!  Edee

CAROLE JONES ROGERS

Carole stopped overnight at my house April 16^th on her way to her daughter, Caroline’s in Greenbackville, VA.  Carole’s main purpose for this trip is to put her parents’ house on the market.  Anyone know someone who might be interested in a roomy rancher in pastoral Wicomico County, MD?  Minutes from Ocean City.  Email Carole at ccjrogers65@msn.com. Granddaughter Olivia continues to thrive as a junior at MIT.

MARCIA KING WILKE

My news for Hood College: December 2014

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2013 and underwent a lumpectomy on New Year’s Eve! and radiation for six weeks, beginning in February. Luckily it was caught early but it took time to get my energy back. I have some other health issues but won’t go into them. I feel like I’m “one big pill” as I’m taking a number of them. I’m trying to remain upbeat and know that other people have more health problems than I do.

Glad to see the pictures in the last issue of those who did attend our 55^th and of Aki, daughter and granddaughter.

July 2014: One of our twin granddaughters, Morgan age 15, is here for three weeks. She is helping in the sound booth for the annual outdoor musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.”  She was here for 2 weeks last year when the musical was “The Music Man.”  The drama teacher at her high school is delighted she knows how to run a soundboard.  We expect the rest of the family the last weekend of July and we will attend the musical.

November 29: Norm and I are moving into a retirement community in Walla Walla, WA, about eight blocks from our house. Movers come Dec. 3^rd and the house is full of packed boxes, most sealed. He has balance problems so that was the reason for our decision. I’m sure some of you know it’s a big change from a house into a 2 -bedroom apartment. I hope my piano will be moved only when we are able to move from independent to assisted living. In the meantime I’ll teach at home if the house doesn’t sell immediately.

[Feb] To bring everyone up to date: Offer on the house came within five days of our moving as it is in a wonderful location. We had to be out Jan. 9, estate sale the following weekend and we signed the closing papers a week ago. However, we did have to move the piano into the apartment. I don’t encourage anyone to move as quickly as we did. I’m advising my younger friends to start “clearing out” now!

SUSAN KUEHN BEALL:

Still living in Palo Alto in same house and with same spouse, Bill Beall. I continue to do some travel arranging for clients, but am slowly retiring from that. Meanwhile we continue to travel ourselves internationally for new adventures and domestically to our sisters’ and families in Massachusetts and Ohio.

I am on the board for the future Palo Alto History Museum. We have a lovely historic building to house the Museum, but our efforts now are to raise the funds for the seismic upgrades and renovations.

Also involved with Friends of the Palo Alto Parks.

And most importantly, I love playing golf! This is a relatively new sport for me, but fortunately all my friends who played tennis for years and now have new knees and hips, are playing golf instead. So lots of support, encouragement, and opportunities.

Our son John is a Chiropractor and developed a Fitness facility in Alameda, CA. He is still single but has a neat dog! So she is my grand dog!

Well wishes to all.

Susan Kuehn Beall

Preferred email address.

skb1055@comcast.net

KUULEI MOBLEY GREEN 

I am still living a pretty normal life.  I am moving to a different retirement facility in March mainly because I need a little lower costing place.  It is in Boise, Idaho, instead of Meridian, Idaho.  The address as of March 20 will be:

5850 N. Five Mile Road
Boise, Idaho 83713

My E-mail is the same, and my cell phone is the same.

208-859-0521

I shall try to have more exciting news next time.

Love and peace to all of you.

Kuulei+

ANNE MONTESANO KERPSACK ELLIS wrote in her Christmas letter that her dear friend, Jim Price, died last April from lung cancer.  Anne and Jim were together 18 years.  She sold her Cranberry Farm in Ohio in December and planned to spend October–May in Florida and May– October at Conesus Lake, NY.  Anne enjoyed many trips last year, including her “dream trip” to Japan for 2 ½ weeks with the Friendship Force of N.E. Ohio.  She visited museums, enjoyed the hospitality in many homes, experienced the “Japanese bath,” explored Mt. Fuji, rode the “bullet train,” visited several schools, learned to eat with chopsticks, sang songs, danced the “cupid shuffle” (“look it up on the net,” she says), and made good friends. “One more lifelong wish fulfilled.”  Meyran reunion in Philadelphia in October, where they each roomed with roommates from 55 years ago (Jan Knecht/Betty Kutz, Anne/Nancy Smith, Gloria Friedman/Merle Winer, and Myra Silberstein).  She said Philadelphia is “a great city–so clean and so much to see and do.  The Barnes Museum was awesome–don’t miss it!” Anne now has email:  akerpsackellis@hotmail.com.

