1961
Katharine Baum Wolpe
kwolpe@gmail.com

Marty Kaiser Canner
plcanner@juno.com

Kathie Baum Wolpe is active with the Village Independent Democrats and St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery in NYC and enjoys her two-year relationship with Philip, an adjunct world literature professor. Highlight of the spring was the Washington, D.C., wedding of niece Judy Umberger and Ryu Suzuki in May. Sally Bennett Edwards still plays tennis indoors in the winter and outdoors in the spring, summer and fall. She works part time at the weekly local newspaper, line dances once a week and plays bridge. In April 2014 she went to Nashville to watch the Univ. of Connecticut compete in the Women’s Final Four Basketball Tournament. She spent much of the summer at her house on Cape Cod. Nancy Brown Braudrick was busy in the summer celebrating the birthdays of her daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandson and three granddaughters, all of whom were born in June, July or August. Her son was born in December. Nancy has a new telephone number, 541-373-1527. Suzanne Brown Wellcome and husband Page have traveled to Cambodia, India, Paris, London and Ireland. They planned a trip to Kenya and Tanzania in September. Suzanne does consulting and usually works from three to six months every year. Vivi Bruckel Harvey teaches English to international visitors at Ohio State. She spends every winter in Guatemala teaching English. In October she will lead a group of 19 women to Peru. Ann Coleman Alexander taught public school music 25 years, retiring in 2006. Her husband Gene died in 2010 from cancer. She is now employed by Messiah Lutheran Church in Sykesville, Md., as director of music. Her sons Brian and David and daughter Conni Ann live close by. Her son Jeff lives in San Francisco. We extend our condolences to Ann on the death of her husband. Kit Compton Long wrote that the good news is there is no big news with her. She and husband John enjoy their garden, their town (San Luis Obispo) and the California weather. Ann Corderman Helton said she does not have interesting news right now, but that life is good. Jan Dobbs Pedersen creates watercolor paintings and makes cards from them. She and husband Tom live at Seabrook, a retirement community. She and Tom travel with the Road Scholar group. Mary Anne (Fleet) Fleetwood still lives in Rehoboth, Del. She is writing a book on animals. She invites any classmates who visit Rehoboth to call her so they can get together. Susan Kaehrle planned to visit Christine (Tina) Steere Lamb in Maine in July. Tina’s husband Chuck died earlier this year. We extend our condolences to Tina who was in our class for freshman and sophomore years. Hilda Koontz is doing a series of lectures on Civil War history for regional historical societies. She and Spencer are busy with Civil War re-enactments and she planned to visit her son, daughter and four grandchildren in Iowa and Minnesota this summer. Sandy Murphy Schmidt and husband Bob live at the Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville, Md. They love their independent living apartment on 105 landscaped acres. The chapel’s acoustics are great for concerts. Anita Ranoldo Miner and husband Dick live in a condo in Salt Lake City. She volunteers her time with the Coalition of Religious Communities. As a deacon at her church she handles pastoral care issues. She and Dick will be going to Salamanca, Spain, in September. Brenda Sheaffer Hillard fulfilled a dream this May when she attended a crewel embroidery class taught by the Royal School of Needlework out of Hampton Court Palace in England. Janet Spaulding Nunn, P’06 and husband Jack took a cruise across the Atlantic to Africa. They visited 19 countries. Janet reported that at the recent Hood Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees accepted Dr. Volpe’s resignation with regret. Dorothy Willis Rainwater and husband Roger planned to go to Croatia in June to join an archaeological dig of a Roman villa with some Peace Corps friends. Bev Yarroll Sweetman was semi-retired three years ago when she turned Body Ease, her physical therapy practice, over to another therapist. She will continue to teach and help family and friends with physical therapy. As for the Canners, Paul and I, Marty Kaiser Canner, are still living in the same house in Catonsville, Md., we have lived in for the last 48 years. We hoped to visit our daughter Rebecca and her adopted daughter Kate in Montana in late July. Kathie Baum Wolpe is co-reporter for our class news. We hope to alternate writing the columns.

