Hope this finds everyone enjoying their summer. We can’t get enough warm weather after that winter we had.  Congratulations to my roommate Leigh McBride who has had a busy spring with the marriage of her son and birth of her second grandchild. Being a grandparent is a true blessing!

Karen Robinson Curtis sent a note to say she just completed her 25^th year of teaching. She celebrated her 33^rd wedding anniversary with a cruise to the Bahamas. Her oldest son, Dale is programming for Google, her daughter has her PhD and works for the National Institute of Aging. Her youngest son is an avid Motocross rider. They will be traveling to Italy this summer for a reunion.

Maureen McDonnell-Weschler celebrated her 35^th wedding anniversary in June. She has a private psychotherapist practice. Her oldest son will be a captain in the Army and and her youngest son is running his own business.

Beth Darroch Coggins is doing well in Dallas Texas. She continues to teach Special Education.  Her oldest daughter Kristina (’81) is pursuing her Master’s degree and her youngest daughter just graduated from college. They will be traveling to Prince Edward Island this summer and Beth is looking forward to meeting up with Becky Lennon Crockett (‘’80), Marcy Kelley Fedali (’79) and Donna Smith Mecca (’81).

Stephanie Chisolm is living in Columbia MD and working for a nonprofit patient advocacy organization.  She recently met up in New Jersey with Lisa Kondylas (’81) and Erika Leeuwenburg (’82). She is looking forward to her daughter’s wedding this fall in DC.

Rebecca (Becky Koose) Levine wrote that her son completed his studies abroad this summer at the Ner Yisrael Rabbinic College and is deciding where to go to complete his pre-med requirements. Her rescue mutt, Minnie, has settled in to her family nicely.

Congratulations to Karen Srsic who wrote saying she finished her second Master’s in Special Education from University of St. Josephs. She has just finished her 9th year teaching special education at Deep River Elementary School in CT. She loves working with her 2nd and 3rd graders. Her oldest daughter, Rachel, graduated from University of Massachusetts in May and is a talented artist working in a local gallery. Her younger daughter, Anna Marie, finished her second year at University of Vermont studying nursing. She would love to hear from her Hood classmates.

Mary Calhoun wrote that all is well in NC. Calhoun continues to thrive at almost 105. She rescued a Siberian husky with Laura Schauer (’81). She got the dog for a family who lost their husky earlier this year.  She wanted us to know that Nina Chomnuk Roberson lost her mother this Spring, our prayers are with Nina’s family.

Dolores Wojcik wrote a note about the books she has written and adventures she has taken.  Her pen name is Dolly Nasby. She just celebrated her 72^nd birthday and after a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 last year to the UK, she is looking forward to taking another “Queens” cruise again soon.  She has published 6 books about local and regional history in the US.  She volunteers with the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society in Charles Town, WV.

Megan McCall Albright wrote that she has opened a new family business called Auctions on Main in Purcellville, VA. (www.auctionsonmain.com)  Her two sons are in college and ironically she is back in the thick of things raising a little girl cousin and has started to homeschool her.  She keeps in touch with Fran Taylor.

Maggie Park has had an eventful year!  Her third daughter was married in April and she completed her doctorate in May.  Maggie has accepted a position as a professor and the Director of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Converse College.  She is looking forward to working with college students and teaching again.  She will have her fourth grandchild this next year.

Sherri Smith Baggett shared news about her hometown, Newtown & Sandy Hook, CT. Many of her Hood classmates have been in touch since December 2012.  She says the community continues to heal each and every day and they are thriving and have grown together in the face of tragedy. A special thanks for those who have sent notes and thoughtful gifts, please know they are appreciated and have been passed on to the community. The outpouring of continued support has been beyond their expectations and helps them move forward each day.

You can email me your news for our class column at any time, my email is indianawhitehouse1@gmail.com.

Enjoy your Summer!

Lynn Marzulli White

Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone.

Linda Procter wrote about an amazing weekend with Hood friends. They rented a home in Rehoboth at the end of October.  Everyone pitched in and shared favorite food and drink recipes. From the class of 1981, Linda, Marcy Goldberg Taylor and Judy Reamer Egan. And from the class of 1980, Hope Reid, Anita Chase Bartgis, Melissa Warner, and Valerie Cerrone Nelson. They all had a great time catching up and just spending time together.

Corrine Durdock stays connected to Hood through her granddaughter, Rebecca Rieser, a sophomore who plays on the Hood volleyball team. She was able to cheer Rebecca on when Hood played Muhlenburg in Allentown, PA. She is still promoting the sale of the two children’s historical soft-cover books that she authored.

Maria Garvey Tara says she is happy to announce she now has her professional teaching license.  She teaches Spanish and runs the library at a private school in Parker, CO.  Maria’s daughter Kate is a senior in high school and her son Will is a sophomore. Her family spent two weeks in Ireland this summer.

Tracy Fox Zogran runs her own company, Food, Nutrition & Policy Consultants, LLC (www.foodnutritionpolicy.com) working with others to promote nutrition and physical activity policies and programs.  She worked with the First Lady’s Let’s Move effort and has gone to a number of fun events at the White House and elementary schools around the area. Her son, Wesley is teaching English in Moscow and daughter Jody is a Nursing student at Seattle University.  Tracy and her husband Don are beginning to transition their lives to Culver Indiana where Don is heading up the summer school program at Culver Academies. Tracy will be commuting for a while but with the magic of technology, will continue consulting.

Maureen McDonnell-Weschler and her husband Leonard traveled to Australia, New Zealand and many US states. Her youngest son, Christopher met up with them in Branson, Missouri. She had a wonderful visit with her oldest son Leonard, a first lieutenant in the Army, when he came home from overseas for his first visit in three years.

Karen Samboy and her husband own a ranch in the Sierra foothills of Ca. She has been teaching at Ponderosa HS for more than 20 years. Her son, Dan, is in the MA program at USC. Her daughter, Christie has her BS and works at Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

Rebecca Levine Koose continues to love her job as Administrative Director in the Domestic Program at the McArthur Foundation.  She celebrated her 31^st anniversary in September of her first date with her husband Mark. Her son Isaac is in pre-med studies. She has a new rescue dog, a border collie named Minnie.

Ken Kerr wrote that he and his wife Helen (Rozsics class of ’82) went to Greece and Amsterdam. He is the English Department Chair at Frederick Community College. Classmates who remember his band, The Eyes,” may be interested to know that he is playing a few times a month with a classic rock band called, The Nightcrawlers. His website is mynightcrawlers.com.

Mary Calhoun spent a few weekends with Laura Schauer and had a visit over the summer from Eve Erwin Deitch. Mary is happy to announce that Mr. Calhoun, who will celebrate his 104^th Birthday in January, is thriving and continues to amaze and entertain everyone who meets him.

Desiree Maio wrote about her amazing travel experiences in the late 80’s and early 90’s. She went to graduate school in Virginia Beach and remarried in 1995. She has three daughters with her husband Joe. Elizabeth (15), Hannah (14) and Faith (9). Hannah has Autism and Desiree is thankful for taking some special education classes back at Hood helping her to navigate through Hannah’s education. She would love to hear from Brenda Ryan Ghiltelman ’83, Linda Underhill ‘82 and Melissa Horn ’81.

Linda Spar Rupy is still getting used to living in Indiana, PA. She loves “coming home” to Baltimore with their season tickets to the Ravens. Linda is an online media and Internet consultant.  Linda spent a month in Europe traveling to Budapest and linking up with the American Coaster Enthusiasts’ Central Europe Tour (riding roller coasters there and in Vienna, and throughout Southern Germany). Her favorite ride was Blue Fire in Europapark. She then headed up to Stockholm, London, and Wales for a week. Their son Jason is an engineer in Chandler, AZ. and will be heading there for Thanksgiving this year.