JUDY MORELAND GRANGER

We’re looking forward to a busy spring and early summer before the Texas heat settles in and we hibernate!  Our oldest grandson gets married on April 24, here in Austin at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, an especially lovely setting at this time of year.  At the end of June, we will join our son Phil and his wife, Tammi, in Beaver Creek, Colorado, for a week, then will spend a few days with Don and Karen Nordberg Sanders ’60, at their home in Golden before heading to Santa Fe, where we meet Bob’s brother and sister-in-law, in from California for the opera.  Some of our favorite places!

JEANNETTE PHELPS

J. P. says she is relatively confined because of her shortness of breath and the chill in the air.  She has met new neighbors who lived for a time in her hometown, Hyde Park, NY, and is looking forward to catching up on local color.  She had a check-up with her vascular surgeon, who said she is exceeding his expectations.  She will see her cardiologist and hematologist later this month.  She uses the Roland Park Place house bus to take her to shop for groceries.  She’s reading The Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides about the U.S.S. Jeannette and Mr. Wilson’s War by John Dos Passos.

MYRA SILBERSTEIN GOLDGEIER spent Passover with her daughter, Eileen, in Raleigh, NC.  Myra and I met for lunch recently in Baltimore with English friends who enjoyed getting to know Merle Winer ’58 and husband Tom Benson when they spent  time in Oxford.

MARY-LOU TROUT HADDAD had full-replacement knee surgery and is recovering.  She was well taken care of by husband, Charles.

PAT WEVER KNOLL   We do have some awesome news!   Our daughter Kathy is getting married this May – first marriage and we are thrilled.  Also, our Granddaughter, Ryn Weaver (she took my Dad’s name cuz hers is difficult) sang on David Letterman Jan. 23^rd and is performing in NY, CA, and London in Feb.  She is a pop singer who CNN says they are watching in 2015. We, including her, are all overwhelmed, humbled, and a little scared at the same time.  Ron and I are in good health, thank God, other than a broken foot and some eye surgeries.   

SUE WILSON OFFICER

[Sue continues to suffer severe back pain after two surgeries and is considering] a neurostimulation program that I may have to try as the last ditch.  It is set up to stop the pain from reaching the brain.

I don’t have too much of a social life because of this but I am still active in my church and choir.  I keep up with the work around the house and of course, I have my three little dogs that help me get up in the morning.  They are Willie (Wilson), WAL-E and Penny and really keep me busy. ?

I also keep busy with the organizations that rescue animals, mainly dogs and cats.  Which reminds me, I have a calico cat named Little Girl.  She is sweet and very independent, but I love her so much.  I lost two of my calicos last year and miss them terribly.

Have any of you heard of the National Search Dog Foundation?  I have gotten very involved with this organization.  They train dogs rescued from the pounds that show signs of being great search dogs.  These dogs are trained over a period of 6 months and then given to a handler, usually a fireperson.  Then that fireperson is trained for 6 more months.  It is a long process, but if you were buried under concrete, you would be very glad to hear that dog barking, letting the handler know there is someone to rescue.  During the Tsunami a few years ago, they found 20 live people.  They have been to the Oklahoma bombing, the World Trade Center, etc.  We have teams across the US and in Mexico.  These dogs are trained to rescue only the live not the dead.  It is an amazing organization.  A good friend of mine started this about 12 years ago after taking her rescue dog to the Oklahoma bombing and knew that the US needed more FEMA certified teams.  At present we have approx. 160 and are aiming for 200.  If the dog doesn’t work our as a search dog, they are kept for the rest of their lives in forever homes.  Hopefully we will never have to use them, but they are here if needed.

AKIKO YAMAMOTO FASOLO

Thank you so much for the wonderful photo of 55^th reunion – I could not take my eye off from it.  I enjoyed looking at our 1959 Touchstone again.  If I were there, the kind gentleman, Bob, could not comment about our hair color the same way … 🙂

ANNE WILSON HEUISLER

I had a nice long holiday break but now am again teaching two sections of freshman English at Stevenson University.  This semester I have the literature class instead of the writing class and find it more enjoyable.  The students are terrific.  It’s exhilarating to be with them twice a week.

These were my favorite books read in 2014:

Bloom, Amy, Lucky Us

Brown, Carrie, The Last First Day

Doerr, Anthony, All the Light We Cannot See

Forna, Aminatta, The Hired Man

Gardam, Jane, God on the Rocks

Just, Ward, American Romantic

Klay, Phil, Redeployment

Lawson, Mary, The Other Side of the Bridge

Lawson, Mary, Road Ends

Mandel, Emily St. John, Station Eleven

Mantel, Hilary, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher

Marra, Anthony, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Rogerson, Cynthia, Upstairs in the Tent

Smiley, Jane, Some Luck

Stibbe, Nina, Love, Nina

Tolbin, Colm, Nora Webster

This year I loved Anne Tyler’s A Spool of Blue Thread!

And Perfect by Rachel Joyce.

ANNE WILSON HEUISLER

6102 BUCKINGHAM MANOR DRIVE

BALTIMORE, MD 21210

410 377 5026; aheuisler@comcast.net

Patricia Rosner Kearns
kearns.patricia@gmail.com

The request for news for the online column came while I was away so my apologies to my classmates for the dirth of responses but will try to update as they roll in. Classmates on the Eastern half of the U.S., all the way down to the Florida border, have had their challenges on the weather front. It was almost spring and the weather kept on coming. I’m a Yankee and I love the snow but the older I get the less fun it is. It’s not like I get a snow day from school. The only parts of the U.S. that seemed to escape the extreme cold and snow were those places that make a living off snow. Two of my sons went skiing in Utah and said there was very little snow. I flew over the Rockies on my way to California and noticed a lot of bare spots on the range. But I digress… back to the issue of getting older, most of us are about to or have just hit the big 70. So what? Remember when Hood sent us a survey asking us how it felt to hit 50? Was that really 20 years ago? Where did it go? So, I have to ask: how does it feel to turn 70? Personally, I’m grateful and still waiting to see what I’ll be when I grow up. In reality, for many of us, we are facing retirement (of sorts), taking care of aging parents and making sure the next 20 years are all we can make them be. Debbie Smith Aldrich wrote from Snowmaggedon (Boston), “I just turned the magic 70-years-old in a blizzard. The snow around Boston has been monstrous. A sheet of plywood on my snow piles makes a garage for my car.” Meredith Cook Held wrote from Dallas, “I am still busy working in real estate in a hot market in the Dallas, Texas area. I love what I do and have been involved at the grassroots level keeping the area’s power company from putting 138 kV lines down the middle of Main Street, a developed area in Frisco, Texas, where I live. I got the Realtor Association at the state level (Texas Association of Realtors) involved and we have been awarded significant funds from the Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee to fight the power company’s proposal. Now the National Association of Realtors is watching what’s happening since this could happen elsewhere. It’s been really exciting to see what can happen when many people band together to make a difference. I’ve been given the Strike Force Award by TAR for my efforts. Also, last July my husband and our two daughters took a fabulous vacation to Hawaii. We spent eight days touring the Big Island, going to the Keck Observatory at the top of Mauna Kea, seeing the volcano Kilauea, shopping at the farmer’s market in Hilo and basically just having a great time! One of the best vacations ever!!”

Johanna Chait Essex, Class Reporter
516-487-1883
johalessex@gmail.com

Best wishes to President Volpe on his upcoming retirement–thank you for all you have done to help Hood grow and maintain its position in the academic world. The Truxal scholarship winner for this year is Hope Lichtman ’15. Condolences to the family of Nancy Jones Knotts; Nancy passed away in January 2015. Condolences to the family of Jane Fruechtemeyer Dillon who passed away this February and condolences to Joan Gebhardt Tambling on the passing of her husband Don this past July. I had a short note from Nancy Brown Kohlheyer. She had a reunion with Buffie McKim Powell and Lois Wolfe Haffly; she and John planned to spend May and June in Europe. I also had a lovely note from Dottie Joyce Coffin who sends her greetings to the class of 1953. “It seems like yesterday when we wore those red hats as freshman.” She also wants to thank Hood for the tremendous education she received. Marge Aronson Dalmas and Bob celebrated their 61st anniversary in December. They are well and have enjoyed visits from their children. Margaret Church Smith-Loeb has been attending classes at Fordham Univ. College in the sixty program as well as attending the theater art Signature and Lincoln Center. Elaine Green Powell and Dave have moved to Concord, New Hampshire. Her new address is 149 East Side Drive, 177, Concord New Hampshire, 03301-5410. It is a newly built home in Heritage Heights–an independent living community. They are both busy and well. Penny Fradd Vahsen, P’77 and her brother took a cruise around the Baltic this past summer and planned to go to Barcelona with him in March. She now has four married grandchildren and asks the question we all seem to ask: “where did the years go?” Joan Gebhardt Tambling adopted a rescue dog, part collie and part Australian Shepherd; her name is Lucy and they have become inseparable. It has helped her get over the rough spots of losing a mate. Joan would love to hear from anyone in our class if they have had the same experience with adopting a dog. Pat Lloyd Fordham and her daughter drove to the Grand Canyon and it was a great treat. In May, her youngest grandson graduated from high school. Pat has adopted her third dog, an 8-year-old rat terrier who gets along well with her other two dogs–she calls the three of them her “second family.” Bim Mayer Werle had partial knee replacement surgery in November and already has full range of motion. She and Jerry have a home in Florida about a mile from Margy Brown Barati and Bill and are able to see them frequently. The good news from Janet Peek Clancy is that her family continues to grow– marriages and a lot more great-grandchildren. There is plenty of bridge, tennis and family visits that keep her busy. I had a lovely note from Lynn Phillips. Her granddaughter Sarah is an architect and Ryan is on the Appalachian Trail. Tyler graduated from college and is now engaged; she had a visit from her son, grandson and two great-grandchildren. Life is good. Beverly Rosenberg Sager was vacationing in South America; when she returned she was on to the Turks and Caicos and thus escaped all the snow they were having. Hal and I are doing well. I cannot remember ever seeing this much snow in our backyard. I’m still volunteering at Kings Point (our 5th Federal Academy) and working in “Cookie Café” every Thursday––how those midshipman love their cookies, milk, coffee and tea. I have also joined a gym and try to go three to four days a week. Hal is busy at the senior center four mornings a week and at Kings Point when he is needed. Our daughter Jess retired from IBM and is now the executive director of their synagogue in White Plains. Barbara (Bim) Mayer Werle wrote, “Thank you for sharing news of Jane Fruechtemeyer Dillon’s passing. I remember fondly a date and enjoyable weekend at Annapolis, thanks to her. She was adorable and could have had all the men to herself. I noticed Dot Rost Kretzer’s name on the message list. Dot died about two years ago. She spent her last years in an assisted living facility in Williamsburg, Va., her twin daughters, Gail and Caren, a constant and loving presence in her life. We spend a lot of time with Margy Brown Barati and Bill, giving help and support as they prepare to sell their Sun City Center home. They are selling their Pittsburgh home also and will be moving into a life-care community. The rest of my remaining Hood friends are in good, and not so good, situations. Elaine Green Powell and Dave have already made this transition to a life care community and are very happy with the free time and new activities. Pam Presbrey Grinnell is in assisted living in Michigan, near two of her sons. Kathie Redelfs Rott, P’78 is traveling and enjoying three generations of offspring. Jerry and I are most grateful we are able to continue our yearly migration between Vermont and Florida. We move slower, but are active in both places. I had a partial knee replacement in November and have had a remarkable recovery.” Our very best to everyone. Jo