Hurricane Sandy flooding did not reach Kathy Baum Wolpe’s block in Lower Manhattan, but the electricity was off for a week, and luckily she was able to stay elsewhere. She visited Montego Bay in late August for the wedding of a nephew and spent Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs with her brother. Sandy Murphy Schmidt and Bob continue to weather the storms of life, including Hurricane Sandy. They got to see the cave paintings in Altamira on a great tour of Northern Spain and Portugal. Back in the U.S., they danced to the “oldies” at her 55th Phillipsburg High School reunion (I did the same with my friend Douglas at my 55th Altoona High School reunion in September). Sandy and Jeanette Phelps ’59 juggle volunteer hours and doctor’s appointment’s so that they can take advantage of all Baltimore has to offer.

Vivian Bruckel Harvey spent five weeks in India with a USAID program that involved visiting three agricultural colleges in two low-income areas. The hospitality of the students and faculty members was wonderful as was the scenery, especially the sight of a full moon over the River Ganges. On Dec. 19, she planned to return to Guatemala for four months, working with Mayan families and hosting three groups from the United States for 10 days each. If anyone wants information on traveling to Guatemala or would like to visit her there, you may contact her at www.vivianharvey.com. Hilda Koontz wrote that she and Spencer are immersed in Civil War sesquicentennial events. After spending two weeks at Antietam events, they were headed for Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 7-9. Next year will be the big events at Gettysburg, Pa. They were filmed at Harpers Ferry, W.Va., as part of the film The Men Who Built America. She is very happy because of the birth of her first granddaughter; she already has three grandsons. From the responses this time, it looks like a lot of us devote time to our grandchildren.

Muff Wright Peterson wrote that she lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland not far from her childhood home and midway between her children and five grandchildren ranging in age from 24 years to 12 weeks old. She remarked that she has such wonderful memories of our 50th reunion. Phyllis Alligretti Panico reported that she has retired from Astra Zeneca and the G.W. faculty and is now living in a senior community; she likes it very much. She has had some health problems but it has not kept her from interacting with her eight grandchildren, playing bridge, tennis and attending Bible study, plus writing articles for a local digest. Hope Paulson Carmen is also enjoying her granddaughters and said they are as different as day and night. Fran McCauley King reported that she is still the director of the pre-school at her church in Lancaster, Pa. Her husband of two years, John, and she sing in the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Chorus and enjoy seeing friends. Her son who lives near Richmond, Va., (Ashland) teaches advanced placement American history and has two daughters, ages 12 and 14. Her daughter and husband live in Connecticut and planned to move into a new home in the middle of December.

Anne Grenfell reported that her granddaughter Jenna is enjoying life at Widener Univ., in Chester, Pa., and her grandsons, Jeffery and Gunnar, are doing well in school and extracurricular activities. She has really started to write in earnest, a nonfiction book about her life with her husband Pasco. She plans on finishing it and getting it published next year. She is tutoring elementary students in math and English, does yoga and Pilates, Zumba dancing and of course, ballroom dancing with Michael. She certainly has the energy level to be envious of! Our condolences go out to Marilyn King Jessen who lost her beloved husband George in August. They had been married for nine years and had enjoyed many wonderful trips. She is thankful that her son now lives close to her in Virginia Beach. She also reported that Jan Bettman Leslie and Dave have moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to be close to their son and family. Marilyn enjoyed having lunch with Jan while she was living in Williamsburg, Va. Well, I, Doretta Ruggles Allison, plan to move five houses up the street into my renovated home in January. Everything will be new except for the brick walls and the foundation. I will have a dream kitchen that I designed and a lovely sunroom in the treetops and many other upgrades. After I get settled in, I will issue an invitation for you all to visit!

Class Reporter: