Summer 2014 - Sweet Briar College

Transcription

MAGAZINE
VOLUME 85 NO.1
DEAR
FRIENDS:
I
n this issue of the magazine you will read about women of character, courage and commitment.
Several stories feature alumnae in military life where, prepared by their Sweet Briar educations,
they have embraced many challenges and adventures.
For example, this year was a reunion year for the marvelous class of 1944: We celebrate the
anniversary of the commissioning of several classmates in this issue. What an inspiration it was to
spend time with members of this class on campus!
Other stories continue the theme of challenge and adventure outside the military; in this issue you
can share in the adventures experienced by students in the Outdoor Program and the
intellectual challenges currently motivating our wonderful faculty.
Perhaps I am especially taken with this issue’s theme of challenge and adventure because,
as many of you know, I am about to embark on a new professional adventure myself. In
August, I will assume the presidency of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh as the first
woman to lead that distinguished organization.
One theme that I have consistently heard from Sweet Briar alumnae since I arrived
five years ago is that life is full of surprises — and that a liberal arts education prepares
Sweet Briar women to embrace whatever comes their way with character, courage and
commitment. Certainly, the opportunity to extend my career as an educator and nonprofit leader into the world of museums and public education came unexpectedly to me.
After all, as I told the Carnegie recruiters when they first contacted me, I already had
a dream job as president of Sweet Briar. But, for very fortunate people, life sometimes
has more than one dream job in store, and the opportunity for continued learning and
growth is always enticing.
And so I reflect that I am without doubt among the very most fortunate of women. It has been my
great good fortune — and an honor, and a privilege — to serve Sweet Briar and to come to know
her people. Taking my leave is bittersweet, but in the true spirit of Sweet Briar women, I have
found the next challenge irresistible. And so, with gratitude and deep respect, I say farewell.
Please know that I will always be glad to see my Sweet Briar friends at the museums! If you visit,
please do let me know.
Sincerely,
Jo Ellen Parker, President
MAGAZINE
VOLUME 85 NO.1
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE MAGAZINE POLICY
The magazine aims to present interesting, thought-provoking material.
Publication of material does not indicate endorsement of the author’s
viewpoint by the magazine or College. The Sweet Briar College Magazine
reserves the right to edit and, when necessary, revise all material that it
accepts for publication. Contact us anytime.
MAGAZINE STAFF
Christy Jackson, director of media, marketing and communications
Jennifer McManamay, editor/writer
Janika Carey, editor/writer
Meridith De Avila Khan, photographer
Catherine Bost, designer
Contact information
Office of Media, Marketing and Communications
PO Box 1056, Sweet Briar, VA 24595
(434) 381-6262
[email protected]
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Paul G. Rice, chair
Please see sbc.edu/about/board-directors for the full
Executive Committee and board members.
ON THE COVER: We honor those who
serve by telling some of their stories
beginning on page 18.
FIND SWEET BRIAR ONLINE
sbc.edu
Twitter: sweetbriaredu
Facebook: sweet.briar.college
YouTube: youtube.com/sweetbriarcollege
Visit sbc.edu/magazine.
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE ALUMNAE BOARD
Sandra Taylor ’74, president
Please see sbc.edu/alumdev/current-board for the full board.
Printed by Progress Printing Company
Contents
Sweet Briar Magazine | Summer 2014
Features
14-17
In the Spotlight
Awards and honors
celebrate Sweet Briar’s
faculty
18-29
Those Who Serve
Character, courage and
commitment in the
SBC community
30-31
Salamander Lives
Art and science unite
to tell amphibians’
story
32-37
New Heights
An Outdoor Program
adventure challenges
students to reach for
the top
Departments
2-13
On the Quad
Parker Bids Farewell;
Taking the Helm;
Campus Art; On
Stage; History in 3D;
Green Future; Medals
and Pearls; Riding
High; A Century of
Lacrosse
42-80
Class Notes &
Alumnae News
A Distinguished
Alumna; Out in the
Elements; West Coast
Wine Queen
50-51
Because of You
Devoted Donor
Reflects on Wartime
Career
sbc.edu | sweet briar Magazine
1
Parker Becomes
First Woman to
Lead Carnegie
Museums
of Pittsburgh
P
RESIDENT JO ELLEN PARKER HAS ANNOUNCED
she has accepted the presidency of the Carnegie Museums of
Pittsburgh, becoming the first woman in the museums’ almost
120-year history to hold the post. In this role, she will oversee
four distinguished institutions: the Carnegie Museum of Art, the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Science Center
and The Andy Warhol Museum. Her last day at Sweet Briar will be
Aug. 15.
Parker originally told museum recruiters she was not seeking new
opportunities. “I had a job I loved, and I clearly expressed that,”
Parker said. But the museums persisted, confident she had the
background and skills they sought, and after a while, Parker began
to consider this “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Leaving Sweet Briar is bittersweet, according to Parker, who views
her new appointment as a testimony to both the liberal arts and
women’s colleges.
“My career trajectory is evidence of the power of a liberal arts
education at a women’s college to prepare graduates for leadership
in many different fields,” Parker said. “I have been a scholar and
teacher, led an educational technology organization, served as a
college president, and now, I begin my tenure as president of the
Carnegie Museums. My education in the liberal arts at a women’s
college was the foundation of every achievement of my career and
prepared me to have not just one dream job, but several.”
James F. Jones Jr., retiring president of Trinity College in
Hartford, Conn., will succeed Parker as interim president.
“President Parker has advanced the College’s mission with
intelligence, business smarts, wit and kindness,” said Paul Rice,
chair of the Sweet Briar College Board of Directors. “We regret her
departure, but we wish her and her husband, Rick Manasa, well on
this exciting new journey.”
Parker became Sweet Briar’s 10th president in July 2009. Under
her leadership, the College developed “A Plan for Sustainable
Excellence” and has made significant progress in key strategic
initiatives since its adoption in 2011.
Approximately $10 million has already been raised in support of
the strategic plan, funding additional scholarships for students,
the renovation of 15 classrooms, and the Fund for Educational
Excellence and Innovation to encourage faculty-led initiatives to
enhance instruction and curriculum.
2
In addition, a multimillion dollar renovation of Mary Helen
Cochran Library is slated for completion this fall.
During Parker’s tenure, the campus also has seen growth in
the diversity of its student body. When she arrived in 2009,
11 percent of the first-year class identified themselves as members
of underrepresented races or ethnicities. In 2012, the number was
29 percent. Numbers of first-generation college attendees and
students eligible for Pell Grant support have grown similarly. For
Parker, this is a point of special significance.
“Making sure that women from across American society have access
to a Sweet Briar education extends our proud tradition of changing
lives,” she said.
Under her leadership, the College has also reduced its operating
budgets, reorganized administrative units and reviewed its
instructional staffing plan.
“It has been my privilege to serve Sweet Briar College alongside
its remarkable faculty and staff,” Parker said. “I am proud of what
we have accomplished together to give students an exceptional
educational experience, and I remain confident in the direction
we are moving. I leave knowing that Sweet Briar is poised to take
another step toward an inspiring future.”
Prior to her appointment as Sweet Briar’s president, Parker served
as executive director of the National Institute for Technology in
Liberal Education and as president of the Great Lakes Colleges
Association. She also has served as a faculty member and
administrator at her alma mater, Bryn Mawr College, and taught in
the English department of Swarthmore College.
Parker earned her A.B. in English from Bryn Mawr, her M.A. in
English from the University of Kansas and her Ph.D. in English
literature from the University of Pennsylvania.
PRESENTED TO JO ELLEN PARKER
JUNE 7, 2014
BY THE SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE BOA
RD OF DIRECTORS
Founded 113 years ago and nurtured by gene
rations of talented, dedicated and committed
women and men, Sweet Briar College has been
sustained primarily through the accomplishm
ents
of a handful of leaders whose selfless dedicatio
n to its core values and educational mission has
seen
the College through the challenges of war, depr
ession, financial constraints and societal chan
ge.
By combining an unwavering commitment to
liberal learning with a 21st-century response
to new
demographic, pedagogical and technological reali
ties, we are confident that you, Sweet Briar’s
10th president, deserve to be recorded among
a select number who have left an indelible mar
k on
our College.
Leadership comes in different forms, but it is
not a process through which one person pulls and
others follow. You reminded us that Sweet Bria
r can only move forward when there is a shar
ed
sense of purpose and agreement on a common
destination. Successful leaders reflect and shap
e this
consensus and, yet, their vision must encompa
ss the community of the present and of all poss
ible
futures. You have led with decisiveness, wisdom,
integrity and courage, and have wholeheartedly
dedicated yourself to sustaining our College. You
inspired our creativity and innovation and
quickly became the embodiment of Sweet Bria
r women of all generations, social and cultural
backgrounds.
As a scholar of Victorian literature, you have
never lost your profound respect for the power
of words. You once said that Sweet Briar, to you,
is all about preparing women to achieve and
accomplish. You taught us to respect hard wor
k and to cultivate a sense of humor, to value the
integrity of every individual and the potentia
l of every idea. You gave this private college a
public
consciousness about its past and a new voice that
embraces complexity, inclusion and diversity.
It
is your ability to communicate in a very personal
, thoughtful and genuine way that we will long
remember and value. We will never be able to
thank you enough for this courageous, prescien
t and
enduring contribution, but it is one of the mos
t prominent examples of your role as an institutio
nbuilder.
Five years was not long enough, but in that shor
t period you prepared us for a potentially
transformative journey. Now, as you leave the
Sweet Briar presidency, we, the members of the
board of directors, wish to express our apprecia
tion for your distinguished service. You have carr
ied
the privilege and responsibility of serving as pres
ident with grace and grit. Your innovative,
entrepreneurial and collaborative vision has firm
ly set the College on a path that will define
its future and, we trust, its continuing progress.
We who share your deep affection for Sweet
Briar’s people, traditions and values are profoun
dly grateful. All who love Sweet Briar take joy
and confidence in knowing that the legacy of
your service has prepared the College for the next
challenge, and we are profoundly grateful.
3
y of Trinity College
Al Ferreira, courtes
James F. Jones Jr. J
Named Interim
President of Sweet
Briar College
AMES F. JONES JR., RETIRING PRESIDENT Of
Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., has been named the
interim president of Sweet Briar College. He succeeds Jo Ellen
Parker, who announced in April that she had been recruited for
the presidency of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Jones will
assume his new duties Aug. 15.
Jones’ appointment follows an intensive recruitment and selection
process, according to Sweet Briar College Board of Directors
chair Paul Rice, who noted the search committee was impressed
with Jones’ professional accomplishments, his commitment
to collaboration and transparency at every level, and his
understanding of the College. Jones’ wife, Joan “Jan” Sheets Jones,
is a 1969 graduate of Sweet Briar.
“We are pleased to welcome Jimmy Jones as interim president
of Sweet Briar College and delighted to welcome back his wife,
Jan,” Rice said. “Jimmy’s twenty years of experience as a highly
effective president of two distinguished liberal arts colleges, his
academic credentials, his boundless energy, and his knowledge of
Sweet Briar uniquely qualify him for this appointment. He will be
a solid leader as we navigate the College’s immediate future and
4
complete the research and planning already underway for longterm sustainability.”
hold her in the highest regard. I know she has constructed a firm
foundation for us to build upon as we move forward.”
During his 10-year presidency at Trinity College, Jones led a
college-wide strategic planning process, with input from hundreds
of faculty, staff, students and the Trinity Board of Trustees. The
resulting 2005 Cornerstone Plan was instrumental in establishing
an ongoing process for annual planning at the college. In addition,
the Cornerstone Plan helped Trinity develop the goals of its
six-year Cornerstone and Legacy Campaigns, which concluded
in 2012 after raising $369 million in contributions and donor
commitments — more than double the amount of Trinity’s
previous fundraising campaign.
Parker says she is leaving assured the College is in very capable
hands.
Jones oversaw the successful
$33 million restoration
and renovation of Trinity’s
historic Long Walk buildings.
Other campus improvements
during his tenure include
the establishment of the
Crescent Street Townhouses
and the Koeppel Community
Sports Center; renovation
of Vernon Social into a
vibrant student gathering
place; and the creation of the
Gates Quadrangle, linking
the classical architecture of
Trinity’s Long Walk Quad
with the modern buildings of
its math and sciences quad.
“Sweet Briar could not have found a more ideal interim president,”
Parker said. “For me, personally, passing the torch to Jimmy Jones,
an admired colleague and friend, is an honor — and knowing that
Sweet Briar will be in such good hands is a joy.”
Prior to Trinity, Jones served for eight years as president and
professor of humanities at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo,
Mich. Before that, he was at Southern Methodist University in
Dallas as professor of the humanities, dean of Dedman College of
Humanities and Sciences and
vice provost of the university.
Earlier, he served as professor
of Romance languages and
literatures, director of the
Summer Language Institute
in France, and chair of the
department at Washington
University in St. Louis,
and as preceptor for the
Department of French
and Romance Philology at
Columbia University.
A native of Atlanta, Jones
graduated cum laude from
the University of Virginia.
Longtime collaborators and friends, Parker and Jones established a program
He earned his master’s degree
in Nairobi together in the late 1990s. Here they are visiting a Maasai village.
at Emory University and did
During Jones’ decade as
doctorate work at Columbia University, earning both an M. Phil.
president, Trinity saw more than 30 percent growth in its overall
and a Ph.D. He also holds a Certificat, Degré Avancé, from the
College endowment and achieved significant annual fund growth.
Ecole des Professeurs de Français à l’Etranger, the Sorbonne.
Today, annual fund contributions represent between 8 and 9
His publications include “Rousseau’s Dialogues: An Interpretive
percent of the college’s operating budget — almost double the
Essay,” which was nominated for the Louis Gottschalk Prize; “The
contribution 10 years ago. In addition, Jones, who also served as
Story of a Fair Greek of Yesteryear”; a translation into English of
Trinity College Professor in the Humanities, taught at least one
L’Histoire d’une Grecque moderne by Antoine-François Prévost; and
class every year.
“La Nouvelle Héloïse: Rousseau and Utopia,” along with more
As he looks toward his interim presidency at Sweet Briar, Jones is
than two dozen scholarly articles.
taking a personal approach to an institution to which his family has
Jones has received numerous awards for his community alliances
strong ties. In addition to his wife, his sister-in-law Elizabeth Sheets
and scholarly and cultural achievements on both sides of the
Reed graduated in 1982, and a great-niece, the child of the Joneses’
Atlantic, including Chevalier, Ordre des Palmes Académiques by
goddaughter, is currently enrolled.
declaration of the French government. He maintains positions on
“My wife loves every blade of grass on Sweet Briar’s campus,
numerous boards, with directorships and trusteeships on select
and the College has played — and continues to play — such an
educational and cultural committees, including the Consortium
important role in her life and in our life together. As with many
on Financing Higher Education; the Centre d’Echanges
of the College’s alumnae, Jan’s excitement and enthusiasm for her
Internationaux, Paris; and the Rassias Foundation at Dartmouth
alma mater are contagious,” Jones said. “I view the next two years
College.
as a professional and personal obligation to safeguard Sweet Briar
Jones and his wife have three children, Jennifer, Justin and Jason;
in the face of shifting demographics in our country. We must
six grandchildren; and an Irish field setter, Colleen.
continue to adjust to the myriad changes that confront higher
education. I have known Jo Ellen Parker for many years and
5
FOA Taps Alumna for Sculpture
A
SITE-SPECIFIC SCULPTURE TO COMMEMORATE THE
75th anniversary of the Friends of Art will soon adorn an
area near Mary Helen Cochran Library and its brand-new addition.
After inviting about two dozen artists to submit proposals
last spring, the Friends of Art selected alumna and Blue Ridge
Architects associate Catherine Peek ’01, who will be working
with students and a campus committee to realize her vision in the
coming months.
“The scale of the waves will
be large enough to present a
compelling visual effect … and
human-sensitive to make it an
enjoyable spot to relax on,”
Peek says. The waves will also
complement the ship-like form
of the library addition.
JOSH FOX, A DOCUMENTARY
filmmaker who gained international
fame after the release of “Gasland”
at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival,
opens his case against fracking for
natural gas with a banjo. Fox was the
speaker at Sweet Briar’s 2014 Waxter
Environmental Forum.
6
Titled “Uplift” in reference to the 1880s to 1920s women’s
movement, Peek’s sculpture will pay homage to Sweet Briar’s
history as a women’s college and to its natural surroundings. Red
clay, which constitutes most of the soil on campus, will be central
to the artwork and will be represented by vivid-hued monolithic
retaining walls “sweeping across the site,” Peek said.
Friends of Art has set aside a project budget of $50,000 from
member donations it received in the last two years. Construction
of the sculpture is set to begin this fall, along with workshops
that will engage students in the creative process. Peek hopes to
complete the project in time for the planned library dedication
on Nov. 7.
Scan for a video
of Fox’s talk.
Kylene Hayslett ’07
College Stages
‘Brundibár’
I
N APRIL, SWEET BRIAR THEATRE
staged Tony Kushner’s translation of
“Brundibár,” the opera that was originally
performed by Jewish children in Nazioccupied Czechoslovakia. The production was
underwritten by Sen. Elliot Schewel and his
wife, Rosel. Designer Cheryl Warnock created
the set to look like a concentration camp, and
Sweet Briar’s own student orchestra delivered
the soundtrack dressed in prison garb.
The cast of “Brundibár” performs on stage at
Murchison Lane Auditorium.
“In Sweet Remembrance”
Aug. 27, 29 & 30, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 31, 2 p.m.
Murchison Lane Auditorium,
Babcock Fine Arts Center
Free Admission
Additional Special Events
Sponsored by the Alumnae Office
Written by Tearrance A. Chisholm and
commissioned by Endstation, Sweet Briar
College, the Virginia Center for the Creative
Arts and the Greater Lynchburg Community
Trust, “In Sweet Remembrance” is a tribute
to the significant role of the black community
throughout the College’s history. For more
information, visit endstationtheatre.org.
CONTRACTORS INSTALL THE
new sound booth in Murchison Lane
Auditorium, thanks to a $30,000 grant from
the Virginia Foundation for Independent
Colleges. Renovations were completed in
March and also included a lighting and
projection booth, a family viewing room,
additional storage and a new box oﬃce in
the lobby.
7
Remaking History
S
WEET BRIAR’S MARGARET JONES WYLLIE ’45 ENGINEERING PROGRAM TEAMED UP
with a local company, GoMeasure3D, this spring to make a bit of history. The College donated the use of its
3D printer to reproduce missing pieces of 400-year-old Virginia Indian-English artifacts excavated from the first
permanent English settlement at Jamestown.
Above right: Jamestown
archaeologist David
Givens holds a recreated
400-year-old artifact still
warm from the 3D printer
behind him.
Above: A fragment is
produced in the
3D printer.
GoMeasure3D used high-definition scanning to capture images of fragments of broken ceramic vessels found
in the James Fort. Technicians then processed the data to generate 3D computer replicas of the pieces the
archaeologists didn’t find. Finally, those results were used to “print” the missing fragments so conservators could
piece together the whole — now composed of original and reproduced shards, blending 17th- and 21st-century
technologies.
One of the artifacts Sweet Briar helped reproduce is a small kiln used by Joseph Cotton to fire clay pipes.
Cotton made the pot by pressing clay inside an Indian basket, which burned off during firing. The distinctive
weave impression left on its exterior is thought to be the only known example of a Virginia Indian basket from
that time, said David Givens, a senior staff archaeologist at the Jamestown Rediscovery Archaeological Project.
About 48,000 shards of Indian pottery have been found within James Fort since its discovery in 1996. They
help reveal how the colonists incorporated Virginia Indian identity, objects and technology into their material
culture in ways that haven’t been told before, Givens said.
“In archaeology, context is everything,” he said. “I can’t tell you that this basket was with Pocahontas, but she,
John Smith and John Rolfe were walking around when this basket was used. Certainly one of them laid their
hands on it or their eyes. … It’s pretty cool.”
The recreated artifacts will be part of a new exhibit at the Voorhees Archaearium, the archaeological museum at
Historic Jamestowne. “World of Pocahontas” opened this summer and focuses on Virginia Indians.
8
IN APrIL, SWeeT BrIAr HOuSe
was voted No. 1 in an online
poll conducted by the Virginia
Center for Architecture to identify
“Virginia’s Favorite Architecture.”
It bested Thomas Jefferson’s
Monticello, Poplar Forest and his
Academical Village at uVa.
The Grass Is Greener …
I
t’s been a year of great strIdes toward
environmental sustainability for sweet briar. In January,
the College joined four other private Virginia colleges
in partnering with Collegiate Clean energy to convert
methane emissions from landfills into environmentally
friendly energy for their institutions.
emory & Henry College, Hollins University, Lynchburg
College, randolph College and sweet briar became the
first institutions of higher learning in the state to provide
100-percent renewable electricity to their respective
campuses.
as a result, the independent colleges are offsetting between
50 and 70 percent of their total carbon footprint and
establishing a new standard for sustainability at colleges and
universities in the commonwealth. the combined savings is
estimated between $3.2 million and $6.4 million over the
next 12 years.
Collegiate Clean energy provides colleges, universities
and businesses with renewable energy products and is an
affiliate of Ingenco, Virginia’s largest landfill-gas-to-energy
operator. Landfills account for 35 percent of all manmade
methane emissions in the United states, and by capturing
those emissions, Lfg-to-energy projects preserve the
environment while reducing the need for fossil fuel.
Electricity generated from landfill gas will be delivered to
each college through the distribution system owned by
appalachian Power. the Council of Independent Colleges
in Virginia coordinated the sustainability initiative.
to convert approximately 250 acres of its hayfields to
native warm-season grasses with perennial borders. the
grasses will be sold as biofuel, with the borders becoming
pollinator habitat.
“not only will we be growing a biofuel to be used
as a green energy source, the warm-season grasses
also enhance carbon sequestration through greater
root production,” said vice president for finance and
administration scott shank.
Sweet Briar students will also benefit from the
collaboration through research opportunities. about 61
species of wildflowers, including three types of milkweed,
are being planted. the intent is to study the impacts of
establishing pollinator-attractant plant species next to the
energy crops.
“the project has the potential to provide substantial
educational opportunities for us in the areas of biology,
chemistry, environmental studies, engineering and perhaps
others,” said dorys McConnell duberg Professor of
ecology Linda fink.
while the research will take about three years, sweet briar
is entering into a “longer-term arrangement to manage and
harvest the warm-season grasses to be sold in Virginia as
biofuel under a revenue-sharing agreement,” shank said.
“overall, this opportunity will not generate a large sum of
revenue; however, it will generate substantially more than
our former leases with local farmers.”
In april, the College announced that it has entered into
an agreement with fdC enterprises grassland services
9
Above: Trethewey with Taneal Williams ’16
during her book signing at Sweet Briar.
right: Trethewey with Professor John Gregory
Brown at her reading in Pannell Gallery.
Poet F
Laureate
Visits
Campus
ROM THE MOMENT NATASHA TRETHEWEY
took the stage in Murchison Lane Auditorium this
past February, she had everyone’s attention.
“A poem can help us cross divides,” she said,
adding that it allows us to hear difficult things about
ourselves and others.
“Poetry,” she had told listeners during an intimate
Q&A in Pannell Gallery earlier that day, “can help
us have some of the most difficult conversations,”
referring to the sometimes invisible racism still
present today.
Being appointed U.S. Poet Laureate in June 2012 was
a pleasant surprise for Trethewey, and she takes the
honor very seriously.
Born in Mississippi in 1966, on the 100th Confederate
Memorial Day, to a black mother and a white father,
Trethewey has firsthand experience with its various
forms, some more explicit than others.
Since her debut “Domestic Work” in 2000,
Trethewey has tried to make sense of the “American
idea of difference,” leading her back to 18th-century
notions of racial distinction. Many of these ideas,
first promoted by Enlightenment philosophers and
scientists, still inform modern versions of racism, she
said, even if it’s not always intentional.
When Trethewey was growing up, people attributed
anything she did well to her “white side,” she
recalled, “as if being half white improved me.”
“Native Guard,” in which the poet traces her own
history back to the Civil War, serves as an elegy to
her mother, who was murdered when Trethewey
was 19. “Thrall” explores the nature of inheritance,
mostly through poems about her white father.
Working through her own family history has helped
her come to terms with some uncomfortable truths
about her biracial identity, but Trethewey believes
the personal is always also a reflection of the bigger
picture: If art can be used to confront one’s own
demons, it can also serve to reveal problems in
society.
10
In January 2013, upon being called to a second
term, the Emory University professor moved to
Washington, D.C., where her office in the Library of
Congress allowed her to hold regular office hours
for anyone who wanted to talk to her — about
anything.
Determined to make it a position of service, she
hoped connecting with people might help her come
up with a project to devote her time to.
As it turned out, the conversations themselves
became the project she was looking for: Talking to
strangers about her poetry led to discussions about
larger issues that concerned them.
Hearing from others that she’s making a difference
has been one of the most gratifying parts of her job,
Trethewey said.
She recalls one incident in particular, when an
old man stopped her on a D.C. street last year.
“You’re the poet laureate,” he said. “You’re
doing a heck of a job!”
A ‘Paragon’ of Sweet Briar Excellence
F
OR MANY, IT DIDN’T COME AS A SURPRISE WHEN
the Presidential Medalist was announced at this year’s Awards
Convocation. After all, Spencer Beall had been making a name for
herself practically from the minute she stepped foot on campus four
years ago.
For Beall, it was a magical moment.
“Receiving the Presidential Medal is an honor that I only could
dream about ever since my freshman year, when I saw Kathryn
Alexander receive it,” she said.
When President Parker announced the 2014 award, Beall’s “heart
froze” and she could “hardly breathe,” said the Ashburn, Va.,
native.
“As if in a fairy tale, I have become the woman I have always
wanted to be. I now know why Cinderella felt so great.”
The former Pannell Scholar and Honors Summer Research fellow
graduated in May with a triple major in French, history and art
history and a minor in medieval and Renaissance studies. Her
Senior Honors Thesis was written in French and fills 119 pages —
not a big deal for her, considering the
Apple iBook she published
last spring with her mentor and French professor, Marie-Thérèse
Killiam.
Beall was also the first recipient of the Virginia Collegiate Honors
Council’s Honors Scholar of the Year Award, which was given out
in April of this year.
The Presidential Medal followed various departmental awards and
her induction into Phi Beta Kappa as well Nu Mu, the Sweet Briar
chapter of Pi Delta Phi, the National Collegiate French Honor
Society.
Beall said she always knew Sweet Briar would be the perfect place
for her.
“I was never more delirious with happiness than when I received
my acceptance letter in the mail,” she said. “I will remember that
day for the rest of my life.”
At Sweet Briar, Beall served on the Academic Affairs Committee
and was a member of the French and medieval and Renaissance
studies clubs. She also worked in the admission office all four years,
first as an office assistant and docent, then as the co-ambassador
chairwoman.
Among numerous nominations, Beall received praise from a
professor who called her “one of the paragons of what Sweet Briar
stands for … academically accomplished, intellectually motivated,
fearless in seeking out opportunities and at the center of an
intellectually inspired social life on campus.”
Another faculty member’s endorsement was equally enthusiastic.
“It is no exaggeration on my part when I say that she is an
exceptional young woman and one of the very best students
Sweet Briar has ever seen,” the nomination letter states,
adding that Beall also made a lasting impression on her
French teachers while studying abroad at the Sorbonne.
While praising Beall’s academic achievements, the
professor made sure to point out her personal
qualities, as well.
“Anyone who knows Spencer also knows that
she is a genuinely good person, compassionate
and generous, and that wearing pearls in her
case is more than a Sweet Briar tradition
… [She] is, truly, the rare pearl of Sweet
Briar.”
Beall plans to pursue a doctorate in art
history and hopes to someday work as a
museum curator and researcher.
11
Al Cook
Above: Sweet Briar’s 2014 ANrC
Novice Division Champion team
right: Seniors Olivia Smith (from
left), Sarah Hibler and Katie Drake
are flanked by head IHSA coach
Lizzie Fisch (left) and coach and
riding director Mimi Wroten.
Spring of Successes
S
WEET BRIAR’S RIDING PROGRAM ENJOYED A
successful spring with several team wins and a number of
seniors ending their college riding careers on a high note.
In April, the College hosted the 37th annual American National
Riding Commission (ANRC) National Intercollegiate Equitation
Championship, which brought renowned equestrian judge and
show official George H. Morris to campus. The venue, weather
and riding were just what the former U.S. Equestrian Team chef
d’equipe could have hoped for.
“The ANRC is a great program. It upholds the value of the sport.
This competition took me back to the good old days,” said Morris,
who also attended a dinner and presented a lecture during his stay.
“The campus, the buildings, the landscape, the rings, the jumps —
all, if I graded it, would grade an A-plus.”
Sweet Briar’s National Division team won third place overall, and
the Novice team won the championship in its division.
In the National Division, Olivia Smith ’14, Katie Drake ’14,
Kathryne Richard ’15 and Abigail Strohmeyer ’16 each had
top-10 finishes in at least one competition phase, while Smith
and Strohmeyer finished in the top 10 overall in individual
competition.
12
In the Novice Division, Alexandra Markmann ’17, Jenny Mix ’15,
Olivia Fabian Slocum ’17 and Haley Reeves ’16 had top-10 finishes.
Markmann was the division’s reserve champion overall, and Mix
also finished in the top 10 in overall individual standings.
In May, seniors Sarah Hibler, Katie Drake and Olivia Smith
traveled to Pennsylvania, each having qualified to compete at
the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National
Championships. All three placed in their competitive classes — and
Hibler returned from the show as the intermediate equitation over
fences reserve champion.
Smith competed for the second year in the Cacchione Cup —
a special class for the top-36 riders in the open division, who
represent each IHSA region in the country — placing ninth.
“This is a very competitive class, so being ninth nationally in the
Cacchione Cup is a great accomplishment,” riding program director
Mimi Wroten said.
Sweet Briar lacrosse celebrated 100 years this spring.
A special tailgate and anniversary festivities, sponsored by the
alumnae and annual giving offices, campus safety and the Vixen soccer
team, were held during the March 31 lacrosse game against Hollins
university. The centennial celebration also included a T-shirt design
contest to commemorate the milestone.
13
FACULTY FOCUS
14
Virginia Honors SBC’s Robeva
IN MARCH, SWEET BRIAR PROFESSOR OF
mathematical sciences Raina Robeva was one of
12 professors to receive a 2014 Outstanding Faculty
Award from the State Council of Higher Education
for Virginia, the commonwealth’s highest honor given
to faculty at its private and public universities and
colleges.
The General Assembly and SCHEV established the
awards in 1986 with two guiding principles: first, that
successful nominees must show superior accomplishments
in all dimensions of scholarship — defined as teaching,
discovery, integration of knowledge and service — and
second, that their accomplishments “strongly” reflect the
mission of the institutions they serve.
“What feels good about this [award] is that it’s
for all of the above,” Robeva says. “Teaching, research,
publications — to be recognized for all of these
combined, at the state level, it really feels nice.”
It’s even nicer given Robeva’s initial skepticism when
her colleague, math professor and department chair Jim
Kirkwood suggested that the College nominate her.
Kirkwood was resolute about her chances, citing
Robeva’s knack for being both demanding and nurturing
with students and her contributions to the emerging field
of mathematical biology education, in which she is a
nationally recognized leader.
the potential of new mathematical approaches in the life
sciences. And, she engenders the same enthusiasm and
confidence in others.
“There are few characteristics that define good
teaching more than transforming a student’s fear of a
subject into excitement, or self-doubt into curiosity,”
wrote Ashley Baker ’15, a chemistry major. “When I
began my freshman year, I was terrified by one word that
appeared on my schedule: calculus. Fortunately, Sweet
Briar College hosts a gem of a mathematics professor.”
One of Robeva’s tricks is not waiting for a struggling
student to ask for help.
“I have witnessed her practically begging
underperforming students to come for extra help,”
Kirkwood says, an observation corroborated by student
course evaluations.
Her research partners and those who’ve collaborated
with her on the development and dissemination of
teaching materials for educators find her equally
persuasive.
John R. Jungck, who directs the Interdisciplinary
Science Learning Laboratories at the University of
Delaware, calls her a “leader who delivers time and again”
and an “extraordinary pioneer in higher education.”
“She truly cares about her students,” Kirkwood wrote
in support of her nomination. “What’s more, the level of
her research for someone at a liberal arts college is almost
beyond belief.”
“It is rare that biologists feel that a mathematician
really wants to serve them and their students in a genuine
and non-condescending collaboration,” Jungck wrote.
“Raina’s friendliness, enthusiasm and incredible breadth
manage to win over even the most skeptical and resistant
professors in our workshops.”
There are common threads in the testimonials
Robeva’s students and colleagues made on her behalf —
that she is an always cheerful bridge builder, enabler and
a powerful influencer, because she so ardently believes in
The Outstanding Faculty Award recipients were
honored at a luncheon at the Jefferson Hotel in
Richmond on Feb. 20 after an introduction on the floor
of the General Assembly.
Mapping Art History
SWEET BRIAR ASSOCIATE
professor of art history Tracy
Hamilton is one of 16 fellows selected
to participate in the first Kress Summer
Institute on Digital Mapping & Art
History, which takes place Aug. 3-15
at Middlebury College.
“I feel really honored to have been
chosen for this institute and know it will
transform what I am able to do with my
scholarship and teaching,” Hamilton said.
“It’s incredibly exciting.”
The institute received 128 applications
in all, but organizers were impressed by
Hamilton’s project “Mapping Medieval
Women’s Patronage: Paris in the
Fourteenth Century.”
For almost two weeks, Hamilton
will investigate and visualize the cultural
geography of the Middle Ages using
geographic information systems and
other digital mapping technologies.
Creating these maps will support her latest
Winning an
Academic Trifecta
PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Deborah Durham has received three
awards to support her work while
she is on sabbatical next year. In March,
she learned that she is among the
8 percent of applicants nationwide and
one of three in Virginia to receive a 2014
National Endowment for the Humanities
Summer Stipend. The $6,000 award
will support her project on “Elusive
Adulthood in Botswana.”
The second award is a Fulbright
Scholar Grant for field research this fall
to explore how people in Botswana today
approach “adulthood” — a concept that
book-length project, “The Ceremonial
Landscape: Art, Gender, and Geography
in Late Medieval France,” which focuses
on the perception and manipulation of
geography by a group of royal women
patrons in late medieval France.
Hamilton’s research is based on the
work of cultural geographers, such as
J. B. Harley and Dennis Wood, “who
claim that culture is spatial, that space is
ideological, and that
we can discover issues
of power, identity and
social regulation within
landscape,” she wrote in
a recent proposal.
“Maps have always been intrinsic
to my understanding of time and place,”
she wrote. “As a historian of medieval
women’s habits of patronage, collection
and exchange, visualizing the places and
spaces that frame and locate these actions
is unavoidable and — for me — one of the
most exciting elements of this work.”
Hamilton said
illustrating her findings
in a digital map will
help illuminate the
subject as well as
support other scholars
in their research.
has gained new meaning and greater stakes
in its attainment because of changing social
and economic conditions in the country.
Durham’s new work picks up on research
she conducted in the 1990s on youth and
youth groups in Botswana, which resulted
in several publications.
“I will talk to youth I knew in the
early 1990s about their own lives,” she
says. “I will also meet with people in
organizations based in schools, churches
and business circles to discuss their ideas,
and strike up conversations in malls and
markets.”
This is Durham’s second NEH
Summer Stipend and third Fulbright grant.
She also was awarded a Sweet Briar
faculty fellowship for spring 2015. During
that time, she will work on a monograph
on changing ideas of youth and adulthood
in Botswana and a volume on the
anthropology of adulthood.
“The sense that adulthood is elusive,
unattainable for some, or insecure or
unrecognizable for others is common
around the world,” Durham says. “Yet,
while we can see commonalities —
unrealized economic hopes, a connection
of growing up with improved class status
— the problems, discussions and creative
solutions to elusive adulthood vary in
fascinating ways around the world.”
The edited volume will include
chapters by anthropologists on Japan,
China, India, Georgia, Egypt, Sudan,
Papua New Guinea and Botswana.
15
FACULTY FOCUS
16
Its blending of disciplines
reflects shifting priorities in
both scholarly works and
teaching at Sweet Briar and
elsewhere, he says.
The Physics of Writing
SETH CLABOUGH, DIRECTOR OF SWEET
Briar’s Academic Resource Center and an assistant
professor of English, traveled to Nuremberg, Germany,
in May to present his paper “Quantum Novels:
Theoretical Physics and the Art of Writing” at a firstof-its-kind conference.
The inaugural symposium, Physics and Literature:
Theory – Popularization – Aestheticization, was
presented by the Erlangen Center for Literature and
Natural Science, known as ELINAS, at the University
of Erlangen-Nuremberg. ELINAS seeks to develop
the exchange between physics, literature and literary
criticism as a field of research — one that is “rich with
interdisciplinary potential,” Clabough says.
Clabough’s work explores how elements of quantum
physics might be applied to the creation of a novel and
offers an overview of the “physics fiction” tradition.
“I think the hybridized
aspects of the ELINAS
conference mirror an overall
trend in liberal arts education
that Sweet Briar is really
embracing,” he says. “The
world is more instantaneously
interconnected than ever before, and colleges need to keep
up if they want to stay relevant. I think Sweet Briar has
an exciting opportunity to take the lead and is, in fact,
already making strides.”
Literary criticism, linguistic studies and novels
are increasingly incorporating and exploring aspects of
theoretical physics, Clabough explains.
“[Meanwhile,] those working and writing in the
field of physics appear to be growing increasingly
aware of the linguistic aspects of scientific research and
communication. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership of
seemingly disparate modes of inquiry.”
The international slate of speakers represented
colleges and universities from Italy to Poland to the
Canary Islands, as well as the range of science and
humanities, including physicists, astronomers, novelists,
philosophers and poets. Some notable names were
physicist Brian Schwartz and poet Durs Grünbein, among
many others.
Project Takes Poet to Peru
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POETRY JOHN
Casteen has been awarded a $2,000 Mednick
Fellowship by the Virginia Foundation for
Independent Colleges. He will use the grant for a
multimedia project in Peru next January.
“It’s a great opportunity, and I feel very lucky,” said
Casteen, who was selected by Sweet Briar College as its
only nominee to compete against proposals from other
VFIC faculty. It is also, he was told, the first creative
project funded by the fellowship — and it comes at a
perfect time.
“The Mednick Fellowship will let me build on what
was probably the most important project of my career so
far,” he said.
In 2012, Casteen traveled to China on a faculty
grant to document his experiences in a country that had
undergone rapid cultural, economic and climatic changes.
He wanted to get to know the people and explore how
these developments had influenced their lives.
The project included essays, poems and photographs,
all of which Casteen brought back to Sweet Briar.
The only problem with China was that Casteen
doesn’t speak Mandarin or Cantonese, making it difficult
for him to communicate with locals. This time, he wanted
to make sure there was no language barrier.
For two weeks, Casteen will be touring Peru writing
poems and essays, as well as photographing and filming
what he encounters. He wants it to be a true multimedia
project that is slated to “live on the Web” from the get-go.
Sweet Briar Loves Librarian Julie Kane
THIS SPRING, SWEET BRIAR
College librarian Julie Kane was named
one of 10 winners of the Carnegie
Corporation of New York/New York
Times I Love My Librarian Award.
The honor came with a $5,000 check
presented at a ceremony hosted by The
New York Times.
“It’s a little more special because it
comes from the people we serve,” Kane
said.
Reflecting new responsibilities,
Kane’s title recently changed to director of
digital teaching and learning and digital
pedagogies librarian. Since 2007, she has
served as head of technical services, charged
with cataloging, acquisitions and serials.
In July 2013, she was promoted to full
professor.
American Library Association administers
the program. This year, more than
1,100 library patrons submitted stories
detailing how their librarians impact their
communities and lives. Nominees work in
public, school, college, community college
and university libraries.
In addition to her work at Sweet
Briar, she is pursuing an M.A. in English
Kane believes the award has as much
do with the community she serves as
anything she has done.
from Lynchburg College. She earned her
M.S. in library and information science
at Simmons and her bachelor’s at Mount
Holyoke, both women’s colleges — which
helped draw her to Sweet Briar after nearly
seven years as a serials librarian at Stanford
Law School.
“Every facet of my nomination that
highlights what I’ve done or what I do for
Sweet Briar, I can trace back to members of
the staff, faculty and administration who
have supported, encouraged and pushed
me out of my comfort zone to explore,
travel and learn new things,” she says.
Kane’s colleagues also recognized her
for volunteering as an advisor to first-year
students from 2009 to 2011, for her service
on numerous American Library Association
committees and for her own scholarship.
“I’ve taken advantage of the incredible
support here and pounced on every crumb
of encouragement. I only hope that I can
give back something of value that reflects a
fraction of what that does for me.”
Indeed. Seven grateful people —
including five faculty members and the
College’s grants officer, Kathleen Placidi —
contributed to Kane’s nomination. It was
Placidi who coordinated the effort, along
with associate dean for academic affairs Jill
Granger.
“I’ve been so impressed by how Julie
has expanded the role of what an academic
librarian is, by enthusiastically helping
our faculty incorporate digital resources
into their classrooms and research, and by
working so hard to learn new techniques
and skills in order to turn herself into
a digital humanities resource for the
community,” Placidi said.
Integrating technology across the
curriculum is a cornerstone of the College’s
strategic plan.
Kane served on the Digital
Sophistication Planning Group and has
been a key mover in digital learning
initiatives.
Writing in support of her nomination,
English department chair Marcia
Robertson cited Kane’s leadership on the
fall 2013 implementation of the Digication
ePortfolio platform.
“Having Julie there to handle
questions and soothe anxieties and solve
problems makes a qualitative difference in
our lives,” she wrote.
“Julie Kane loves being a liberal arts
college librarian — and it shows,” Granger
wrote in summation of her nomination.
Only 60 librarians nationwide have
won the I Love My Librarian Award
since it was inaugurated in 2008. The
17
Character • Cour
W
hen the National Women’s Histor y Project
announced its 2014 theme, “Celebrating Women of
Character, Courage and Commitment,” it struck a
chord with us. The Sweet Briar family brims with individuals, both
men and women, who’ve given of themselves in service to community
and country in different capacities — and we wanted to tell a few
of their stories. Over the next several pages, we highlight how the
people of Sweet Briar — students, alumnae, faculty and staff — have
served the United States.
Sweet Briar seniors are sworn in to the Women’s Army Corps by Maj. Gen. Joe Dalton on April 17, 1944.
Susan Somervell (from left), Margaret “Peggy” Gordon, Norma Bradley, Anita Lippitt, Janet Staples, Alice
Hepburn and Marjorie Willetts reported for duty following graduation.
18
age • Commitment
19
ARMY DAYS
By Anita Lippitt Clay ’44
IN JUNE OF 1944,
I was inducted into
the Army by Maj.
Gen. Joe Dalton at
Sweet Briar College,
along with six of my
classmates. We were
inducted as part of
a publicity drive
to encourage more
college girls to enlist
in the services.
Those who went in with me were Susan Somervell
Griswold, Peggy Gordon Seiler, Norma Bradley Arnold,
Janet Staples Munt, Alice Hepburn Puleston and
Marjorie Willetts Maiden.
We all scattered in different directions after basic
training. Susan and I went into the Air Corps, which
was still part of the Army. We were stationed at New
Castle Army Air Base in Delaware in a swamp where
mold grew in my high-heel shoes in two days.
I enjoyed being a statistician, and one of my duties
was to plot on a huge map all the flights of U.S. planes
in the China-Burma-India region. Our base received
most of the wounded soldiers from that region.
I spent the rest of my service in the Army at
Westover Field (now Westover Air Reserve Base) in
Chicopee, Mass., where I was in the public relations
office. It was exciting riding out in a Jeep with a
photographer to interview VIPs who arrived from
overseas. I remember how charming Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister was.
I really enjoyed being a “lowly corporal” in the
Army, but rather than go to officer’s training, I retired
after two years. The war was over, and I did not want to
make a career of the service. I was proud of those two
stripes and proud to have served my country in World
War II.
It was a remarkable learning experience. Having
been educated in small girls schools all my life, I must
say, it was a real education for me to get out and meet
all kinds of people. It stood me in good stead when I
married a naval officer a year later and ended up living
on military bases around the world.
Reflections from the Class of 1944
Alice Lancaster Buck was sitting in her family’s on-campus
home. Virginia “Dykie” Watts Fournier was listening to
the radio in her dorm room in Reid. Catherine “Tee” Tift
Porter had just finished watching “Sergeant York” and
was leaving Lynchburg’s downtown movie theater. She
said for a moment she thought she had stepped through
the screen to the movie set instead of outside onto the
street. Young boys were running about, waving papers and
yelling, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” For all of them,
the moment they heard Pearl Harbor had been bombed is
one that no amount of time will ever erase.
“We knew immediately we were going to war,” Porter said.
And they were right. World War II changed lives across
the globe, and the students at Sweet Briar weren’t immune
from its effects. Members of the Class of 1944 remember
comforting classmates whose fiancés and boyfriends went
off to war. Louise Smith Barry recalled a classmate whose
boyfriend, a pilot, had said he would fly over the College
20
before he headed overseas. The two women were
sitting together in the infirmary when they heard
the sounds of the promised plane buzzing overhead.
Students gave their ration cards to the College and
took turns waiting tables in the refectory because
many of the employees had joined the war effort.
Despite the difficult times, the young women still
found opportunities for fun during their time on
campus. They participated in tap clubs — like Paint
‘n’ Patches and Aints ‘n’ Asses — staged class shows
and enjoyed overnight adventures to the outing
cabin.
All of these times drew the class together, according
to Buck, who regularly oversees get-togethers for
the class in between their Reunions. “What we
shared together, good and bad, made us so much
closer,” she said.
See Reunion class picture on page 78.
Meridith De Avila Khan
Career
Volunteer
“PEOPLE ASK WHAT I FOUND MOST HELPFUL
in enduring the vicissitudes of Army life,” says Joanne
Holbrook Patton, the wife, daughter and granddaughter
of career military officers.
“Aside from the obvious dedication to the mission
of serving our country, a sense of adventure has been
most helpful. Adventure doesn’t promise rose gardens,
but [it] promises something new and interesting around
every corner — including new opportunities to serve.”
Serve is what Patton did while she and her husband,
Maj. Gen. George S. Patton, raised five children and
lived in 27 different homes during his career. Being
an Army officer’s wife comes with privilege but also
responsibility — even more so when you marry the son
of a famous World War II commander, and in a time of
war. Her husband saw combat in Korea and Vietnam,
Story by Jennifer McManamay
21
Patton Family Private Collection
and his decorations include two
Distinguished Service Crosses
for valor in Vietnam.
It was an era of frequent
war zone deployments, yet
there were few formal support
systems for spouses and
children as there are today.
“I came along in the days
when it was almost impossible
to have a career because we
moved so frequently,” Patton
says, noting she was married
a week after graduating with
an English degree from Sweet
Briar in 1952. “Because
military wives didn’t work,
they volunteered to assist
community programs the
Pentagon couldn’t or wouldn’t
support at the time. They
became professionals at it.”
Col. George S. Patton in Vietnam
“I felt like we were a team,
even though he might be
overseas,” Patton recalls.
In 1980, George Patton
retired to Hamilton, Mass.,
and began work on an organic
farm at the home he inherited
from his parents. Joanne
Patton stayed part time in
Washington, where she had
been asked to establish two
new executive volunteer
positions. For the next year,
she served concurrently as
the first national volunteer
consultant for Service to the
Armed Forces of the American
Red Cross and first volunteer
consultant to the Department
of the Army for Army
Community Service.
“I was proud that by then I was considered to be
a professional by those organizations, even without a
paycheck,” Patton says.
She started as a Red Cross Gray Lady and later
became a staff aide. Over the next 29 years, she assumed
numerous roles, particularly at the Red Cross and Army
Community Service, a military-sponsored program she
helped establish while then-Col. Patton was serving his
third tour in Vietnam. He cared deeply about the men
he served with and encouraged her involvement. She
viewed the two of them as partners in service.
Being part of growing their programs and seeing
their maturation — as well as those of the National
Military Family Association (NMFA), which she also had
worked with from its earliest days — was her reward.
“The most satisfaction came when we could show
all military community members that they were part
FAMILY TRADITION
Joanne Holbrook Patton ’52 is a fifth-generation Army
daughter, raised by a career officer. Her mother also was
born into a multigenerational Army family. In 1952, she
married a young officer, George S. Patton, who retired
as a decorated major general after serving for 34 years,
including two wars. His father, who died in December
1945, was the famous World War II general by the same
name.
It is little wonder that Joanne and George Patton’s children
are as committed to service as their parents.
The Patton family (from left), Helen, Margaret, Benjamin,
George, Joanne, George Jr. and robert at the Patton
Homestead in South Hamilton, Mass., circa 1967
22
“The family does not forget its military roots,” Joanne
Patton says. “[Our] children, who shared twenty-seven
different homes over the Army years, have continued to
give service in their own ways.”
of a family and that there were places where they could
give and receive help,” she says. “And [to show] that the
military family has a heart.”
She also was on the board of CAST, the Center for
Applied Special Technology, which works to provide
universal access to learning, especially for those with
intellectual challenges.
Coping with the special
needs of their eldest son,
George Jr., led to her
involvement in helping
people with disabilities.
For her work, Patton was later awarded the
Outstanding Civilian Service Medal and the
Distinguished Civilian
Service Decoration from the
Department of the Army.
The American Red Cross
of Northeast Massachusetts
gave her its Enduring Hero
Award, and the NMFA
named its Military Spouse
Scholarship for her.
and was Sweet Briar’s 2001 Distinguished Alumna in
recognition of her accomplishments.
Patton closed her
consultancy after her
husband died in 2004 and
In 1983, she opened
became CEO of Green
her own business, Patton
Meadows Farm, George’s
Consultant Services.
now-thriving certifiedorganic agribusiness. He
“Because I had come
named seven of his fields
to know and experience the
for soldiers who died as
skills of trainers, consultants
heroes under his command
Joanne and daughter Helen in their red Cross uniforms
and speakers who had
in Vietnam. Every year, the
talents I knew could help
farm dedicates a day to veterans and honors these fallen
nonprofit organizations, I created a [national] resource
men.
agency representing them,” she says.
Patton explains she made a lifetime commitment to
Throughout, she has continued volunteering
those who served with her husband and their families.
for local and national programs — Operation Troop
Support in Danvers, Mass., for example — and served
“It’s to remind the public that sacrifices have been
on several boards, including the NMFA’s and Sweet
made and continue to be made,” she says.
Briar’s. She is the recipient of two honorary doctorates
The eldest, Mother Margaret Georgina Patton, is a
Benedictine nun. Skilled in several languages and trained
in horticultural therapy, her responsibilities include
maintaining her abbey’s vegetable and fruit plots.
George Patton Jr. is a gifted watercolor artist whose
horsemanship earned him gold and silver medals in the
International Special Olympics.
Their second son, Robert, is the author of five books,
including the just-published “Hell Before Breakfast,” telling
the story of early war correspondents. His titles also
include “The Pattons: A Personal History of an American
Family.”
organizations. Among several objectives, the Patton
Foundation and Patton Stiftung: Sustainable Trust seek
to bring countries and cultures together through the arts
— such as concert events for veterans at the recent 70th
anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.
Benjamin Patton, the youngest son, is a documentary
filmmaker. He currently conducts therapeutic workshops
for veterans of many eras who are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, helping them tell their stories
through collaborative filmmaking.
The Pattons also have seven grandsons and five greatgrandchildren.
Helen Patton is a professional in various aspects of
the performing arts and the founder of two nonprofit
23
Dana Dotten ’78 is in the pilot’s seat
of an EC-130 Hercules following flight
engineer rhonda Buckner’s airborne
reenlistment ceremony.
Cmdr. Dana Dotten Endacott (Ret.) ’78
A First-person Essay
AS A SWEET BRIAR SENIOR, I SPENT
many Saturdays studying in the Guion
library at my favorite table in front of a
picture window facing south onto a green
field. One day I asked myself, would
I rather go to graduate school or fly
airplanes? I looked up from my books and,
in a rare occurrence, a plane was crossing
the sky. I took it as a sign.
24
The timing was fortunate: I applied to the Navy
while it was conducting a trial pilot training program
for women in 1978. After graduation, I joined the
Navy, attended Aviation Officer Candidate School in
Pensacola, and was among 14 women who entered
pilot training in 1979. The character “Sugar Britches”
represented us in the movie “An Officer and a
Gentleman.”
In the Navy, one can expect sea duty tours and
overseas deployments alternating with shore duty tours
stateside. Every day is different and rarely boring.
Leadership is gained through experience in working
and taking on challenges with personnel as part of a
team to achieve a common goal. Military service brings
people together from all walks of American life, cultural
backgrounds and geographical areas. What counts most
is character, competence and commitment, not gender,
ethnicity or religion. You ask: “Can I trust my life in the
hands of that crewmember?” If the answer is “no,” then
get that crewmember more training — and if that doesn’t
work, another job.
pressure to impress all 17 male crewmembers aboard.
There are no second chances to make a first impression.
There may be a few days when you ask yourself,
“Why did I sign up to do this?” There will be far more
days when you say to yourself, “This is so cool — I can’t
believe I get paid to do this!”
I looked at the aircraft commander in confusion.
I continued taxiing to the hangar, and the antenna
operator called to the commander again.
For me, living in Japan and the Philippines while
flying transport aircraft all over the western Pacific was
a career highlight. Assisting in Cuban asylum seeker
humanitarian efforts as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s
operations officer in 1996 was also rewarding.
I should also mention that I met an incredibly
dashing, intelligent Navy fighter-attack pilot named
Steve aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway in
Yokosuka, Japan. We married in 1987. When I retired
from the Navy in 1999, our two children were ages 7
and 4. Since then, I have focused my best energy on
family and volunteering in local school improvement
projects. The leadership and executive skills that
I developed during naval service, I now apply to
community service projects and mentoring high school
students through the college application process.
One memory — and a good
lesson — from my service stands
out. As the newest member of a
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron
in Maryland, I wanted to make
a strong impression. I was one of
two women pilots in the squadron
with 110 officers.
As my first mission flying an
EC-130 — towing a 5-mile-long
communications antenna — was
drawing to a close, the aircraft
commander decided to let me
make the landing. After flying for
12 hours, I was looking forward
to having a little fun by landing
the large Hercules. However, I felt
The landing was a little firmer than I liked, but it
was a safe one. As I taxied off the runway, the antenna
operator from the rear of the aircraft called up on the
interphone system.
“No casualties aft,” he said.
“Sir, we’ve sustained damage to the fuselage and
there’s a large crack in the observation window.”
My heart sank. We shut down engines and went
to inspect the damage. Of course, the rest of the crew
followed us to the rear of the aircraft.
“Look at that crack in the observation window!”
someone yelled.
We looked up to see the crew chief mooning me.
If it was a test to see if I could be easily flustered,
embarrassed or disgusted, I disappointed them, because I
laughed. I was so relieved that I hadn’t really damaged an
airplane. I later learned the prank was a rite of passage for
the F.N.G. — short for what crusty crew chiefs and salty
sailors call the new guy, or in my case, new gal. From
then on, I was part of the crew.
Lesson learned: Keep your
sense of humor, even under
pressure!
Dana Dotten ’78 and her then-fiancé
Steve endacott used this 1987 photo
to announce their engagement. Dana
flew EC-130s and C-12 transports in
the Navy, while Steve flew an FA-18
Hornet during their respective 20-year
careers.
25
SBC in the Armed Forces
AMBER CRANDELL ’16
Former Army Spc. Amber Jo Ergenbright, now
Crandell, trained as a combat medic and was
assigned to a medical company ambulance platoon
with the CMC 215 BSB (Base Support Battalion)
1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas. She
deployed twice to Iraq, where her unit operated a
Level II echelon of care station.
Crandell left the Army in May 2012 and is
studying biology and psychology at Sweet Briar
through the Yellow Ribbon Program. She is a dean’s
list student and a member of Psi Chi and Alpha
Lambda Delta.
Crandell is from a small Wisconsin town and
says that, in addition to the medical training and
college benefits she received, serving in the military
was an opportunity for her to grow as a person.
SGT. LESLIE WERTZ ’12
Born and raised in Virginia, Leslie Wertz joined the National Guard
in 2006 at the age of 17 as an all-wheel vehicle mechanic. She enrolled
at Sweet Briar in spring 2007 but was deployed to Afghanistan in
2008. Her deployment with the 276th Engineer Battalion in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom’s counter-improvised explosive devices
operations lasted through most of 2009. Wertz returned to Sweet Briar
and graduated in December 2012 as an environmental studies and
biology double major with a minor in archaeology. She is in the Army
Reserve and plans to become a drill sergeant.
“I really value my education, especially after learning the literacy
rate for Afghanistan is less than 30 percent and less than 13 percent for women. I think my deployment
also helped me to take things in stride — when I feel like times are hard, I can always think of a time when
things were harder and the present doesn’t seem nearly as bad.”
26
1ST. LT. CELESTE RUSTOM WINSLOW ’10
Celeste Rustom Winslow (second from right) is an executive
officer with the Headquarters Company of the 864th Engineer
Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade. The Blacksburg, Va., native
graduated from Sweet Briar with a double major in economics
and environmental studies.
“I had no plans to join the military until I found out that
the military and Department of Defense were working on
converting fifty percent of their energy sources to biodiesel,”
she says. “I had never seen myself working a typical desk job.
I thought it was just the kind of experience I was looking for
right out of college.”
LT. COL. KATHERINE I.
POLEVITZKY ’93
“Kate” Polevitzky is the
commanding officer of Support
Battalion, Recruit Training
Regiment, Marine Corps
Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
Commissioned in 1994 as a
communications officer, she has
held commands at the platoon
and company level and currently leads a battalion.
Polevitzky is a veteran of operations Desert Fox, Iraqi
Freedom and Enduring Freedom. She deployed to Okinawa,
Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Her decorations include the
Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold
Stars, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service
Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Navy and
Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
MARY NEELY
WOERNER
Mary Woerner, Sweet Briar’s
post-award grant administrator,
postponed college to join the
U.S. Air Force in 1981 and
attained the rank of E4 sergeant
before her discharge in 1986.
She trained as a cryptologic
linguist and served two tours
in South Korea, completing her
service at the National Security
Agency.
Woerner also traveled all
over South Korea for the Osan
Air Base women’s softball team
and made the all-Korea team,
which took her to Japan and the
Philippines — fulfilling one of
the goals she had set.
“I wanted to travel and see
the world,” she says.
In the photo above, thenSgt. Mary L. Neely is presented
the Air Force Commendation
Medal, one of several
decorations that were awarded
to her, including the Joint
Military Achievement Medal
and Air Force Overseas Short
Tour Medal with two Bronze
Oak Leaf Clusters.
27
Q&A with Petty
Officer 3rd Class
Emily Davies ’11,
Marine Science Technician
HOW DID YOU END UP IN THE COAST
GUARD IN LOUISIANA?
WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN YOUR NEW JOB AS
A MARINE SCIENCE TECHNICIAN?
I went to Coast Guard boot camp 10 days after I graduated
from Sweet Briar with a major in biology and a minor in
environmental science and spent eight weeks in Cape May,
N.J., going through basic training. I graduated on July 15,
2011, as the honor graduate of my company and reported
to Aids to Navigation Team Dulac, La., on July 25. An Aids to
Navigation unit maintains the navigational beacons that mark
the waterways for boats so they are able to stay in the middle
of the channel and in safe water.
As an MST, it is my job to enforce regulations for the
safety of the marine environment and the security of the
port. I conduct vessel boardings to ensure compliance
with applicable domestic laws and international treaties
by checking structural and stability conditions; by verifying
appropriate electrical, fire safety, lifesaving, mechanical and
navigation systems; and by examining living conditions for
crew members on foreign-flagged vessels. I also conduct
commercial waterfront facility inspections to ensure
compliance with safety and security federal regulations, as well
as shipping container inspections for hazardous material and
structural compliance. Finally, I respond to oil and chemical
spills, and help contain and clean up the environment that has
been affected.
WHAT WERE YOUR JOB DUTIES?
As a seaman, my responsibilities were vast and usually
involved getting dirty. I had to scrub bird poop off the lights
and buoys, scrape barnacles and other marine life off the
buoys, and repair or replace any aids that were broken
or missing, as well as clean and maintain the boat and our
equipment. We were responsible for over 300 aids to
navigation, which is a lot of bird poop!
WERE YOU EVER CONFRONTED WITH
EXTREME SITUATIONS?
Being stationed in Louisiana, I have weathered many tropical
storms and hurricanes, including Tropical Storm Lee and
Hurricane Isaac. The latter caused extensive damage to over
75 percent of our aids. We quickly responded to repair the
damage and reopen the ports, allowing commerce to start
up again, and received a meritorious unit commendation for
our efforts. Our unit was also a secondary Search and Rescue
unit, called out to aid in a search if the situation called for it.
28
HOW HAS YOUR JOB CHANGED YOUR
PERSONAL LIFE?
I was born and raised in England and got my green card
once my family and I moved to the U.S., but after joining
the military and experiencing the pride I feel putting on the
uniform every day, I decided to officially make the States
my home and become a citizen. … I’m very excited for the
future and what my new career holds.
Above: Louisiana, winter 2013; emily Davies works on a
malfunctioning navigation aid as dawn rises over the bayou.
Music with a Mission
IT WAS A LOVE OF MUSIC AND THE APPEAL OF A
funded education that lead Annie Covault Jones to audition
with her clarinet for the Marine Corps the summer before
her senior year of high school. She was quickly accepted,
but there was a problem: Annie was a self-described “band
geek,” not an athlete.
Determined to be ready for what lay ahead, she spent
her final year of high school conditioning her body —
starting by running just a quarter mile each day. By the time
she arrived at Parris Island for basic training in October
1993, she had made progress in her physical stamina, but
says she knew others still doubted her abilities.
“Being a Marine taught me I could do more than I
ever imagined,” Annie says. “I discovered most of life’s
challenges are mental, and if you just make up your mind
that you’re going to keep putting one foot in front of the
other, you can do anything.”
Annie proved her naysayers wrong, excelling in boot
camp and achieving one of the highest ratings among
East Coast recruits, which means she bypassed additional
training and headed straight to her first band assignment at
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina.
Following Cherry Point, she was stationed in Okinawa,
where she met fellow Marine and musician Jeff Jones.
For Jeff, the Marine Corps was part of his family’s
history, having many relatives on his mother’s side who
had served in World War II and the Korean War. He, too,
found the ability to perform as a musician while serving his
country and working toward a college education appealing.
He joined the Corps in October 1994, completing
his basic training at Parris Island before going to Camp
Lejeune for infantry school and the Naval School of Music
in Little Creek,Va. Though he was recruited for his musical
abilities, every Marine is a rifleman, according to Jeff.
“We all had to learn how to handle weapons, such as
rocket launchers and grenades,” he says. “It was all part of
what was expected from us in the job.” It was that job that
taught him the value of hard work and service.
“Being a Marine really made me understand that there
are things in life worth working hard for,” Jeff says. “It also
made me appreciate servant leadership, investing yourself
in a cause you truly believe in.”
The Joneses completed their service in July 1997,
both attaining the rank of E4 corporal. Jeff is an assistant
professor of music and Annie is director of residence life at
Sweet Briar.
29
Marcelle Coronel ’17 works on her “Salamander Life Cycle,” pictured above.
UR CAMPUS IS HOME TO AN
abundance of creatures — some more
visible than others. From the omnipresent
deer and squirrels to the Lower Lake’s chattering
flock of Canada geese; from giant snapping turtles
to microscopic crustaceans, Sweet Briar’s woods
and streams are always buzzing with life. But
there’s another species that makes its home here,
and it’s best observed during warm rainy spring
nights: the spotted salamander.
30
etching by Carley Beatty ’14
with corresponding essay by
Field Natural History students
Professor of studio art
Laura Pharis and Niki
epperson ’14 analyze
epperson’s print “Pond
Predators,” far right.
Field Natural History and Ecology students have
the salamanders and collected their findings into essays.
studied the secretive amphibians since 2007, and in the
Pharis’ Two-dimensional Design class created the initial
spring of this year, the Field Natural History class teamed
letters and typeset the text, while her Etching students
up with Professor Laura Pharis and her studio art classes
illustrated various aspects of the salamanders’ life cycle
to create an illustrated narrative of the salamanders’ lives.
and habitat.
It’s the most recent of several collaborations between
Pharis and Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of
Ecology Linda Fink, who have known each other for
The result is a work of art that is both fascinating
and educational.
more than 20 years.
All semester, Fink’s students in Field and Natural
History researched and documented every detail about
31
Cliff
Notes
Story by Jennifer McManamay | Photos by Meridith De Avila Khan
32
Facing page: Briana McCall ’17
looks for a foothold on a top-rope
climb at Pilot Mountain State Park
in North Carolina.
Laurie Tanjuatco ’16 rappels down
a cliff face at Pilot Mountain.
each student packed and carried
her own climbing gear.
FUMIN LI’S HAND SCANS THE UNEVEN ROCK
for a purchase, finds it.
each other; they’re just here to have fun. It is better than
sleeping in and watching TV all week.
“Money. That was beautiful,” Tasha Gillum ’04 says.
“Shift your weight to those feet before you step up.”
“It’s kind of a Sweet Briar thing,” Caroline
McDonald ’17 explains. “I wasn’t thinking, ‘I’m going
camping with ten strangers’ — I’m going with other
Sweet Briar students.”
Li inches up the cliff face until she can touch the
carabiner attaching her rope to an anchor at the top.
Gillum, belaying for her, tells her to sit back in the
harness and relax.
“Look over your left shoulder, Fumin,” Gillum says.
“Don’t look down. Look up and over and enjoy the
view.”
Past bare, wintry trees, the North Carolina piedmont
drops away from the trail below — a ledge clinging to
the side of Pilot Mountain. Minutes later, Li’s feet drop
to the ground and an enormous smile lights her face.
The senior engineering major’s first outdoor climb is a
success.
It’s what this spring break trip with the Sweet Briar
Outdoor Program is all about: trying something new
and being challenged. The students don’t even know
Emily Wartella ’15 had thought about it but forged
ahead despite her shyness — and her fear of heights. She
worried about her physical conditioning, but Gillum,
who directs the program, assured her it would be all
right. And it is. Although she struggles the first day, she
ascends several feet.
The next day, she attempts a route called
“Goldilocks” on a different section of rock and nails it.
It’s hard to tell who is happier, Wartella or her fellow
climbers.
“She totally tapped that ’biner,” says Lizzie
Newhart ’15, one of two in the group besides Gillum
who has outdoor rock climbing experience.
33
Left: Tasha Gillum ’04 preps emily Wartella ’15
before she ascends a route.
Above: Fumin Li ’15 is pretty happy after her
first outdoor rock climbing attempt.
State Mankato and working in outdoor
education.
“It was these experiences of … trying
new things, being really challenged,” she
says, noting one of the first times she felt
it was at the top of a rock climb.
But Wartella is satisfied. “I’m really proud of myself.
… Halfway through, I didn’t think I was going to get to
the top. My legs were shaking really bad and my arms
[were tired].”
It’s a victory for Gillum, too.
“My goal is to expose these women to new
activities and give them confidence and pride in their
accomplishments,” she says. “It’s also something that
they own. We were here to support Emily, but she
accomplished that on her own.”
Gillum knows what Wartella is feeling from her
own participation as a student. It brought her back
to the Outdoor Program as its director in 2011 after
earning an M.S. in experiential education at Minnesota
34
“There’s such an awareness that you
have of your body and how it moves,
and it’s really a powerful thing that you
own,” she says. “I just found so much
confidence in myself from that, and I
knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Gillum ensures the programs are suitable for
students of all interests, abilities and experience. Each
year, she and the student instructors plan a different
spring break trip in addition to numerous day and
weekend outings. Last spring, a group backpacked to
Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon and paddled the
Colorado River.
Closer to home, students kayak places like Balcony
Falls on the James, backpack and hike the Appalachian
Trail, learn to fly fish, or ski at Wintergreen — typically
at reduced rates when fees are involved. The climbing
trip, for example, includes five days of instruction in top
roping, belaying, rappelling and friction climbing with a
professional guide.
Student instructors, who undergo extensive training
in outdoor skills as well as leadership, also plan and lead
activities.
In April, Emily Dallas ’16 and Kayla Finn ’16
take a group hang gliding at Jockey’s Ridge in Nags
Head, N.C. On a warm and cloudless but unusually
“My goal is to expose these women
to new activities and give them
confidence and pride in their
accomplishments.”
— Tasha Gillum ’04
windless day, some of them discover the feeling of
weightlessness — about four feet off the ground.
But they are off the ground, briefly, bare toes almost
skimming the sands of some of the highest dunes on the
East Coast.
“It’s completely different than being in a plane,”
says Jess Heiser ’16. “I feel free but in control, and it’s an
incredible feeling.”
Briana McCall ’17 (from left), Marcelle Coronel ’17 and Laurie
Tanjuatco ’16 take a break from hiking at Stone Mountain State
Park.
Marcelle Coronel ’17 stokes the fire while others prepare dinner.
35
Jennifer McManamay
Outdoor Program instructors emily Dallas ’16 and Kayla Finn ’16 organized a hang gliding trip to Jockey’s ridge in Nags Head, N.C.
The Outdoor Program is one of the reasons she
chose to attend Sweet Briar. Hang gliding is her latest
adventure.
“I just like [the program’s] whole environment,”
Heiser says. “Everybody is chill, friendly and outgoing.
Nobody feels uncomfortable. It’s really fun.”
Jennifer McManamay
Almost six
hours west of the
Outer Banks and an
hour’s drive from
Pilot Mountain,
the morning has
dawned bright and
cold at the Stone
Mountain State
Park campground.
Frost-on-your-tent
cold. But it is warm
by midday, and
the climbers rest
in patches of early
March sunlight.
Emily Dallas ’16 achieves unpowered flight at Jockey’s Ridge.
Over a breakfast of milk and cereal, Gillum runs
through a checklist. Harness, shoes and helmet, water,
snacks, clothing layers — preferably synthetic. And
someone needs to pack lunch for the group.
Food is fuel. It’s an all-important and therefore
highly orchestrated component of these outings, and
36
for this excursion, Outdoor Program instructor and trip
leader Dallas is in charge. The previous afternoon, while
the rest of the party hikes to one of Stone Mountain’s
waterfalls, Dallas shops from a carefully planned list. The
Elkin Walmart doesn’t have falafel mix, so she adjusts.
Through the week, students take turns at food prep and
dishwashing assignments.
Camping doesn’t
mean skimping on
tasty meals, and there is
always dessert. On the
first night, the group
huddles around the fire,
where blueberry cobbler
bubbles in a Dutch oven.
While they wait,
Dallas plucks her banjo
and Briana McCall ’17,
playing guitar, sings a
love song she recently
penned.
Meanwhile, at a picnic table strewn with plastic
dinnerware and Nalgene water bottles, Li studies for the
GRE, face eerie in the refracted light of her headlamp.
It shines through steam rising from a cup of hot
chocolate. In a knit hat and hooded jacket, the rest of
her disappears in the darkness.
Li’s is one of many memorable
images from a journey that is just
under way. They will endure bitter
cold, wind and snow. Give up
horseback riding in the rain for
bowling and dinner out. But the
temperature will soar and the sun
will shine, too.
They will learn to tie useful
knots, bake brownies on an open
fire, climb Stone Mountain’s bald
slabs and push their physical limits.
They will trust almost-strangers to
belay for them — and make both
friends and memories. Some, like
Gillum and now Dallas, even find a
vocation.
Laurie Tanjuatco ’16 (from left), Morgan Howard ’17, Tasha Gillum ’04, emily Dallas ’16,
Briana McCall ’17, Marcelle Coronel ’17, Lizzie Newhart ’15, Caroline McDonald ’17,
emily Wartella ’15 and Fumin Li ’15
On kayaking and hiking trips,
Dallas has seen how being a leader
makes you a role model. Now she
is exploring adaptive outdoor sports for people with
disabilities as a career.
“I want to be a role model,” she says. “I love doing
this, and I want to do it for the rest of my life.”
Every Gift Is Personal
Every gift made to Sweet Briar comes with a special story. For an alumna, it is
who she became as a result of the education she received. For families, it is the
transformation of a daughter, granddaughter, niece or mother. For friends, it is
the impact made on them or their community by the College. Together, these
gifts create incredible opportunities for our students to write their own stories.
“ Traveling across the country to attend Sweet Briar has been the
most rewarding life choice I have made. The College has helped
me to be independent and expand my knowledge outside of the
classroom. Because of all the support from my professors, I have
become equipped to really succeed in my studies. Sweet Briar gives
me motivation and encouragement to continue my education, and
because of that, I see myself becoming an aerospace engineer.”
–Citlali Molina ’16
Engineering major
Your annual gift ensures more young women like Citlali will have a Sweet Briar story to share. Your
investment allows them to dream, achieve and flourish.
Make your gift today at sbc.edu/gift or call toll-free (800) 381-6131.
37
Commencement 2014
Photos by Meridith De Avila Khan and Allegra Helms ’89
38
5
2
1
3
4
1. Jacqueline Oliver with sister Madison Oliver ’17
2. Anna May Imbrie with mother Victoria Archer ’81
3. M.A.T. graduates, front row: Angela Curtis, Alyssa
Berkeley and Lauren McTague; back row: Katherine
Paige Tisher, Jessica Murphy, Madalyn Mawyer and
Charity Brown.
4. Amanda Johnson and sister Christina Pappas ’08
6
5. Catherine Freeman and Sarah Freeman with mother
Sarah Smith Freeman ’75 and sister Mary Margaret
Freeman ’16
6. Olivia Smith and aunt Kate Kelly Smith ’76
39
7
9
8
10
40
11
14
13
12
7. Micheala Bryant with sister Ana-Elisa Bryant ’11
8. Sarah Slutz with sister Deborah Slutz ’10
9. Spencer Beall with sister Hannah Beall ’17
10. Anna Richards with grandmother Christine Devol
Wardlow ’63
11. Turning Point graduates Jocelyn Jones, Maryam
Rasoulian, Rachel Rose and Elizabeth Wise
12. Elizabeth Wise with aunt Toni Christian Brown ’78, sister
Anne Wise Staat ‘06 and mother Carrington Brown
Wise ’76
13. Charity Gaile with sister Faith Gaile ’17
14. Mary Earnhart with mother Marie Engel Earnhart ’82
15. Commencement speaker Virginia Upchurch Collier ’72
with President Parker
Scan for more photos or visit
sbc.edu/commencement-2014
15
41
N O T E S
C L A S S
Sarah Belk Gambrell ’39 returned to Sweet Briar for her 75th reunion.
1942
Ann Morrison reams
771 Bon Air Cir
Lynchburg, VA 24503
[email protected]
Edie Brainerd Walter is in good spirits.
She enjoys her daily walk, often to the
library as she is a constant reader as
well as active in other activities. Lamb
Hodges Fuller is still living in her house
in South Boston and enjoying bridge
and a busy life. One of her daughters
and her doctor son also live in town,
which is a joy. Dottie Malone Yates in
Atlanta is still keeping up with her gardening. She enjoys getting with Sudie
Clarke Hanger weekly for lunch. Bless
Bobbie Engh Croft’s heart. She always communicates at Christmas time
with good news of her life and family.
She is living in a cottage, has a busy
life with several of her children close
by. Mimi Galloway Duncan has lived
in her Palm Beach home for 43 years.
She stays in touch with Sally Schall Van
Allen, whom I enjoy seeing each spring
when she visits her son and daughter-in-law here in Lynchburg. Eloise
Emglish Davies lives in a group home
in Chestertown, MD, and sadly has lost
her eyesight. I’m still in my house and
enjoying the usual bridge, garden club
lectures and concerts, as many of you
are. All of us would love to hear from
the rest of you, so please send news.
42
Many thanks. P.S. Several days have
passed, and I have picked up where I
left off. Gloria Sanderson Sartor and
I share the same birthday, so I gave
her a call. She has had some health issues, but is holding her own. Lane is
still with her, which is a blessing. She
still enjoys playing the piano, and it was
so good hearing about her daughters. I
then called Lucy Call Dabney and had
a long and conversation with her. She
had tidbits of news about Debbie Wood
Davis who lives in a retirement place
in NY. Virginia McGuire Britt’s granddaughters have a successful shop
in NY. We enjoyed reminiscing about
many of you, recalling Butch Jackson
Mead’s musically talented husband,
Bobbie Engh Croft’s being Color Girl
at Annapolis, wartime beaus, visits to
UVA, etc. She reported that one of her
grandsons is engaged to one of Peggy
Gearing Wickham’s granddaughters.
What a small world it is. We share so
many similar experiences, tales of children and grandchildren. May I suggest
that each of you pick up the phone and
call an SBC friend. It’s such a very special treat and it will truly make your day!
Please stay in touch and send news.
God bless.
1944
Alice Lancaster Buck
[email protected]
1945
1949
486A Beaulieu Ave
Savannah, GA 31406
[email protected]
21045 Cardinal Pond Ter., Apt. 119
Ashburn, VA 20147
[email protected]
Dale Sayler Morgan
Carolyn Cannady evans
1946
1951
955 Harpersville Rd., Apt. 309
Newport News, VA 23601
Spring Lake Village
5555 Montgomery Dr., #23
Santa Rosa, CA 95409
[email protected]
Mary Vanderventer
Saunders
1947
Linda McKoy Stewart
18 Osprey Ln.
Rumson, NJ 07760
[email protected]
1948
Margaret Sheffield Martin
2525 Peachtree Rd. NE, Apt 24
Atlanta, GA 30305
[email protected]
Ann Virginia Vaughn Kelly
Goodwin House
4800 Fillmore Ave, Apt. 614
Alexandria, VA 22311
[email protected]
Patty Lynas Ford
Thank you for your contributions to our
Class Notes. Please write at any time.
MJ Eriksen Ertman: Eric and family
were here for Christmas. Three grandsons are h.s. seniors heading for college. One granddaughter graduates
from USC in spring and another finishes
grad school at Tufts (Fletcher School).
Gardner is getting good care and the
children are cheering us. I’ve talked to
Sue Ostrander Hood in Lake Forest, IL,
where they’ve moved to a retirement
place, too.
Ruth Oddy Meyer: We’re up to our eyebrows in snow and our new English bulldog puppy is chewing the sofa to pieces
due to cabin fever.
Susan Taylor Hubbard: I’ve been in the
same house since ’65. I continue to
bird watch as a hobby. This morning we
had our SBC Day breakfast. I was the
only one from ’51; there were two alumnae there from ’43! There were 40 -plus
attending as well as the dean. SBC is especially proud of the new library. I’m in
touch with Angie Vaughan Halliday who
still prepares tax returns etc. She has nine
grandsons.
Mary Pease Fleming: A day doesn’t pass
here at Cedarfield Retirement Community
that we don’t hear by mail or telephone or
visit from family. We were happy when our
brother-in-law, Bill Curdts, moved here to
Cedarfield. I only had four SBC Christmas
cards this year: Ann Sheldon Campbell,
Joan Davis Warren, Ann Petesch Hazzard
and Barbara Birt Dow. Everyone seems
to be in good health and observing the
Cedarfield rule: WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T
FALL.
Ann Gamble-Blechta: Joined the
“Octogenarians,” 84 like our whole class.
Remember Belle Boone Beard studying
Octogenarians—those between 80 and 90
years old? Spent Christmas in Paris with
daughter Daphne.
Jean Graham Randolph “Randie” Bruns:
I’m in FL for another winter. It will be a
quiet Christmas. Son Bryan, now working in India, will be in Chiang Mai, assuming the unrest doesn’t interfere. One of his
daughters is in grad school in London and
the other is hiking in Nepal, then will return to Occidental.
Anne Sinsheimer: I had Thanksgiving in
Redondo Beach with 2nd nephew and lots
of family. I had Christmas Eve with my local nephew and family. Still keep busy with
dog walking, knitting, reading with ESL
children.
Sue Lockley Glad: The grandchildren are
scattered around the country in colleges:
Boston College, UCLA, TCU, AZ, West TX
and one left in AZ at a Soccer Academy.
Had a great family gathering in LA for
Thanksgiving and hopefully we’ll be together at Black Butte Ranch this summer.
Ann Benet Yellott: I’m working on Utility
(advanced dog obedience degree) with my
Brittany. Getting ready to do therapy visits.
Still riding my horse.
Joan Davis Warren: Yes, this winter has
been very hard to take. The potholes are
king-sized, trees are uprooted. Not to mention days without power.
Lynne McCullough Gush: We’ve performed
assorted duos since Halloween. We played
the Nutcracker five times over the holidays. I invited 30 people for the big party,
expecting 10 regrets. Nobody regretted
and all the inherited silver was put into
play at last. Kensington is gorgeous. He
loves the cold. I wear a parka. Even ballet class was cancelled because of ice on
the freeway.
Patty Lynas Ford: We’re settling in and
meeting interesting people at Spring Lake
Village. There are 105 people here over
90! The big news for me is that my brother,
Dick Lynas, has had a fossil named after
him—a special and rare honor as he isn’t
a professional paleontologist. He graduated from the Webb School in Claremont
in the mid-1950s. A recently published paper with Webb student co-authors published by the American Museum of Natural
History reveals a new species named after
him. Nannodectes lynasi lived 60 million
years ago in southern CA. It was a plesiadapiform, an early primate. In the last
10 years, Dick has spent more than 4000
hours supporting the museum and has
been on more than 40 field trips since his
1st trip in 1952. Alf Museum at the Webb
School is the only nationally accredited paleontology museum on a high school campus in the world, where students actually
are involved in research from dirt to professional publication.
1952
Jane russo Sheehan
600 S. Main St.
Mansfield, MA 02048
[email protected]
My apologies for being out of touch.
Husband Dick had major surgery. He’s
coming along better now, but it was a
stressful time. My children came through
like stars to help. Many thanks to Joanne
Holbrook Patton for sharing her holiday
correspondence so that there would be
this many ’52 notes.
Joanie’s Thanksgiving letter caught
you up on a good deal of news. In addition to Joanie’s news of Charlotte Snead
Stifel’s husband’s death, Anne Hoagland
Kelsey sent me a printout about the work
Hank had done in establishing the Stifel
Paralysis Research Foundation in 1982.
In 1984 this joined with the American
Paralysis Foundation, with Hank as chairman. This came about as a result of
Charlotte and Hank’s son’s auto accident at 17, which left him a quadriplegic. Thanks to early pioneering in electrode stimulation, Henry III was able to
get some movement back. He lives in an
apt. in NYC and is a VP at Morgan-Stanley.
I’m sure that most of us never knew of
Charlotte and Hank’s commitment to the
foundation, which in 1995 became the
Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation.
Joanie also forwarded to me a letter from
the son of Ann Garst Strickland. Her
health is in serious decline and she needs
constant care.
Pat Layne Winks and Henry traveled
widely in the U.S. last year and hope to
go to Europe in 2014. Her granddaughter,
Carmen, a sophomore at Brandeis, hopes
to follow Pat’s footprints and do her junior
year in France.
From Joanie’s classmates’ Christmas
letters/cards:
Harriet “Binji” Thayer Elder had a difficult
year, but is on the mend. Anne Hoagland
Plumb Kelsey’s husband Jack had a
bad case of vertigo, requiring a hospital bed. During the winter their address
is 460 Coconut Palm Road, Vero Beach,
FL32963-3709. Mary Lois Miller Carroll’s
husband Hugh passed away in Feb. ’13.
She has since moved to MD. Her new address: Mary Lois Carroll, 16505 Virginia
Ave., Unit 1096, Williamsport, MD 21795,
Tel: (301)223-8784. Pauline Wells Bolton
sent a card with a Paris scene. Martha
Yost Ridenour lost her only child, Suzanne,
a talented dancer. Martha planned to
move into her daughter’s house, but a fire
destroyed it and its contents. Martha soldiers on, lives in the 95-year-old house
she was born in and still runs the family
business. Her address: 105 Myra Barnes
Ave.-Box336, Pikesville, KY 41501. Laura
Radford Goley wrote from Richmond
where husband Gene was attending the
annual Farm Bureau State Meeting. Her
address is still: Rothsay, 15330 Forest
Rd., Forest, VA 24551. Virginia Sheaff
Liddel has moved to a senior community. One fellow resident is her freshman
year roommate Kate Shaw Minton. Ginge
now has three great-granddaughters. Her
address: Unit 2308, 122 Palmers Hill Rd,
Stamford, CT 06902. A nice card from
Josie Sibold who lives at 1109 E. Dallas
Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37405-2303. Helen
Graves Stahmann wrote from Australia
that her husband Deane died in Oct., after fighting cancer for over 20 years. They
had 61 years together. Her address: PO
Box 19060, Newtowne, Toowamba West,
Australia 4350. Grace Delong Einsel has
also moved: 28 Liberty Sq., Apt. 191,
Bloomfield, CT 06002, Tel: (860)9667185. Linda Brackett is active in her retirement facility, The Virginian. She has
had friends and family visit, and has even
been president of the local chapter of VA
Retired Residents. Her new address: 9229
Arlington Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22031.
Sue Judd Silcox and Jack moved to a retirement community in Hanover, PA.
They still travel all over despite Jack’s
Parkinson’s. Besides their 60 years of
marriage, they’re celebrating being greatgrandparents. New address: 610 Morning
Glory Dr., Hanover, PA 17331-7828.
I’m looking forward to a trip to visit my
daughter Diana and her family in Dallas
later this week. I’ll get to see Diana in
two shows. She plays Masha in “Vanya
and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” a
Christopher Durang play. Then on Tues.
she opens in her new cabaret show featuring the songs of Gertrude Lawrence. One
of the hardest things about being class
secretary is having to bear sad news to
you all. I think we all can agree that old
age is not for sissies! But who said that
Sweet Briar girls were ever sissies? My
best to you all—we’re a remarkable class!
1953
Florence Pye Apy
40 Riverside Ave., Apt. 6Y
Red Bank, NJ 07701
[email protected]
A Christmas card showed Anne Joyce
Wyman standing, along with a message
that she has improved considerably after her stroke. She and Joseph travel back
and forth from their home in Quogue to
their home in NYC.
Anne “Kim” Green Stone and John are still
involved with raising horses. This year they
took an Alaskan cruise.
My lunches with Patti Tighe Walden and
Jeanne Duff continue. Unfortunately just
before Thanksgiving Patti had a bad fall
and missed our Nov. lunch. She recovered sufficiently after hospitalization and
rehab to go on a family cruise to Nassau,
Bahamas. Since retiring from teaching
four years ago, Jeanne has been active
as a member and officer of Community
Without Walls, an organization which plans
programs and activities for seniors to keep
active and connected. Katzy Bailey Nager
and Chuck have continued with their book
distribution program at a local Title I elementary school.
Carolyn Smith retired as a librarian after 30 years of service at Johns Hopkins
U., specializing in special collections.
Following graduation from SBC, she
earned an MA degree from Johns Hopkins
and an MS degree from Columbia. She’s
still writing for literary publications.
Ginger Timmons Ludwick has never
retired. She lists her occupation as
“Assistant to my Pasadena Congressman.”
The following news was compiled from
the reunion questionnaires. It was good to
More class notes online
sbc.edu/magazine
hear from classmates who were unable to
attend the 60th. Joan McCoy Dean: “despite a fall in Chile in ’99 which limits me,
I still write and photograph and get published here and there.” Over the years she
has visited 56 countries and 42 states.
Midge Chace Powell still works. She has
spent 27 years in the real estate business,
having obtained a broker’s license along
the way. She is more than just a traveler,
having climbed 15 to 20 mountains, including Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Betty Moore Baker served on her
Township Planning Board for over 20
years. She was the first woman member
and helped write the first comprehensive
plan for her growing community. In recent
years she has taken 10 trips sponsored by
the American Museum of Natural History
(NYC), one of which took her to the North
Pole. …to be continued
1954
Bruce Watts Krucke
7352 Toogoodoo Rd.
Yonges Island, SC 29449
[email protected]
A note from her daughter, Kendall Ames
Wayner, tells us that Barbara Tompkins
Ames died a year ago. Kendall says
Barbara would’ve loved to be at our big
60th reunion. The class sympathies go out
to her family.
Doreen Booth Hamilton is still involved
with the Children’s National Medical
Center where she’s on the Emeritus
Board and with the National Cathedral
where she occasionally sees Peggy Jones
Steuart. She’s about to become associated with Sibley Hospital. Doreen has 10
grandchildren.
Bev Smith Jeans details about her new
marriage. “After nine years of widowhood
I remarried. We’d intended for the wedding to be low-key sending no invitations
and only mentioning in our Christmas
cards that there would be a wedding ‘between two old coots in two old suits.’
Nearly 80 people from CA to RI showed up,
Nan Locke Rosa ’53 among them.” Bev
keeps in touch with Ann Henry Wilson,
Sally Bumbaugh, Lynn Carlton McCaffree,
Barbara Ballard Wommack and Scott
Bryce Griffey, whom she sees regularly
since she lives in Houston near Bev’s husband’s daughter. Bev’s SBC daughter lives
in Mobile, and she and Vaughan Inge
Morrissette’s children and grandchildren
are good friends.
Ann Thomas Donohue isn’t able to make
reunion because of unwilling knees. And
Dilly Johnson Jones either because of a
bad back. Dilly has heard from Billy Isdale
Beach, who lives fairly near her in GA.
Billy is hoping to sell their business. She
has heard from Shirley Poulson Broyles
and Page Anderson Hungerpillar, both
of whom are still gorgeous, but also can’t
come to reunion either. Shirley will be in
Europe celebrating Norris’s birthday and
Page’s health is not up to the trip. Dilly,
Shirley and Lamar Ellis Oglesby represented our class at the Sweet Briar Day
Atlanta luncheon. Dilly’s daughter Louise
SBC ’84 took her to the luncheon. Dilly enjoys her new home at Carlyle.
43
Mary Jane Roos Fenn plans to attend reunion, as does Mary Hill Noble Caperton.
Sadly, Mary Hill’s longtime partner, Tom
Hughes, died in Feb. after a long bout with
Alzheimer’s. He was 91 and greatly admired in Charlottesville. Old graduate students and colleagues are coming from all
over to honor him. Mary Hill is selling her
1830s cottage and moving to a condo.
Later this summer Mary Hill is going on a
river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
She goes to water aerobics 5 days a week,
takes courses, goes to plays, concerts,
and sees lots of her children who still live
either here or in Richmond. She has 12
grandchildren. One grandchild is being
married this summer. Mary Hill had lunch
not long ago with (Rosalee) Alexes Ogilvie
Echols and Martha Dabney Leclere.
Anne Allen Pflugfelder is living now at
Vicar’s Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
Her daughter and family live in northern
VT. Her son is ‘Science Bob Pflugfelder.’
He teaches elementary school science at
Fessenden School outside of Boston and
appears regularly on Jimmy Kimmel Live,
the Dr. Oz Show and Live with Kelly and
Michael.
Margaret Lotterhos Smith is living in
Houston. Ames had a hip replacement, but
is looking forward to golf again. They won’t
be able to come to reunion as they’re going on a short cruise. Their last big trip
was to China. They have one (and another
almost) great-grandchild. Their younger
son is a surgeon in Seattle. Margaret
keeps busy with bridge, a book discussion
club, golf, water aerobics, walking, Bible
study and family activities.
Sally Gammon Plummer went on two big
birding trips in 2013—one to Southwest
TX and one to the CO Plateau in UT and
AZ. She’s active in her church, volunteers
at the Denver Museum of Nature and
Science, is in two book groups and takes
courses.
Jerry Driesbach Ludeke is still traveling,
principally by train. They had a big gathering at Christmas at her son Scott’s
home in San Francisco. Kevin and family came from Costa Rica and grandchildren came from all over. Then Jerry
went to Costa Rica for a wedding. She
also spent a week with her sister GA in
Charlottesville. She enjoyed going to tapings of the Garrison Keillor show, and attending the famous Earl Lectures of the
Pacific School of Religion at Berkeley. She
went with the Archeological Conservancy
to the Cahokia Mounds, near Springfield,
IL. She was busy with her job as archivist
for Bakersfield College.
As I write this, I’m preparing for another
trip to Botswana with three other birding
gals at the end of March. I can’t stay away
from Africa. But I’ll be back in plenty of
time to get to reunion! See you there!
1955
emily Hunter Slingluff
1217 North Bay Shore Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
[email protected]
Gail Davidson Bazzarre of Charlottesville,
VA, died on Jan. 19, and Mary Langs
Holekamp died on Jan. 12.
Anne Lyn Harrell Welsh, Sterling, VA, celebrated her 80th in Nov., surrounded by
all four daughters and 26 old and new
friends. She also gave a dinner party that
included four couples from her West Point
44
days. She was widowed in 1989, having
lived in the house they built in McLean for
25 years. She and her youngest daughter Carol live together now. Carol has endured 13 years of poor health but still
smiles, and they travel, especially to the
Outer Banks, NC. Anne Lyn volunteers
as a landscaper in her community and
writes the prayer ministry for her church.
She’s blessed with one grandson, Warren
Michell, a freshman at Elon. Anne Lyn
mentioned some anemones that Honey
Addingon Passano dug up from Anne
Lyn’s old garden years ago are still blooming in Honey’s garden on Gibson Island.
Ginger Chamblin Greene, Charlottesville,
VA, has a new address: 250 Pantops Mt.
Rd, #6102, Charlottesville. In Oct., she
and her friend Fred Landess moved from
their separate condos in Charlottesville
to a cottage at Westminster-Canterbury
in Charlottesville. They have been going
out for about four years and enjoy traveling. One interesting trip took them to
Holland. They lived on the barge, but rode
bicycles all over the place to see the gardens. Ginger still does rock climbing and
is a stable hand for horses in a riding therapy group.
In 1991, Dianne Verney Greenway,
Wakefield, RI, legally changed her name
to Lumina. Living in Taos and Maui, she
found people there often changed their
names. So she did! While she has had
hip surgery several times on one hip, she
is planning to go to China and Maui this
spring to visit family. Lumina loves living in
RI, where she grew up.
Suzanna Bernard Odence, Cotuit, MA,
says that in her 40s and 50s, she traveled
all over the world with her husband. Now
she’s pursuing piano, painting and writing.
Didi Stoddard, Carlisle, MA, goes to the
Cape almost every weekend in the winter
and finds it beautiful! She was in two separate automobile accidents. Still, she plans
to go to Turks and Caicos soon.
Kathleen Peebles Ballou, Atlanta, GA, travels all over and still goes back and forth
to Macon from Atlanta. She and husband
Dennis visited Anne Williams Manchester
and Eli in Manasota Key this winter.
Kathleen became a Silver Life Master in
bridge! She’s planning a trip this summer
to the NC mountains with several other
Sweet Briar classmates.
Sue Lawton Mobley, Atlanta, GA, has been
living at Canterbury Court in Atlanta for six
years. Lamar Ellis Oglesby ’54 moved in
recently. I heard elsewhere that Sue is the
chairman of the residents. She stays very
busy, but not too busy for her granddaughters (16 and 18).
Newell Bryan Tozzer, Atlanta, GA, enjoys life in Atlanta and seeing her son and
daughter and grandchildren, all nearby.
She was head of Atlanta SBC Alumnae
Living Room Learning, but has passed that
job on to Camille, and just helps her with
what must be a very popular endeavor
since over 200 people have signed up!
Betty Byrne Gill Ware, Richmond, VA, enjoys traveling with husband Hudnall to
many places, including Jackson Hole, WY,
recently. They spend time in the summer
at their place at Smith Mountain Lake,
near Roanoke, and in the winter, they
spend several months in Naples, FL. Betty
Byrne enjoys bridge, golf, community work
and exercise. It’s a full life with children
and grandchildren visiting, too!
Meta Space Moore, Charleston, SC,
is involved in St. Michaels Church in
Charleston and keeps up with her children and grandchildren in Charleston,
Princeton, NJ and IL. Daughter Margaret
and her family live in Princeton, where
Margaret is head of the alumni association
at Princeton U. Meta will visit Bermuda
this summer with her son and his family.
Camille Williams Yow, Atlanta, GA, said
the annual Sweet Briar Day was held at
her house in Jan. and that President Jo
Ellen Parker was there. Mary Lee McGinnis
’54 came from Charleston and Dilly
Johnson Jones ’54 came from Macon. She
is involved with Atlanta SBC Alumnae’s
Living Room Learning with seven lectures this Jan. and Feb. They’ll meet at the
Atlanta History Center due to the 245 participants that have signed on! The topic
this year is WWI.
Emily Hunter Slingluff, Virginia Beach, VA,
enjoys keeping up with classmates! Please
keep sending news! I’m busy with my new
book which just came out: “Parenting without Punishment.” I’ve been writing articles and giving talks, so let me know if you
have any ideas to help spread these ideas
about parenting. The response has been
thrilling, almost a surprise! I had a full
page article published in USA Magazine
and some more articles are coming out
in local publications. This is not at all the
usual book about how to manage the complex problems of parenting. Instead, it’s
about the clarity, simplicity and pleasure
of parenting, and about how everybody is
affected by how every parent treats her
child. Sending thankfulness and love to all
with happy thoughts of our lives at Sweet
Briar and today.
1956
Frances Shannonhouse
Clardy
[email protected]
Nancy Salisbury Spencer
[email protected]
Louisa Hunt Coker’s husband Mac died
in April 2013. Joan Broman Wright’s husband Jim died in May 2013. After Ginny
Echols Ogain’s husband John died, Ginny
moved to be near her son in NC. We send
our sympathy to Louisa, Joan and Ginny.
Mary Koonz Gynn writes, “I’m continuing to operate my 350-acre farm by myself
with my own equipment and enjoying every minute!” She also enjoys playing golf,
bike riding and gardening.
Mary Ann Hicklin Willingham and Rose
Montgomery Johnston enjoyed the SBC
trip to Cuba led by President Jo Ellen
Parker.
Meredith Smythe Grider has moved into
an independent living facility. Meredith enjoys being one of the four Louisville alumnae: Cissee Pfeiffer Ward, Macie Clay
Nichols, Sudie Shelton and herself. She
still has her shop in MI.
Nancie Geer Howe Entenmann is now
Nancie Roberts. She and spouse Jim
Roberts stay busy with 17 grandchildren.
This year, they’ll visit New Orleans and
FL. Jim will be 85 and she 80, so they’ve
planned a big reunion/birthday party.
Nancie serves on many boards and sings
in a choir.
Parksie Carroll Mulholland is spending
winter in FL adjusting to life without Jack.
She stays busy volunteering, supporting the Children’s Hospital and helping
friends. She plays golf, bird watches, entertains and enjoys the theater and
symphony.
Kitty Harrison and Corky Lauter Murray
enjoy summer trips such as the NC mountains, Vancouver and Victoria. Kitty had
an exciting 12th trip to Greece in 2013.
She introduced a young Greek doctor to
a Greek girl she knew in Chapel Hill. Kitty
attended their wedding in Greece, where
she read a speech in Greek to the wedding party.
Macie Clay Nichols sends news of other
classmates. Norma Davis Owen is good in
Tunica, MS, and is keeping husband Penn
healthy. Mishew Cooper Williams and husband Murray in Raleigh spend time at
Atlantic Beach. Cissee Pfeiffer Ward has
endured health challenges but hosted a
lovely Christmas lunch. Macie and husband Robert are in good health. They attended their family reunion in France with
daughter Martha, son Rob and their families. Martha and Eric live in Providence, RI,
with their two children, where she teaches
French at Brown. Rob and Susanna and
two children live in Barcelona. Macie is active in real estate, volunteers at church
and enjoys the arts and fine restaurants in
Louisville, KY.
Ann Greer Adams says, “All is well with
me, although widowhood is not the greatest.” Ann enjoys her three children, their
spouses and eight grandchildren. Ann
spends weekends at their hunting camp
walking in the woods, fishing and playing piano in her studio. She stays in touch
with Carolyn Pannell Ross.
Marty Field Fite was in CA at Thanksgiving
with her daughter’s family and next visited her son’s family in OK. She spent
Christmas visiting her other daughters and
their families. Another son and his wife
live in France and have a new daughter.
Her granddaughter lives nearby with three
great-grandchildren. She is very active at
her church, serving on the vestry.
Marlene Etienne Engdahl will celebrate
her 58th wedding anniversary this year.
Marlene and husband are active in ME
politics. Grandson Sam graduated from
Dartmouth and granddaughter Annie is a
junior at Trinity Coll. Granddaughter Eliza
is in high school in MI.
Bunny Burwell Nesbit lives in a splendid retirement community in Sarasota,
FL. Bunny had a nice visit with daughter
Katherine and husband Larry who live outside Charlottesville. Katherine works for
the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond,
and Larry works for the DoD National
Ground Intelligence Group. They enjoy
their RV as does their dog, Sam. Bunny
had a lovely Caribbean cruise in Jan.
Betty Dietz Buxton volunteers for her
church, the NC Symphony and the
Republican Party. She has four grandchildren ranging in age from 10-15. Betty beat
breast cancer in 2011. She belongs to the
Order of the Daughters of the King of the
Episcopal Church. Betty and Burt will celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary this
summer.
Joan Broman Wright decided to return to
Coral Gables, FL, to be closer to daughter Elise and family. She enjoyed the 18
years she and Jim spent in Charlottesville,
and has stayed in touch with our VA classmates. Mimi Thornton Oppenhimer and
Lou Galleher Coldwell visited Joan for a
few days to attend a forum with outstanding political speakers.
Distinguished Alumna Has Light Touch
MICHELA ENGLISH ’71 ACCEPTED SWEET
Briar’s 2013 Distinguished Alumna Award with her
usual grace and good humor.
“Today we are enjoying a nice lunch at the beautiful
Cosmos Club, and I have just received a wonderful
honor from this
very special College.
I’m not sure any of
us thought there
was the slightest
chance of that back
in 1971.”
The award was
presented at a May
8 luncheon in
Washington, D.C.,
in recognition
of her volunteer
leadership and
successful career.
English became
president and CEO of Fight for Children in 2006, after
serving as president of Discovery Consumer Products
and president and COO of Discovery.com.
She also held senior positions with the National
Geographic Society, Marriott Corp. and McKinsey &
Company, in addition to leadership roles in a variety
of education, youth-related and other nonprofit and
corporate initiatives.
She is vice chair of the Board of the Educational
Testing Service; a member of the boards of the
Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art and
Design, the public charter school DC Prep, D.C.
Public Education Fund, The Gladstone Companies,
and the advisory council of William & Mary’s Virginia
Institute of Marine Science.
She has served as president of the Women’s Forum
of Washington, D.C., a member of the Yale School
of Management Board of Advisors, director of the
NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education,
director of Riggs National Corp. and director of
Potomac KnowledgeWay.
The College also appreciates English’s 11 years on
its board from 1994 to 2005, including five as chair,
during which she led a critical strategic planning
initiative. Known as a problem solver with a light
touch, she would take the “worst problem and nibble at
it until she found a solution,” said Sara Lycett ’61, who
preceded her as chair.
In English’s
remarks at the
award luncheon
— attended by
family, alumnae
and College officials
— she noted that
the College is again
facing difficult
challenges and
engaged in a new
strategic plan.
“While I do not
have a crystal ball
that shows what
Sweet Briar will
look like in the future, I can say with clarity what it has
meant to me,” she said.
Her experiences as a student and board member
built on the values of hard work, perseverance and
respect for others that her parents instilled in her,
she said, beginning with the political, economic and
cultural awareness that the liberal arts engender.
She learned civic activism, gained the confidence
to embrace change — which propelled her career
— and discovered the imperative of deep personal
relationships.
“I’m sure many of you can say similar things about
the role the College has played in shaping your own
personal development and values,” English said. “It is
a very special place, and we are all lucky to be a part of
the Sweet Briar family.”
Read Michela’s
full remarks.
45
Helen Turner Murphy writes, “Tayloe and
I are fortunate still to live in our house on
our farm on the Potomac. Our daughter
Anne’s husband died on their son’s ninth
birthday. I prayed to live long enough to
see her happy again and I did. She married a wonderful man whose wife died
leaving him with two small children. Now,
Anne has a 13-year-old son, a 9-yearold daughter, a 6-year-old son and a
10-month-old baby (John Taloe Lewis
Brumley).”
Barbara Darnall Clinton’s grandson Chip
Jackson graduated from VA Tech and
grandson Kyle Clinton is a freshman at
Texas A&M. Granddaughter Shannon
Fulton is pursuing a degree at TCU.
Grandson Ken Jackson is taking a gap
year and living with Barbara and her husband. Son Charlie is stationed at Langley,
AFB in VA. Daughters Laura and Mary Kay
received honors. Laura was named the
Most Outstanding CFO in Houston and
Mary Kay was named a Distinguished
Alumna of Civil Engineering Department
at Texas A&M. Barbara sings in the church
choir and the Houston Master Works
Chorus. Her husband is president elect
of the Rotary Club in Houston. She enjoys
Women of the Rotary.
Karen Steinhardt Kirkbride traveled to
Maui and Kauai in 2013. She continues
to live in Northern VA, but purchased a
home in DE after retirement. Son Steven
in Springfield, VA, is on active duty in the
Army and has been promoted to lt. colonel. Son Kevin and wife live in Bethesda,
MD, and stay busy with careers. Her son
Trevor, wife and daughter live in Lower
Manhattan. Karen asks all classmates to
mark 2016 for our next class reunion.
1957
Carol McMurtry Fowler
10 Woodstone Sq.
Austin, TX 78703
[email protected]
1958
Jane Shipman Kuntz
4015 Orchard View Pl.
Powell, OH 43065
[email protected]
1959
Ali Wood Thompson
89 Pukolu Way
Wailea, HI 96753
808-874-8028
[email protected]
Nellie Morrison passed away 12/15/13
due to cancer. Kathleen Mather Koestler’s
husband Fred passed away in Jan.
Lucia Woods Lindley’s new address is 1
North Franklin St., Suite 2360, Chicago,
IL 60606. Val Stoddard Loring’s email address is [email protected]. Eleanor
Read Rice is at 855 Ribaut Rd., Beaufort,
SC 29902. Debbie Von Reichach Swan
Snyder is at 9013 Whimbrel Watch Ln.,
Unit 2, Naples, FL 34109. Telephone:
(239) 260-5755. Email: dvswan@icloud.
com.
Joanne Bossert Thompson: We sold our
FL home and moved into a retirement
complex across the street. Gurney and
I still belong to our golf club. I attend fitness classes there. I still serve on local
charity committees and we still travel. I
46
can’t come to reunion since we’ll be in CO
for a grandson’s college graduation. We
now have a great-grandson (2) and greatgranddaughter (3). Looking forward to a
cruise on the Baltic this June to celebrate
our 56th anniversary!
Mary Boyd Davis: Irvin and I went to
Titusville, FL, last week for a mini reunion
with Erna Arnold Westwig and Ralph and
Sandy LaStaiti Sylvia and Ed.
Pat Davis Sutker: We’ve lived happily in
Naples, FL, for the past 10 years.
Alice Cary Farmer Brown: “Happy 55th
Reunion to all our classmates! Endless
thanks to Elizabeth and Ali for your enormous efforts to make it wonderful and to
raise the money for our class gift. We’ll be
in Vienna where I’ll think of you and miss
being with those who go. We’ve recently
moved into Lee’s family’s house in Gulf
Stream, FL, after having to tear it down
and rebuild it. It’s a cultural paradise for
non-golfers like Lee and me and has an
active Garden Club of America. Mary Blair
Valentine, Tabb Farinholt and Tricia Ware
are all coming here soon as well as our
children and grandchildren. We’ll have our
second college graduate this May and the
other six all in boarding schools.”
Penny Fisher Duncklee: John is writing
books and short stories. Lately I’ve been
illustrating kids’ books for a couple gals.
The current one is about a little dog that is
glad she is little. Fun project.
Pat Frawley Gates: Marianne Ramsey,
SBC’s major gift officer, came to
Chestertown, MD, to visit her friend
Barbara Bailey Heck, senior associate VP
at Washington Coll. They gathered three
area SBC alumnae, Joan Darby West ’46,
Stephanie Butan Profaci ’58 and me for
a luncheon Sept. 2013 at our local yacht
and country club. Regrettably Sorrel
Mackall McElroy was unable to join us.
We enjoyed our time together and were
impressed with Marianne’s enthusiastic
PowerPoint presentation, which showed
off SBC’s enduring beauty and academic
creativity.
Lucy Frost Dunning is spending about
three months in CA and will head back to
their home in Vail in April.
Suzanne Hafer Hambrick: Our five grandchildren all live in Hickory. We vacationed
in picturesque HI in 2007. We went to
Oahu, the Big Island and Maui.
Meriwether Hagerty Rumrill: The saddest
news for me is the death of my most cherished friend, Nellie Morison. Kind, gentle,
compassionate, caring—a gentlewoman of
true blue character of a bygone era. She
was a bridesmaid in my wedding and godmother to my firstborn, Dudley. We loved
many of the same things. We worked on
her garden together. We could confide in
each other with confidence. We shared joy
and sorrow. We also could confront each
other and did. Then there were the grandchildren. We never tired of talking of them
and Nellie was full of stories about hers.
She was sick for a long time and very courageous. Cookie Carle and I planned a visit
last Oct. Cookie was a star with her sweet
wicked sense of humor. I saw Nellie once
more in Dec. after she had come to VA for
Thanksgiving. Friends like this are always
with us. Thank God for that.
Gay Hart Gaines: I’m writing to you from
a ship, The Crystal Symphony, off the
coast of Australia. Stanley and I flew from
Palm Beach to LA to Sydney on Feb. 10,
where we spent four days. It was a trip
down memory lane for me, since I lived
in Sydney for three years, 10-13. I returned to my old school, Ascham, my
home, friends’ homes, Bondi Beach and
saw old friends who had a party for us.
We’re now sailing up the coast and then
returning March 10. I stepped down from
my beloved Mount Vernon Board on Dec.
31, reluctantly, and will miss it. We accomplished a lot and opening the library
last Sept. 27 was the culmination of my
dream. I’m working on several political
races and trying to do everything I can to
elect a Republican Senate. I’m also helping our very fine governor, Rick Scott and
Gov. John Kasich in OH to get reelected.
Our 11 grandchildren are well. The eldest
got married last Oct. Stanley has macular degeneration. He and I are doing everything possible to slow down the progress
of the disease. While he still has some
sight, he wants to travel, so we’re going to
places he has never been.
Susan Hight Rountree: Our lives are in disarray at the moment getting our home
ready for prospective buyers. We’ll be moving to a town house nearby in Kings Mill.
We’ve been spending several months of
the summer into fall in NH. Grandchildren
in Richmond and Annapolis/Kent Island
keep us busy. I’m working with Isabel Ware
Burch and committee designing kneelers for Bruton Parish Church. Joe and I are
working on putting a tour together for a
group we belong to, going to several of the
historic houses on the Northern Neck of
VA and staying at Stratford Hall.
Jane Jamison Messer: I’m in Naples,
FL, on my way to the Magic Kingdom in
Orlando. I spent time with Snowdon who
was here visiting a friend. Snowdon has returned to Shepherdstown. I’ll be in Naples
until the end of March. I’ll be off to The
Masters after that. Still doing two months
at Torch Lake in northern MI during the
summer.
Elizabeth Johnston Lipscomb: It’s been
a real pleasure for me to help coordinate
our 55th reunion. I’ve enjoyed phone calls
and email conversations with a number of
classmates, and I hope to be in touch with
more of you. Thanks to all of you who have
contributed to our reunion gift and called
friends to encourage them to be with us
on campus in the spring.
Jini Jones Vail: Just sent you a photo of
my 77th. Also just got a call from the SBC
bookshop, Lynn Lewis. She has ordered
more of my “Rochambeau, Washington’s
Ideal Lieutenant” books! I may miss the
55th reunion, but my books will be there
in my stead!
Isa Mary Lowe Zieglar: Now I’m in FL;
it’s almost as busy here as at home. CA
is finally getting a little bit of rain. More
drought tolerant plants are on my shopping list when I return.
Virginia MacKethan Kitchin: We have
seven grandchildren spread around the
country; we all get together in summer
and at Christmas. Two are close by in
Charlottesville. We’re going to Memphis to
visit Cameron and Katie and their three.
While there we’ll drive (5-6 hours) over to
Bentonville, AR, to see the Crystal Bridges
Museum. As for running into classmates,
that often happens at funerals, sadly,
such as at one in Virginia Beach last week
where I enjoyed seeing Mary Blair and
Fleming.
Sorrel Mackall McElroy: We’re spending a
lot of time on our farm near Chestertown,
MD. We just finished restoring a 1770s
cabin. So many grands are in college, so
see less of them. In fact we have three
graduating from different high schools
this spring.
Ginny Marchant Noyes: I’m just back from
a month revisiting old haunts in Southeast
Asia, did a long trip in Central Europe
last fall and met my Belgian son for
Thanksgiving in London, which included
everything from a concert by the Attica
Prison Symphonic Band to dinner in the
House of Lords!
Sally Martin Kohrs: Bob and I went to HI
for our 25th anniversary. We boarded a
ship and cruised around the islands.
Kathleen Mather Koestler: I lost my husband Fred in Jan. Not much else to report
except that I’ll be putting my house on the
market this spring; it’s much too big for
me now.
Lizora Miller Yonce: Isabelle is 13; Sam is
18; Miller is seven; and Caroline is 13.
Nita Mixon Cox: I’ve been homebound for
quite a while. I was going barefoot as we
often do in South GA and hit a chair leg
with my foot. Dislocated a bone, tore off
ligaments, and have been limping around
for over a month. One granddaughter is
graduating from medical school in May, a
grandson is graduating from Sewanee in
May also, and another grandson has taken
the plunge and asked his girlfriend for
her hand in marriage! We’re hoping to get
back to our little retirement home on St.
George Island when the mean man doctor
lets me out of the house and prison! Hope
my classmates are all wearing shoes, and
if not, this is a good time to start!
Liz Myerink Lord: Come spend the winter
in Carmel, CA! We’ve had the most beautiful weather this winter. Of course, we worry
that we might have a major drought this
summer complete with water rationing,
which is nothing new. Cheerio!
Judy Nevins LeHardy: Youngest son Peter
and wife Becky presented us with our 12th
grandchild, Jacob, in June ’13. Daughter
Sally’s oldest son, Durrant Kellogg, was
married in AZ in Dec. ’12, and his sister,
Sara, will be married in March. Sally and
Mark and the two younger children (13
and 19) have moved to Batesville, VA, near
Charlottesville. We’re proud to have an
All American runner in the family—Marcel
and Nancy’s daughter, Annie LeHardy, a
junior at UNC. Last summer we attended
an international LeHardy family reunion
in Brussels. Afterwards we all traveled
in Italy to visit Vicenza, where we used
to live. We’re still living in Kilmarnock on
the Northern Neck of VA. We spend most
of the winter at our cottage on Kiawah
Island, SC.
Fleming Parker Rutledge: More and more,
alas, we meet at funerals! I read somewhere that gatherings at funerals tend to
be embarrassingly cheerful because the
more elderly attendees are so glad still
to be alive! I particularly enjoyed seeing
Tricia Ware, Isabel Ware ’60, Mary Blair
Valentine, and Virginia MacKethan Kitchin
in Virginia Beach at a reception following the services for Josh Darden, known
to many of us as a member of the UVA ’58
class. There was a small graveside family service, which I conducted, and then
the huge service in the church, which
was attended by tout Hampton Roads.
I had lunch with Tricia and Betsy Duke
Seaman last spring in Richmond, and it
was so obvious, 54 years later, that they
were truly the people to lead our class.
Both of them have lost their husbands so
sadly (Marshall so prematurely, and Peter
Seaman is now living in a 24-hour-care facility where Betsy visits him twice a day)
and both of them have set such an example of courage and grace.
Marcia Payne Grant: Highlights for the
year: a river cruise from Budapest to
Amsterdam, an interesting four-day sojourn in the Amish country around
Lancaster, PA, and the arrival of my second great-grand. I’m on three boards and
belong to three other groups. My youngest
granddaughter is being married the same
weekend as reunion.
Ann Pegram Howington: With over 200
participants, our alumnae club’s Living
Room Learning has burst out of our living rooms and taken up residence at the
Atlanta History Center. Last year we did
the Civil War and now, World War I.
Susan Perry Farmer: Still living in San
Diego. Jerry and I are planning a trip to
Sicily and France in April/May, and I try to
visit my mother (101) in Pittsburgh several
times a year. We have three grandsons in
college, one ready to go and two more in
high school. Our only granddaughter (12)
keeps them all in line!
Sue Pohl Moulton: I’ve lived at water’s
edge in the Monadnock region of north
central MA for 45 years. Ten years ago I
lost my Charlie, the light of my life, to cancer. Diagnosed with breast cancer three
years ago, I went through the chemo, losing my hair and radiation and developed a
small heart attack brought on by the cure.
I’m well now. Two afternoons a week are
spent painting with a small group. Lots of
gardening, weather permitting, kayaking
on the lake, quilting and reading. I work
three to four hours a day with my oldest
son, John at our modular home business
in its 44th year. His son, Ian, is a junior at
U Mass Amherst and daughter Keara is
a freshman in high school. Middle child,
Kimberly, is married to a native German
and has lived in Bimmen, Germany, for 22
years with Nicolas (15) who is a Downs
child with autism. His sister Sidney is creative and talented (13). My youngest,
Bruce, lives in Flower Mound, TX, near
Dallas with Taylor (17) and David (13).
Rew Price Carne: We took a family
cruise in the Mediterranean last summer. Caribbean with my daughter over
Thanksgiving. Golfing and volunteer work
keep me busy.
Cay Ramey Weimer: Ben and I celebrated 20 years. First we spent a week
in St. Petersburg, which was full of museums, monuments, palaces, churches, operas and ballet. Then we went to Claire
Devener’s special island, Anguilla. Claire
is the editor of Anguilla Life, celebrating
25 years.
Debbie Von Reischach Swan Snyder: Don
and I moved from Williamsburg, VA, to
Naples, FL, where I’m now on the Civic
Involvement Committee for the League
and playing golf and tennis. We spend
our summers in ME where I’m the president of our sailing association. We spent
last Nov. on a National Geographic Tour
to Antarctica. (ed. note: from a previous email: our new permanent home is
a condo on the golf course in Pelican
Marsh, not far from the beach and the
Philharmonic. We will keep our summer
home in Boothbay Harbor, ME.)
Ginny Robinson Harris: All is well with
family, boyfriend and me. Three boys for
grands. I’ll not be coming to reunion because I work at the Art Center here and
everything picks up for “the season” about
then.
Barbara Sampson Borsch: Stuart Borsch
and Fang Zhang were married in July,
first time for both. They’re professors at
the same college, in different departments. We’re still commuting between Los
Angeles and Philadelphia. Fred’s written
his second novel; no publisher has seen it
yet. Do we have one in our class?
Mary Blair Scott Valentine: Sorry to miss
reunion. Have five graduations in May, two
high schools, two colleges, and one eighth
grade. (Ed. note: Congratulations on 55
years of marriage!)
Ann Smith Heist: Yep, this is a true blast
from the past! Ali, our faithful correspondent, has gotten me all worked up to come
to the Sweet Briar reunion in the spring.
It’s bound to be a delightful experience.
My husband encouraged me too. We all
have so much to share and compare. I noticed that many of you live in places near
to either us or our daughter or to places
we’re familiar with. What fun to stir the pot
with memories, stories and experiences.
Betsy Smith White: Our oldest granddaughter, Bess Dickens (Davidson ’13) is
living and working in NY now and always
thought she would love a great snow, until
this Feb.! Does anyone have Nat Morison’s
address in Middleburg, VA? I wanted to
write him a note after Nellie died.
Judy Sorley Chalmers-Simpson: I’m in GA
at the moment visiting my children and my
daughter Cameron’s triplets (5).
Polly Space Dunn: Painting, playing golf
(less often) and enjoying family.
Val Stoddard Loring: Steve and I celebrated our 50th anniversary with a trip to
Paris in April 2013. I had a visit with Dede
Ulf Mayer in Nov. Have two grandsons
graduating from high school in May and
June. Will miss you and send love to all.
Susan Taylor Montague-Reese: I won’t
be attending reunion as I’m having some
health issues and don’t know where I’ll be
in my treatment in May.
Tabb Thornton Farinholt: We spend a lot of
time going to grands’ games. Grandsons
Blair and Bart play lacrosse. Bart lives and
works in Denver. His sister, Ida, is off to
Cornell next year. Our daughter’s eldest,
Stewart, is at Middlebury. The next one,
Sam, is looking. We cling to the youngest,
Jack, who’ll be at the Haverford School
four more years. Book Club is thriving! I’ll
bring the video I had made for our 50th.
Kathy Tyler Sheldon: Unfortunately, I will
not make it to the reunion. I cannot leave
John as his vision is so deteriorated and
we’re making a trip to England in April for
his 60th reunion dinner at Cambridge. We
live in a place that isn’t easily accessible
to the rest of North America, but only four
and half hours to London! How I’d like to
see all of our classmates and do appreciate staying in touch.
Dede Ulf Mayer: I’m in the midst of trying to declutter and downsize. Good friend
Val Stoddard Loring was a big help to me
with her knowledge when she was here in
Nov. My major project now is to get all the
family history sorted. I love to attend book
club meetings with Tabb, Tricia, Mary Blair,
Betsy, Sorrel, Cay and Mary Ballou. My two
sons and their wives and my four grandchildren continue to live in Richmond, so
I’m happy here, too.
Judy Welton Sargent: I’ve finally moved
into my house in Austin. In Jan. I had
the opportunity to travel to Cuba with Jo
Ellen Parker and a group of alumnae and
friends. There were three of us from the
class of ’59, Di Doscher Spurdle, Elsie
Pritchard and Bill Carter and me.
Jane Wheeler Garcia: Our 50th reunion
was a once-in-a-lifetime treat for me; but
I won’t rule out our 60th just yet. By that
time I’ll have six granddaughters close to
college age.
Ali Wood Thompson: In Sept. our senior hula group had our best year ever in
Kona where we took 1st in the women’s
solo hula, second in the men’s solo division and third for our group dance. In Oct.,
Travis and I headed to Tanzania for another safari at three different small camps.
As usual, the animals were spectacular!
1960
Carol Barnard Ottenberg
[email protected]
Save the date for our 55th Reunion: May
29-31, 2015!
We begin with expressions of deep sympathy to the families of Debbie Lane Lyon
and Julia Scott Todd Kappler, both of
whom died in Feb. Debbie had moved to
the San Francisco Bay area with husband
Bill in the ’70s, where she worked in public relations for United Press International
and also as a field representative for an
East Bay congressman. Later she became
owner and operator of an art and gift gallery. Julia Scott, of Towson, MD, was an insurance agent who won awards for her
handmade hooked rugs. She moved to
Atlanta following graduation from SBC and
worked at the Georgia Historical Society.
She then moved to Baltimore and married
James Kappler. Classmates are also remembering Patricia Russell Howard who
died in July ’13. Elizabeth Meade Howard
recalls: I was happy to reconnect with
Patricia at reunions some years ago. She’d
retained her whimsy and scholarly smarts
along with a new talent for painting and a
purple pixie cut. We stayed in touch, and
I’m sad to lose her.
I’m glad to have hooked up with Kadri
Niider and Norris Smith at a NY reading of Molly Haskell’s newest book, “My
Brother My Sister.” I also enjoyed NYC
reunions with Teddy Hill and Liz Few
Penfield, Suzanne Reitz Weinstein and
Jackie Mabie Humphrey. As an editor
with Streetlight Magazine online, I hope
classmates will have a look, like us on
Facebook and send submissions.
Jane Headstream Yerkes: Pat Howard
and I roomed together our freshman
year. She helped me through Dr. Nelson’s
Shakespeare class. We sat across from
each other at a mutual desk. She had a
small china kitty cat on her side of the
desk named “Herlonditorious.” His kittyhead was removable and, according to
Pat, was always turning towards me! She
graciously gifted him to me and to this
day the kitty sits on my dresser. As for me,
I’m busy in Seattle. Leonard and I have
moved to a flat, 11 floors above and right
on Lake Washington. When the economy
tanked, I retired from most of my interior
design business. I’m involved in Seattle
Garden Club, University of WA Press and
a committee of 33 women who meet
monthly with great speakers and interesting conversation. President Jo Ellen Parker
was in Seattle earlier this year. I was impressed with her and the information she
imparted. Sounds as if SBC has only gotten better over time!
Barbara Beam Denison: Our middle
daughter, whose husband was killed in
a horrific motorcycle accident six years
ago, is remarrying in MT in July. They’ll still
live in CA where our other two daughters
and grandchildren live also. George is still
working on the Hill here in D.C., and I’m
now painting like crazy.
Jane Tatman Walker: We’ve enjoyed being
in a crossroad here in FL to reconnect with
traveling friends. My main personal project
is family history with a little golf.
Lucy Martin Gianino writes from NY: Jack
and I are enjoying our four grandsons. I’m
still acting. Just finished shooting a pilot
starring Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock. I’m
playing a 90-year-old grandmother. Jack
is still stage managing, involved now in a
beautiful piece called “Bikeman” about
9/11, which may be performed under
the wing of the 9/11 memorial. Our three
adult children are busy in their professions
and raising children.
Lura Coleman Wampler: My life is full of
grandchildren, church, garden club, judging horticulture and photography, and
boarded horses.
Barbara Murphy Hale: Phil and I leave
for a 58-day, 17-port Hong Kong to Ft.
Lauderdale cruise next week. We’ll see
much of Africa; Archbishop Tutu will
join the ship for three days. I saw Carter
Nichols Jump at our church convention
this weekend.
Mary Ellen Dohs Acey: Basil and I moved
six months ago from Baltimore to The
Hermitage at Cedarfield, a retirement community near Richmond, to be closer to our
son and his young family. We chose more
familiar territory than Seattle where our
daughter is living and have returned to VA
after leaving 50 years ago as newlyweds.
Carol-Ann Kolakowski Nalewaik: Daughter
Alexia completed her Ph.D. in project management at SKEMA Business School
in Paris, focusing on construction project performance. She’ll become chair
of the International Cost Engineering
Council (Sydney, Australia). She already
serves on the governing board of the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(London) and is president of the management consulting firm QS Requin
Corporation based in Los Angeles.
Although Jerry and I continue to be bicoastal, we spend more of our time in
Charlottesville.
Teddy Hill and Liz Few Penfield: We split
our time between CO and Skidaway Island,
15 min. and a bridge from Savannah,
at The Marshes, a retirement community. Had a great time in Venice during the
Biannale with Teddy’s two daughters and
some of their families and Christmas in
NY. A week at Edisto Beach with Liz’s cousins and Thanksgiving there with friends
from New Orleans. One of Teddy’s grandchildren is in Thailand teaching after graduating from Yale and another is taking her
junior year from Johns Hopkins to spend
her first semester in Argentina and second in Nepal. We had spent a week with
Patricia Howard in NYC in 2012 and were
so happy to renew and deepen our friendship, only to lose her.
Jane Haldeman Hope recently got a new
right knee.
Judy Barnes Agnew: Jim still goes into his
office every day— a good thing! Children
and grandchildren activities are a big
47
interest, as well as bridge, reading and
socializing.
Jean Morris Stevenson: Don and I spend
our year between Charlotte (in and out for
about three months), mountains around
Banner Elk (from May 15-Oct. 15) with
fly fishing trips to ID, cruises in Europe or
U.S. river cruises. Nov.-March, we’re at the
ranch in TX. We have two sons and families in Charlotte. Our daughter and family
are in San Antonio and visit regularly. We
are all going to Vail to ski this Christmas.
Sue Styer Cahill: Was skiing in UT with
Bessie Bulkley Bradley ’61 and spent a
month in Pawleys Island SC, golfing with
husband Ed just before. Stopped to see
son Tor and grandson Houston in Denver
on the way back from skiing.
Mary Anne Claiborne Johnston: I’ll become president-elect of the Rotary Club of
Summit County in CO in July. Son Richard,
an orthopedist in Atlanta, and family will
be joining us for a ski week in early March.
Daughter Kristin, a clinical psychologist in
Boulder, and her husband try to keep up
with their two daughters. Son Claiborne
and family will move this summer to Austin
TX where he begins his position as dean
of the new Dell School of Medicine at the
U. of TX, Austin. My husband continues
to work full time as associate dean for research at the U. of CO School of Medicine.
Carolyn King Ratcliffe: Our family trips
have included Tanzania, Egypt, and last
summer Ecuador and the Galapagos
Islands. Our grandchildren are now ages
15 to 20 (two at UVA, one headed to Duke
and two in high school). I’m still volunteering and playing tennis, and Clyde stays
busy with his genealogy.
Patti Powell Pusey: We’ve been trying to
keep up with the Ratcliffe family travel
adventures. They took their family to
Tanzania with the Thompson family group,
so we did also. 18 of us had the trip of a
lifetime, sharing animal life, village community and Masaai School.
Our 55th Reunion is on the calendar.
Gale Young Walker shares memories
of Patricia Russell Howard: I was lucky
enough, also having drifted north and
over the border into Canada, to keep up
a friendship with Patricia. She became a
prominent member of the English Dept.
at the U. of Toronto and, in retirement, a
noted watercolorist.
Carolyn Gough Harding still subs occasionally for Adult English as a Second
Language programs and tutors some
neighbors once a week. We’re planning a family trip to Jackson Lake and
Yellowstone in July. I get to the YMCA each
week.
Linda Sims Grady Newmark: I’m on a
cruise to China, Japan and South Korea. I,
along with Nina Bugg and Ann Lemmon,
have enjoyed the SBC Living Room
Learning course with 22 alumnae and 225
others at the Atlanta History Center. Nina
is the capable treasurer and Ann heads up
the hospitality committee. I’m still enjoying
life on Lake Keowee in SC with frequent
visits to my second home in Atlanta.
Nina Wilkerson Bugg and Ann Crowell
Lemmon also write of the outstanding
Living Room Learning series. Ann adds: I
can’t recommend this program enough.
We’ve done it for 40 plus years. I’m still
so thankful at age 75 that my parents provided a SBC education for me. Phyz and I
love visits with children and grandchildren
(VT and NC).
48
Carol Barnard Ottenberg: Simon and I
leave Seattle in late July, just when the
sun comes out, and head for ME. This year
I’m speaking in Salem, MA, at a national
jigsaw puzzle meeting. We enjoyed a week
in AZ in Feb. with family. It was fun to work
with my neighbor Jane Headstream Yerkes
on hosting an SBC tea when President
Parker came to town.
Nancy Corson Gibbes: I’m in Morocco having just spent two nights camping in a tent
in the desert.
Ginger Newman Blanchard writes: We’re
moving to Amherst to the farm. We moved
out of NJ at the end of Jan. If anyone is in
the area, we’d love to see them.
Jane Ellis Covington: We have some ideas
about how to make our 55th special and
we welcome thoughts from classmates.
Thanks to the efforts of our 50th reunion
committee, our class was over the top
with 78% giving participation. It would be
so great if we could match our last effort
or exceed it! I just returned from skiing in
CO—first a week with friends and then a
week with daughter and two grandsons.
Our escape is a farm about an hour west
of Richmond, on the periphery of the Deep
Run Hunt territory.
Isabel Burch Ware: I am still enjoying life
in Williamsburg and hope to have a large
group returning for reunion in 2015. Mark
your calendars now, please, for May 2931, 2015.
1961
Bette Hutchins Sharland
[email protected]
Patti Amanda Birge Spivey hosted a reception in her Russian Hill home when
President Jo Ellen Parker and VP for
Development Heidi McCrory visited San
Fran. More than 30 alumnae, students
and parents attended. President Parker
filled them in on academic developments
and summer programs.
Last Nov.,Winifred Storey Davis returned
to SBC to hear Molly Haskell discuss her
latest book, “My Brother My Sister,” discussing a transgender transformation
“told with understanding and love.” In
April, she and Tread planned to attend
the alumnae gathering in Asheville. Mary
Hunter Kennedy Daly also praises Molly’s
book. Mary Hunter is recovering from a
“very rough course of treatment for lung
cancer.” She had “wonderful visits” from
Lou Chapman Hoffman, just back from
Paris, and from Molly.
Sara Finnegan Lycett continues as docent
at Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum. Sara
serves on her church’s vestry.
Alicia Laing Salisbury and John spent
two Feb. weeks travelling in Vietnam,
Cambodia and Thailand. With a granddaughter at the Coll. of William & Mary,
they anticipate visits to VA.
From Cape Cod, Mary MacKenzie Shaw is
co-chair of fundraising for the new building, which Eastham plans to build. The
new library will double the size of the
town’s present one. Mary has three children and five grandchildren. Last May,
Mary and her daughter spent several
weeks in the small town of Dyke, outside
of Inverness, whence came her MacKenzie
ancestors.
Margaret Gwathmey spends two threemonth intervals each year at her apt. on
Telegraph Hill in San Fran.
Mary Danny Scott Wray’s Jan. Great
Performance Tour down to Cartagena,
Colombia was cancelled by one of those
polar vortexes. Her children and five
grands are all well. John and Louise Cobb
Boggs spent the early part of the winter
visiting friends and relatives in Ocala and
Boca Raton, then at the beach at Ft. Myers
where they rent a condo in Feb. On the
way home, they visited their son in Atlanta,
then friends in Columbia, SC.
Sue Robinson Syquia in AZ is grandmother
to six, ranging in age from seven to 20 all
over the globe.
Helen Cloie Syquia Skarne is in the
Philippines, doing TV shows. “Every once
in a while her mom flies over to join her.”
Eldest grandson finished at Andover and
now studies in Germany. Also in AZ is
Laura Conway Nason, who hopes to see
Hazel Ruth, son John’s first child and
her first grand, who arrived last Nov. in
Olympia, Washington. Susie Prichard Pace
cheers for her grands in hockey, lacrosse,
basketball and baseball. This year is Bob
and Linda MacArthur Hollis’ 50th anniversary. Last winter they visited family
and golf courses in CA and AZ. They’ll celebrate by taking all their family on an AK
cruise in July, then themselves on a cruise
to Antarctica during the Nov. summer.
Linda’s discovered her talent for oil painting and enjoys herself at their retirement
community near Asheville, NC.
Julie O’Neil Arnheim gives the Coll. of
Charleston the benefit of her experience
in Princeton three days a week and then
volunteers at the Children’s Hospital run
by the U. of SC’s Med School. Daughter
Boyd has twins, a girl and a boy, born in
July 2012 up in Chicago, where Boyd’s in a
doctoral program at the U. of IL’s Chicago
campus. Son Patrick moved to Charleston
and is active in theater there and in NY.
Son Richard works on complicated actuarial projects in Indianapolis.
Bill and Catherine Caldwell Cabaniss
had dinner with Sally Mathiasen and Ted
Prince in Washington and the next day attended the dedication of the Havel Place
at Georgetown U. in memory of President
Vaclav Havel, of the Czech Republic who
died two years ago. 2013 was a year of
receiving surgery at the Cleveland Clinic
for a rare condition usually happening to
women in their 30s and 40s. It has taken
a year, but I am recovered and grateful.
Mimi Lucas Fleming visited for her grandniece’s graduation, and Julie and Mimi
“picked up just where we left off in 1959.”
Bette Hutchins Sharland continues as secretary of the local umbrella civic group.
Jean has been interested in the Etruscans,
so they ventured to (E)T(r)uscany last Sept.
They saw lots of their funerary urns (about
all the Romans seem to’ve left), acres
of vineyards, and rows of hills topped by
three-armed windmills harvesting free
power.
Maria Garnett Hood sees Lynn Adams
Clark who is “as beautiful as ever and doing well after Morton’s death.” She and
Bob travel a bit and take care of their “incollege grandson, Juan Harvie.” Our leader
reminds us ‘tis only two years until our
next reunion and “We can make it back!”
1962
Parry ellice Adam
33 Pleasant Run Rd.
Flemington, NJ 08822
[email protected]
Louise Durham Purvis: “We’ve had trips to
Venice and around the south of England.
The next few months will be fighting
against an independent Scotland.”
Dulcie Heintz Germond: Moved from NY
to Atlanta in 1989. Retired from corporate
life in 2005. Peter Conrad (W&L ’62) and I
moved to Kiawah Island, SC, in 2005. Built
a Greek Revival house on Ocean Course
Dr. so we can walk to Kiawah’s beaches,
the Ocean Course and Kiawah Island
Club. Peter and I went to his W&L reunion
this year. Recently went to Beth Gottlieb
O’Connor’s (’90) wedding reception at
Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston with
my daughter, Amanda Sloane Germond
’90 and enjoyed seeing young alumnae.
Peter won Key West regatta in our Farr ’40
with my son Colby aboard. I have four children, Teddy, Amanda, Nathaniel and Colby
who live in ME, NH, Atlanta and Cary, NC,
with my grandchildren. Hope to see Judith
Hartwell Brooks this year.
Julia Shields: “I’m retiring this month after serving almost 22 years as register for
our church. I spend time watching grandnieces and grandnephews perform on
courts, fields and stages, walking with my
dog, doing genealogical research, some
writing and volunteer work.”
Effie Castelli Sammis has been on the
East Coast for three weeks (early 2014)
between Philadelphia and ME. They celebrated their 50th anniversary. They
took their children and grandchildren
to a dude ranch in MT and spent three
days exploring Yellowstone. Then she and
Skeeter went on a cruise to the Bahamas,
Caribbean, South America, Panama Canal
and Costa Rica. They have three of their
children and families living near them in
Sun Valley. Seven of their eight grandchildren play ice hockey, ski, soccer, dance
and ride. Effie saw Jane Aldrich the summer before last in MT. She brought her two
horses over to the ranch where they were
staying and had great ride together. Jane
has a stable of three horses, two goats,
two dogs and cats. She’s still living in
Florence, MT. Also a couple of years ago,
they had a visit with Lizzie Fleet Wallace
and Gordon in Richmond, and then at their
house in Figure Eight, NC.
1963
Allie Stemmons Simon
3701 Guadalajara Court
Irving, TX 75062
[email protected]
Jean Young Behan died on 9/23/13 after a long illness. We express our sympathy to her family. Sympathy also to Anne
Carter Brothers whose husband, Dr. John
Brothers, died at the end of last year and
to Lee Kucewicz Parham and John who
lost their younger son, Rob, to cancer in
Feb. Ironically, Anne had sent a reflection
on our 50th Reunion, which just missed
the deadline for our last class notes: “As I
pulled out of the gates of SBC I felt many
of the same emotions I had felt when leaving after graduation. I imagine it was because I had anticipated this particular reunion for so long and now it was over. I
also wonder if we’ll ever entice so many
back to campus. We must try.”
Nerissa Vom Baur Roehrs: “Our daughter
Marina was married on Easter Saturday
2013 in London to British Army Captain
Nicholas Heppenstall. He was posted
to Washington in Dec. Musically my offerings continue to be played here and
there. Australia and China heard a couple of my songs, a couple more were sung
in recital in Zwickau (Schumann’s birthplace) and my two piano solos were performed during Debussy Week. One of my
Christmas carols was sung, in translation,
at the Christmas Service of Bach’s choir,
the Thomaner.”
Betty Stanly Cates is entertaining all
Sweet Briar colleagues who visit Vero
Beach. Meta Bond Magevney and Hugh
and Susan Dwelle Baxter ’64 were Betty’s
house guests on Valentine’s Day weekend,
and Lucetta Gardner Mannion and Ed
spent the night with her in Jan., en route
home after a Caribbean cruise. She had
dinner with Mary Lou Morton Seilheimer
and Charlie. Mary Lou is on the mend after knee surgery. The Sweet Briar cocktail party, which Betty sponsors annually,
was March 4. Attending were Betty Noland
Caravati and Charlie and Nancy Caldwell
Briggs and Bobby.
Lynn Carol Blau and Jeffrey were off to
Nashville and Las Vegas to visit their
two daughters and grandchildren and
also spend time in their apt. in NYC. Pat
Calkins Wilder’s (Victor, NY) husband
Mike retired. Pat is still photographing
full time, enjoying experiences in the U.S.
and abroad and keeping a full schedule
of shows. Pat and Mike have three children, one in Seattle, one in NY and one in
London with their families.
Ginni Corwin Millo: “I’ve been retired from
my aerospace job for 18 years now and
spend my time between HI where my family lives and MA where I’m involved with
my church’s information technology.” Jean
Meyer Aloe’s husband Ed tripped on the
stairs and tore the quadriceps ligament off
his kneecap resulting in surgery then leg
cast and brace. Then Jean fell on her face
twice, dislocating her jaw and ending up
with a “monstrous black/red/blue eye and
cheek.” Jean goes to Abu Dhabi in March
to visit their daughter and her family who
are there for her job.
Cynthia Hubard Spangler and Charles visited Biarritz with her son and his family
last summer followed by two days in Paris.
In Jan. Cynthia had back surgery, which
has eliminated pain she’s lived with for
years. Susan Alexander, Nancy McDowell
and Lyn Clark Pegg enjoyed a mini-reunion
last Dec. while on a Witness for Peace delegation to Cuba.
Prue Gay Stuhr and Ed have been enjoying the activities of grandchildren and
dogs. Their Dalmatian, “Ticket” had a fine
year in the show ring and their 10-yearold Dalmatian “Cole” is looking well.
Prue tracked down a long-lost classmate,
Ashley Schuler Rooney. Shortly after, I had
an email from Ashley herself. “So many
years have passed, but within 24 hours I
heard from Prue Gay and Leslie Buchman
Richardson, that tall beautiful blonde who
was my roommate so many years ago!”
Ashley is a writer with over 40 books to
her credit. She has previously worked
as a consultant and as a youth minister and youth center coordinator, working with teens. She has a master’s degree
in Adolescent Group Dynamics and has
produced a TV series focusing on youth
concerns. Through two marriages (her first
husband died in 1998) she has collected
two children, three step-children and 11
grandchildren.
Judy Varn Hays writes, “After 43 years in
the same house someone came along
who wanted to buy it and we moved in
about seven weeks! We’re now at our lake
house 100 miles from Atlanta waiting to
close on a condo.”
Susan Scott Robinette and Lamar took
a three-week trip to WA, MT, Canada and
WY in Sept. then to the beach in Pawley’s
Island, SC, and to NJ to see grandchildren.
Lamar’s daughter Kate (their last) will be
getting married next Oct. in Charleston at
Magnolia Plantation. Nancy Dixon Brown’s
oldest daughter is being married in June.
Nancy attended the SBC brunch for
President Parker.
Cheri Fitzgerald Burchard: “I enjoy my
grandchildren and have welcomed a new
one, Anna. Painting and work in the arts
delights me.”
Mary Ann Utterback Burritt was sorry to
miss our Reunion, but was in the throes of
moving her mother into a retirement facility near her home. Mary Ann and Jim are
looking forward to a cross country drive in
May to visit their son Jimmy, who lives in
Laguna Beach with his family.
Marta Sweet Colangelo responded briefly,
“Susan Terjen Bernard and I are currently
in Tortola, BVI!”
Lisa Wood Hancock: “Daughter Elizabeth
is graduating from VA Episcopal Seminary
and will be ordained in June. I had a visit
in Dallas with Allie Stemmons Simon in
early Feb.” Lisa came to provide me with
a little R&R after nursing a husband recovering from spinal surgery complicated
by infection for four months. He’s improving daily and we’re off for our CO home to
spend the month of March.
1964
Virginia “Ginny” deBuys
H16 Shirley Lane
Lawrence Township, NJ 08648
[email protected]
Caroline Kincaid Pesola writes from
Perugia, Italy that she spends the fall season in Hunterdon County in NJ each year
where she has a home and the rest of her
time in Italy, where she has a garden, olive
trees and pets to keep her busy. Her son is
living in Venice now after eight years in the
U.S. She sees Gale Rogers Fortebuono in
Perugia where she also has a house. Both
will miss reunion. For news of reunion and
pictures, go to Facebook at https://www.
facebook.com/SBC1964. And, last but not
least, it’s been fun being your secretary
these past years. Now it’s time to pass the
pen to someone else. Send lots of news
and keep the new secretary busy!
1965
Sally Hubbard
[email protected]
Eugenia Dickey Caldwell found an avian
vet for Dollie, her 33-year-old parrot.
Eugenia spends a lot of time caring for
Dollie, from administering arthritis medicine to walks in the sunshine.
Melinda Musgrove Chapman’s oldest grandson is a sophomore at the U.
of FL and the rest of his family will be in
Germany for another 18 months. Her two
granddaughters and selling houses keep
her busy.
Foy Roberson Cooley is still working as
CEO of Access Self Storage, developing
and managing self-storage properties in
NJ and NY. Husband Ken retired a decade
ago. She skis at Snowbird and takes long
hikes (New Zealand last Nov.) and will go
fly fishing in Argentina in March. Her four
children are fine; two in UT and two in NJ.
One is married and has two children. Foy
is tutoring a homeless person for the GED
exam and facilitates a grief group.
Mary Ellen Freese Cota’s husband
Alberto’s macular degeneration limits adventures, but they continue singing in
the choir. Mel teaches yoga to professors
from the U. of Mexico campus nearby.
Each weekend they visit Alberto’s sister in
Guanajuato.
Sally Rasco Thomas is looking forward
to a Danube cruise in April. Oldest granddaughter Naja is awaiting college admission letters.
Sally Wright Hyde and husband Steve
downsized and moved to Williamstown,
MA, where he went to college. Mary
“Dootsie” Duer ’64 and Sally used to visit
that Birkshires campus from SBC. They
have two daughters and four grandchildren, three to 15.
Brooke Patterson Koehler and husband
Dan enjoyed a 21-day river cruise from
Bucharest to Amsterdam. She’s had knee
surgery for a torn meniscus and a small
tear. Brooke flew off to Australia with her
tennis partner to watch nine days of the
Australian Open. She returned to Indian
Wells (where they own a house) to watch
the Paribas Open. Brooke’s son Doug still
works for her, but is getting restless; son
Andrew is teaching school in Bosnia.
Nancy E. MacMeekin traveled to Ireland
last fall with Vicky Thoma Barrette. They’re
about to embark on a trip to Panama and
the colonial city of Cartagena, Colombia.
Nancy volunteers for her church and her
county’s literacy and ESL programs, and
spends time with her grandnieces and
grandnephews.
Susan Strong McDonald had a wonderful two-week residence at the Virginia
Center for the Creative Arts in Oct. Since
it is close to SBC, she visited with the art
dept. faculty and saw the new art studio facility. Paige Critcher brought her art
class to visit Susan’s studio and talk about
creating collages. Susan’s oldest grandson is studying at Beloit College in WI. The
others are thriving in St. Paul, MN, and
Shepherdstown, WV. She moves seasonally between WI and Jacksonville, FL.
Laura Haskell Phinizy’s husband Stewart
has had to stop driving because of
Alzheimers. On the up side, Laura drove
1800 miles from Augusta to Saint Simons
Island, to D.C. and back, with grandson
Wesley Gash (8) to visit his twin cousins,
go to monuments, play in his first snow,
visit the capitol, and celebrate Three Kings
Day at St. Alban’s.
Carol Reifsnyder Rhoads’ husband Bob
has retired. In “Ring Around Charleston”
they rang tower bells in three churches
and then they visited D.C. to see “The
Dying Gaul” in the National Gallery. 2015
is around the corner—hope everyone is
planning to come to SBC!
Magdalena Salvesen will visit 19th-century gardens and parks in Britain this summer in preparation for a seminar she’ll
sbc.edu/magazine
teach at NYU. She continues to manage
the estate of artist Jon Schueler and is involved with his exhibitions.
Saralyn McAfee Smith sent a pastoral
scene of snow on a rural lane, but fussed
that after a week of spring they woke up
to that.
Sally Norris Swan’s husband will retire
soon from his accounting firm in Amarillo.
They’re getting a Brittany pup and love to
fly fish in the West; they have a Kevlar canoe (so old folks can carry it) and love
backpacking and hiking. Sally’s mother
gave her poem book that Robert Frost had
signed to Goodwill in 1970; if you see it on
E-Bay please buy it back for her. She enjoys writing and poetry.
At 70 (aren’t we all), Sally McCrady
Hubbard figures she has five years to
do outrageous things. So here came an
Anglican priest from Uganda to teach
courses at Sewanee about various religions’ response to people with AIDS
in their communities. Canon Gideon
Byamugisha has provided a boarding
school education for 900 children near
Kampala (orphans and others affected by
AIDS) and is working to establish a fouryear college open to all. Sally decided to
volunteer for him for the month of April
and then Ugandan President Museveni declared war on gays and people who counsel them. It’s terrifying, but she’s willing to
be open to this opportunity, and then be
coordinator of Canon Gideon’s fundraising efforts in Canada and the USA when
she returns.
And what was it Carol said? 2014 + 1 =
OUR TURN TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS!
1966
Keenan Kelsey
[email protected]
Penn Willets Fullerton
[email protected]
Jane Nelson
[email protected]
Susan Sudduth Hiller
[email protected]
1967
Gail robins O’Quin
[email protected]
Lynn Gullett Strazzini returned from her
third biennial drive (5,000 mi.) around the
U.S. with a fellow retired FAA girlfriend.
The emphasis this time was the civil rights
era in the South, where they visited many
national park service civil rights historic
sites etc. “I’m now aboard Ed Strazzini’s
sailboat cruising the Chesapeake Bay for
a week. Following this week’s trip is the
annual gathering of nine ‘girls’ from my
school days. 2013 will be our Nifty 68 trip.
I travel with two other groups: Saucy 60s
and Check Mates. I’m on the road about
200 days annually. Ed and I visit our three
grandchildren in NYC as often as we can.”
Dottie Dana King is still living in
Jacksonville, FL. She’s been a widow for
seven years and has three married children and six grandchildren (6 mos. to 8
49
Merci, Mme.
over her clothes and hair. It was all business during the
day, she recalls.
“It was hard work when I think back on it, but we
didn’t think anything of it. It was just what you did,”
she told an interviewer with the Library of Congress
Veterans History Project in 2008.
“We felt strongly about it, and we were winning that
war, we were doing our part; that was a very big part of
it. As I say, all our contemporaries, boys, men we should
call them, were out fighting. So, by gum, we were doing
our part. I mean, that was the sense of it.”
Walter also volunteered at the Stage Door Canteen,
a converted theater in Lafayette Square.
“We were supposed to mosey around and talk to
[soldiers] and dance with them, whatever, just generally
entertain them. We were not supposed to leave with any
soldier. That was part of the rules. But it was a very nice
thing, and some of these guys were pretty lonesome. …
It made you feel good. It was fun.”
During her two and a half years at OSS, she often
spent Sundays walking outdoors. “Working six days a
week inside is a long haul,” she said.
EDITH BRAINERD WALTER ’42 CREDITS
Sweet Briar with a lot, including landing her first job.
Yes, that’s what college is supposed to do. But it was
January 1943, the country was at war, and women
suddenly were working in capacities they hadn’t before.
Walter, a French major and Spanish minor, was
hired “on the spot” by the brand-new Office of Strategic
Services in Washington, the nation’s first centralized
intelligence agency. At first, she scoured newspapers
from Spain and France for details such as train
movements, which she learned might indicate troop
movements. As her security clearance levels increased,
she was promoted from assistant clerk to editorial
analyst, responsible for editing reports from agents
in Europe for distribution within the military and
government.
Six days a week in a hot, cramped temporary
building at 26th and Constitution, Walter cranked out
her typed briefings on a Ditto machine that flung ink all
50
Walter was the youngest of five daughters. She and
her sister, who also worked in the city, remained at their
family home. It was large enough to serve as a civil
defense shelter, and the two women were designated air
raid wardens. They trained in first aid in case of attack
and patrolled their darkened neighborhood at night to
ensure every house was blacked out.
As the war in Europe wound down in mid-1945,
Walter tired of the long schedule with not enough work
to stay busy and resigned her position. She parlayed
her experience into a job as an editor at the American
Automobile Association, where she continued part time
after marrying George Walter in 1949. George, an
attorney, retired from Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Co.
as executive vice president in 1981. He died in 2006.
The couple raised two daughters, Anne, now a
biology professor, and Betty Jane, who died in 1973.
They stayed in Washington, where Edie was active in
the PTA, her church and Sweet Briar’s alumnae club.
Walter!
She was a longtime volunteer at her local voting precinct and
delivered Meals on Wheels for many years.
Walter was a member of the Washington Club, where
she held several offices and contributed articles for its
newsletter. For the club’s 1992 centennial, she wrote a
short history of the women’s group and the “clubhouse” it
acquired in the 1950s — a Dupont Circle mansion that
had temporarily served as the White House during Calvin
Coolidge’s administration. While Coolidge lived and worked
there, he received Charles Lindbergh following the flier’s
Trans-Atlantic flight in 1927.
Service has always been part of her life. Reflecting on
her time at the OSS — the earliest days of what would
become the Central Intelligence Agency — she knows now it
was special.
“I think it was,” she told the Veterans History Project. “I
probably just sort of took it for granted a little bit, you know.
It was special, I was very proud of it, and I did well.”
In many ways, the war had felt far away at Sweet Briar, but
students did feel its impact.
“In lieu of going to France, I lived junior year in a house
on Faculty Row, [where we were] supposed to speak French
only,” she says, noting her disappointment at the time.
“December 7, 1941, shocked everyone. My roommate’s
father was captain of a ship at Pearl Harbor, and she sat
up all night waiting to hear if he was okay — fortunately,
although the ship was hit, he was okay.”
1942 classmates Ann Morrison reams (from left), Grace
Bugg Muller-Thym and edith Brainerd Walter
Much like her experience at OSS, college shaped her
future, she says, and that is why she has chosen to make a
gift of $100,000 to Sweet Briar to establish an unrestricted
endowed fund.
“Sweet Briar intensified my interest in learning about
things, to dig deeper. It gave me the ability to adapt to life’s
challenges,” she says. “I am grateful for those four years. I
believe that a women’s college offers advantages to young
women. Sweet Briar has proved this to be true and shows a
desire to maintain its high standards.”
To learn how you can make a difference today, please
contact [email protected] or (888) 846-5722.
edie Walter ’42 (far right) enjoys the company of her
friends Nancy Davis and Sid Kent at a Washington
nightclub during the war. Kent was a lifelong family friend.
51
years) who live in Atlanta and NY. She enjoys teaching and playing tournament
bridge.
Judy Bensen Stigle has adjusted to FL
weather. She’s playing lots of golf, working two days a week and has jumped back
into PEO, women’s club and newcomers.
She sees lots of old roomie Bonnie Blew
Pierie who has undergone second rotator
cuff surgery on the same arm.
Maria Wiglesworth Hemmings is cutting back to 24 hours at the hospital in
March and spending longer weekends in
FL. “We’re in Hobe Sound if any of you
are nearby. Family is good; if any SBC
grads need gardening or landscaping in
the Jackson Hole area, daughter Emery’s
Teton Gardens will take care of you. She
and Jeff are now visiting daughter Anne in
Park City skiing.” In June, the Hemmings
go with their church to Kenya for a mission
trip. After the work portion they’re going to
Masai Mara and Tanzania.
Mary Gillespie Monroe was flying across
country to visit her grandsons, Vake and
Gil Martin, who live in Klamath Falls, OR,
when she reported. If not in OR she will
be driving or taking the train to visit her
granddaughter, Mary Frances Rivera, in
Baltimore, MD. “I’m still teaching anatomy
and histology at Virginia Commonwealth U.
during the fall and spring semesters.”
Barb Tillman Kelley and Carlton have a
trip planned to the Galapagos Islands in
March. They’re also taking a river cruise
on the Danube from Prague to Budapest
in Aug.
Judy Schlatter Fogle enjoyed a trip to
Berlin and Munich with her son Ander and
his wife Robin and their three sons.
Carroll Randolph Barr loves the printed
word on a page in a magazine, especially
our Class Notes in our SBC Magazine.
“SBC’s magazine is truly one of the best
I have ever read/seen, not that I’m prejudiced, but I do believe it’s worth the expense to write, publish and mail.” She
writes, “Our son, Angus and his fiancée,
Erin Holshouser, were married here at
our house on Lake Latané in Oct. They
live in Huntersville and work in Charlotte,
NC, where he’s a chef at the downtown
Hilton Hotel, and she’s an office manager with Duffey Construction. Michael
and Ali and Eloise have moved into their
house in Larchmont. Michael commutes
into NYC via train to Neuberger Berman,
and Ali owns her own pajama business
called ThreeJNYC (threejnyc.com). I love
retirement with tennis, golf, watching UVA
basketball, tutoring French, and now the
Olympics. Mike is still in real estate, but
also enjoys golf, tennis and now pickleball.
On my last trip to Larchmont, I visited with
my goddaughter, Elaine Musselman and
her son, Wes, in NYC. Elaine is Ina Brown
Bond’s daughter.
Adele Laslie Kellman and Paul sold their
home of 20+ years and moved into a
condo in Morristown, NJ. The Kellmans
took two trips to Spain, first in June when
their daughter and her husband had a legal wedding ceremony in Andorra, then
later in Sept. when the couple had a destination wedding in Barcelona (where they
live). During the summer, Adele spent several weeks in FL with her stepmother in
her final days. The Kellmans went to Costa
Rica in Jan.
Hallie Darby Smith’s son remarried and is
expecting a daughter in March to join older
brothers (9 and 6)! This gives Hallie three
grandsons and three granddaughters.
52
“I have become interested in beekeeping. Last fall I went on a wine tasting tour
of Germany, followed by a trip along the
wine road of Alsace, France with Sophie
Mackenzie Belouet ’68.”
Stephanie Lucas Harrison: “About 5 years
ago I married Ted Carpenter. We became
engaged when we went to Carmel for Lyn
Milton Cooper’s wedding. I have two married sons and three grandsons. When I
married Ted, I acquired two stepdaughters
and a step-granddaughter (6).” Stephanie
is practicing commercial real estate law
and taking ballet and salsa dancing lessons. Her sister Cathy, SBC ’70, lives there
as does her younger son, Charlie, and his
wife and the baby-on-the way. Everyone
else is scattered in CA, OR and NC.
Connie Quereau Graf and Ernie enjoy having both children nearby in the D.C. area.
She babysits the three grandchildren once
a week. She’s still riding and maintaining
two horses. She sees Putzi Von Rebhan
occasionally.
Margaret Mapp Young’s oldest son died
of heart failure in Feb. He had lived with a
TBI since 1991, but had married and fathered two beautiful children before his divorce. He was living on his own with great
caregivers in Accomac. She is fortunate to
be able to spend time with Paul and Sara
Mapp now as they live with their mother
close by. Mapp lives in Northern VA, is a
school teacher and he and his wife have
three boys and a girl! Richard, Jr. is in
Portland, OR, and he and his wife have two
girls. Margaret and Dick plan to go back
to the FL Keys for two months this winter.
They missed last year due to her broken
ankle and his collapsed lung!
Bonnie Blew Pierie remembers Randy
Brown: “Time passes and, while I miss
Randy, I’m happy that Hospice made her
transition away comfortable. It was offered
in her own home with her family able to
participate. Just yesterday, as I was going
over a drawer of photos, there was another
photo of Randy during a visit here looking
like, well...Randy (!) with that big smile and
joy-of-life look.” Randy’s daughter Lee has
been in touch, and it seems that after the
great ordeal the family endured, they’re
healing and happy for their memories of
their mother.”
Judi Bensen Stigle is consistently winning
in the Waterford Womens’ Golf League
while she attempts a second effort to reattach the tendon in my right shoulder otherwise known as rotator cuff. Judi visited
Gracey Stoddard in Naples in Dec. She
is working to support the “African Dream
Academy,” and also on rehabbing/decorating a family condominium. When she just
recently went to Africa to visit the Academy
and took a side trip safari with 12 other
people; she just happened to mention that
she had gone to Sweet Briar and met her
first cousin. Now that is a small world! Judi
looks forward to seeing Ginny Carpenter
Delgado and everyone at our next reunion
if not before.
Martha Meehan Elgar married Tom after graduation and they moved several
times in his career with General Electric
Company. They’ve lived in Atlanta for almost 25 years. They enjoy having their
children and six grandchildren nearby, who
range in age from 12 years to 9 months.
They volunteer for their church and community and travel. They had a reunion
several years ago with Lindsay Smith
Newsom, Peggy Handly Fitzgerald, Sally
Haskell Richardson, Page Munroe Renger,
Gretchen Bullard Barber and Sue Morck
Perrin.
Dolly Caballera Garcia has eight grandchildren. The Garcias took a cruise to the
Black Sea. This year they’re planning on
taking two of the grandkids on a Disney
cruise in April and then hope to go to Israel
and Jordan in Sept.
Victoria Baker made a sightseeing trip, interspersed with family visits, up the east
coast from FL to Ft. Kent, ME (mile marker
#1 on U.S.1) for partner Lee’s 50th high
school reunion. In Oct. she took him to her
remote anthropological research village
in Sri Lanka to reconnect with old friends.
Victoria and Lee continue to be avid ballroom dancers.
Ginny Carpenter Delgado: “All is well in
Madrid! My son and family have moved
here. I tutor his boys in English (their second language). I’ll be spending the month
of July in Breckenridge, CO, with my sister and husband and will be taking my
grandson Álvaro (13). If any of you are in
the Denver area, maybe we could get together in July? Looking forward to visiting
with Glory McCrae Bowen here in Madrid
in May.”
Kim Waters Keriakos has been enjoying
Washington, D.C., this winter. “I hope anyone passing through will give me a call. I
volunteer with Travelers Aid at Dulles Intl
Airport so would be happy to greet you
and take you to the city if that’s your plan.
I continue to serve as a floral designer at
church and have joined a garden club. I
visited SBC at homecoming last fall and,
with our loss of Nancy Baldwin and Peter
Daniel, have corresponded with many old
friends. Both Nancy and Peter were great
mentors when I worked for the Admissions
Office after graduation. I became a greatgrandmother at the end of 2013.”
Jill Berguido Gill retired from tutoring. She
loves having the time to read and write.
She’s planning an extensive vegetable garden. “Chamois, my yellow Lab (11) is still
full of pep…I have added more duties to
my roster at Christ Church, Philadelphia.
Bruce won’t reach retirement age for several more years. He loves his work at
Harriton House. He is good friends with
his Harriton neighbor, Chef Walter Staib.
Both Bruce and Harriton Plantation have
been frequent guests on Walter’s PBS
show, “A Taste of History.” My son, Tim
Clement, has been working at the Thomas
Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation
in Philadelphia since last June. He is the
Scattergood Fellow on Stigma Reduction.”
Susan Sumners Alloway has moved from
central NY to Rockport, TX, a shrimping village and artists’ colony on the Gulf Coast
where she vacationed as a child and
where she and her husband wintered the
last 10 years of his life. “Current projects
include making for my son, the farmer, a
set of dishes incised with Pueblo prayer
symbols for good harvests, and designing two retreats, one on ‘covenant,’ one on
‘power.’ I see my son and grandson four or
five times a year in northern CA, and this
summer plan a painting class at Ghost
Ranch, a northern NM retreat center in
Georgia O’Keefe country. My sister and I
are contemplating a trip to the Greek islands to celebrate my 70th.”
Beth Gawthrop Riely: “After a difficult period, at this age it’s better just to say so:
divorce and death of former husband
John, my life is now full and rich with family and friendships. I continue to write on
food and food history and music. Right
now I am co-president of my chorus, The
Boston Cecilia. My older son Christopher
and his companion Ingrid have my first
grandchild, Sylvia. Christopher is a forester working in RI’s reservoir watershed.
Andrew, my younger son, teaches geography at National Cathedral School in
Washington, D.C.”
Stephanie Ewalt Coleman’s first husband,
Rye Ayers, passed away. Judi Bensen
Stigle and Lynn Lyle were both in that
wedding. On a happier note, her youngest son, Brandon, married Ashby Wallace
last Nov.! Lynn and friend, Jamie Sheridan,
came from Raleigh to attend! Lisa Harvey
Morton and John were to attend, but sadly
illness hit Lisa after her family reunion
the previous weekend! Now Lee and his
wife, Amanda, have a daughter, Reagan
(3). They’re expecting a son, Riley (named
for granddad). Her middle son, Cameron,
lives in NOVA and works in D.C. as senior
editor at a large publishing company. Lisa
has two grandchildren, two daughters-inlaw and sons nearby, two stepsons, their
wives and four step-grandchildren. “I see
my two brothers and one sister-in-law,
Chloe Briscoe Ewalt ’74, in MD often as
well as two half-sisters and one brother-inlaw in Amherst. One of my half-sisters has
attended Ascension Episcopal Church in
Amherst of which Kat Barnhardt Chase is
deacon! I have a half-brother and sister-inlaw living in NC.”
Ginny Stanley Douglas (Sacremento): “I’m
off to Marrakech in April with girlfriends!
Bill and I are off to Tunisia and cruising
the Mediterranean in June. Our grandkids keep us busy. Bill and I are still here
in Baton Rouge, LA, with our three dogs
and three backyard chickens. In June we
took a three-week river cruise. We drank
the ship out of wine! We had a fun trip to
the FL Keys with friends in Oct. for Fantasy
Fest. In Nov. we went on a week plus safari
to Kenya. We both keep busy with our volunteer work. Bill was honored along with
several others last year as a volunteer activist. Between us we have five children,
two of his plus one of mine in TX and two
of mine in Baton Rouge and New Orleans
plus five grandchildren scattered between
the two states. If you’re ever in the Baton
Rouge area, or any part of LA, please holler. We have an open door policy and I can
certainly meet anyone wherever. In fact I
had the opportunity to meet Randy Brown
in Donaldsonville, halfway between New
Orleans and Baton Rouge while she was
still ambulatory. What a special treat!
Glory McRae had seen Lynn Lyle at
their 50th High School Class Reunion in
Jacksonville, FL. Glory’s son T.J. graduated
from the New School in NYC with a masters in economics. She spent Thanksgiving
in D.C. with her older son Derick who
works for the World Bank. Her daughter
Glory’s theater festival in NYC was fantastic. Glory Jr. is working with the La
Mama International Group on a production in Singapore. Glory and her daughter took a holiday cruise up the Brazilian
end of the Amazon River. Mama Glory
also took a cruise from San Diego to the
west coast of Mexico, Guatamala, Costa
Rica and through the Panama Canal with
a stop in Colon, Panama, then Cartegena,
Columbia, ending in Ft. Lauderdale. In Aug.
she went to Iceland and Greenland. At the
end of the summer she took a bus tour
to Chicago. In Nov. she went to Winnipeg
and then to Manitoba. Glory is still singing
with the U. Women’s Chorale of A.A.U.W.
and performs with the opera chorus,
Coro Lirica, as well as her choir at the
Unitarian Church in Summit where she
also leads the World Religions group.
Janie Willingham McNabb and husband
Lanny have eight children (plus seven
son/daughter in-laws) and 20 grandchildren between them. Her hobbies are still
grandchildren, photography, videography
and gardening. All four of her children live
in town and Lanny’s four all live in Atlanta
except for one who travels with condos in
Atlanta and Bangkok. “We’re downsizing
into a garage apt., which I’m building at
present. The apt. will be attached to our
family ancestral home (built by my father
in 1937) where we currently live and into
which my oldest daughter will soon move
with her family.”
Linda Fite has a cousin in Scott, LA,
whom she visits every Jan. Linda bought
another farmhouse in her back-country hamlet. “I suppose these houses (the
largest is 1,200 square feet; the smallest, 900) could be considered investments, only I don’t rent them out conventionally. Summers in the Hudson Valley
are so wonderful that, except for a family
get-together at Bethany Beach, DE, and a
visit to ME, I stay home. Lots of visitors to
this area, so I get houseguests galore (including the Brooklyn kids and grandkids).
Last autumn I visited an English friend
in the South of France, and on the way I
stopped in Paris to see Pam Ford Kelley
and Brendan. I love going to NYC to visit
friends and the kids. I’m still in a writing
group. I spent a week in Key West with
Joanne Tumolo Bario ’68—heavenly!”
Carole Munn is still single and living in
FL; she’s flying for Delta (44 years total with Pan Am and Delta!) and spent a
three-week vacation in Myanmar (Burma)
last Nov.
Pat Neithold Hertzberg and Mike moved
to FL three years ago to a family home
in Palm Beach. “We still go back to
Bethesda, MD, in the summer and fall
because our son and his family are
there. The two grandkids, Graham (11)
and Caroline (12), spend spring breaks
with us in FL. Mike has started an export consulting business in West Palm,
and I’m still working (remotely and part
time) with an investment management
firm (Keystone Asset Management in
McLean, VA). Enjoy painting and drawing.
Stay in touch with Mellie Hickey and Paul
Nelson, Judy Powell and Harry Martin
and Beth Gawthrop Riley.
Gracey Stoddard is now retired (Dec. ’13)
from her day job with Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney. She hopes to have
more time to travel and would love to
hear from anyone who is in NY.
At the time of the last Class Notes Anne
Stuart Brown Swann was dealing with
an Acoustic Neuroma in her brain. She
explains, “I had Cyberknife surgery at
Johns Hopkins last Aug., and my report
last month was good. Tumor is slightly
swollen from the radiation, but three
fourths of it is displaying tissue death.
Won’t need another MRI for a year! Even
though I have lost hearing in my left year
I feel blessed. Husband Kirk has retired.
We have our two sons, two daughters-inlaw and five grandchildren nearby.”
Barbara Annan: “I’m enjoying travel and
taking writing workshops. I’ve kayaked in
the Everglades, in British Columbia, and
northern WI. I visit NYC several times a
year and in the winter I use my condo in
Palm Beach, where my brother lives.”
Page Munroe Renger is busy practicing
for spring interclub tennis. She says, “Will
go to the beach for Easter and Memorial
Day. Doing a cruise of the Greek Isles and
finishing up in Istanbul in June and then
hope to take numerous long stints at the
beach. I babysit for my little princesses (5
and 7) and drive back and forth to River
Hills where my significant other lives.”
1968
Lynne Gardner Detmer
[email protected]
1969
Nancy Crawford Bent
[email protected]
Betsy Blackwell Laundon Esch (Lynchburg,
VA) was married to Mike Esch in ’10 having met in Honduras on a church mission
trip. Betsy’s first husband and VMI sweetheart, Walt, died in ’05 and in ’07 Betsy
sold her yarn shop of 18 yrs. and began
traveling and volunteering, which led her
to Mike. They continue to travel (bucket
list: Machu Picchu and the Galapagos on
the SBC trip) and volunteer, both away
(NOLA, Haiti, Sandy clean-up in MD) and
at home (Betsy at her local library, Meals
on Wheels, Vestry and Treasurer at Trinity
Episcopal Church; Mike doing maintenance work at L’burg’s Old City Cemetery
with other retirees). Daughter Katie and
Scott (Lafayette, LA) have twin girls Jordan
and Taylor (5), and Beth and Kurt (Takoma
Park, MD) have Nate (3).
Martha Brewer is retired and plans to
move to Atlanta in July when her girlfriend
(also an ObGyn) starts a new job there.
In addition to Marshall’s Walter (1) in
Chevy Chase and Charles’s Lucy (3) in
L’ville, Ed and Cathy Hall Stopher now
have Edward. “Older sister Lucy likes him.
Whew!” Cathy was in FL again this winter,
golfing, playing bridge and reading and enjoying being head of their club’s speaker
series.
Brooks and Almena Hill Pettit
(Tallahassee) moved into the local LCRC
two yrs. ago, although her mother (93) refuses to join them, and enjoy their home
as well as their vacation place in Beaufort,
SC. Daughter Rachel will have a fourth son
born 11/13. Son Coleman is embarking
on his third career (six yrs. in the Marines,
three yrs. in banking), about to graduate from law school and hoping to enter
the historical preservation field. Son John
and his wife have two girls, the younger
about to graduate from college! Daughter
Barbara teaches children with learning differences. Another daughter lives in VT.
After reading emails from classmates wild
with cabin fever in GA, NC and VA this winter, Jan Huegenin Assmus thinks maybe
she should be grateful that “shoveling off
the piles of snow from the roof” and then
“shoveling the barriers of snow the plow
leaves in front of our driveways” gets her
out of the house. Jan x-country skis to enjoy Hanover, NH’s winter sights.
Happily retired, Ronde Kneip Bradley
spent two mos. this winter traveling first
with a friend and then on her own in SE
Asia.
Elizabeth Lewis and husband David were
planning a trip in Jan. ’14 to Myanmar
(Burma) with a stop on the way in Taipei.
Son Matt’s company, Betabrand, has
grown from three to over 50 employees
and, they opened a store last June in San
Francisco. Niece Caroline Lewis moved in
with Elizabeth and David in Jan. ’13 while
she studies for her master’s in psych.
Caroline is a paraglider who spends holidays sailing off mountains in exotic places
like Nepal. Not to be outdone, Elizabeth’s
mother (96) remarried six years ago, and
she and her husband play competitive duplicate bridge.
Liz Medaglia retired in Jan. from the
U.S. Dept. of Labor, but chairs the ABA
Standing Committee on the Law Library
of Congress; working with the Women’s
Bar Assoc. Foundation; and now serving
as editor of the Cosmos Club Bulletin. Liz
and Joe were planning a late winter trip to
Vienna and Venice and then Liz was going
to Jordan with a friend in May. All this is in
contrast to her summer ’13 road trip when
Liz and Joe visited the Rare Book School in
C’ville and Liz spent two days as a student
at the BMW Performance Driving School.
Last July Darlene Pierro retired as head
of McLean School in Potomac, MD, after
16 years. Under Darlene, McLean grew
from a K-9 school to a K-12. Come fall,
she supervised the exterior painting of her
150-year-old house and with her former
business manager formed a consulting
company, The K-12 Leadership Advisory,
for independent school leaders (K-12
LeadershipAdvisory.com). Sadly, Darlene’s
only brother died from esophageal cancer
in Jan. Robert Pierro, UVA ’71, received his
MD from U. CT and was principal psychiatrist at CT Valley Hospital. Darlene is executor of the estate and trustee of a trust
to be set up for his son. Finally, Darlene is
helping organize her 50th h.s. reunion (St.
Margaret’s School, now Chase Collegiate)
for ’15. She hopes to get back to SBC for
our 45th.
Keithley Rose Miller is in Palm Beach with
many new design jobs coming her way.
Daughter Tory now lives in Delray and
works in West Palm for ION Media. Son
Gib is still in L.A., also in the media business. She was looking forward to her annual lunch with Cathy Hall Stopher in Feb.
Jean Rushin Brown wrote, “Jonathan continues to teach the iPad and organic gardening to seniors.” On 2/22, son Rob married Julia Stroup of Wilton and NYC.
Pat Winton Newmark: “Kent and I split
our time between Orinda, a small suburb of San Francisco, and Rancho Santa
Fe, CA. My daughter has three sons. Kent
is retired, and we’re both avid golfers.
We’re both volunteer USGA rules officials.
I’ll be a walking official at both the U.S.
Open and the Women’s Open in Pinehurst
this June. I’m sorry that I’ll miss our reunion. I return from working the NCAA Div.
I Women’s Championships in Tulsa the
weekend before and leave for Pinehurst
the following weekend. Hope everyone has
a wonderful time.”
At Lee Walker is content since her move
from rural VA to D.C., much nearer daughter and grandchildren. A new job writing
for an online organization keeps her busy.
Our news is that son Charles and his bride
moved in Jan. to Hong Kong where he’s
now a business manager in Sotheby’s
Asian office. They love it so far, enjoying
the “ridiculous mix of old and new world
Asia.” It has been such fun reading everyone’s notes. So many interesting lives and
exciting experiences.
1970
Stuart Simrill
[email protected]
1971
Carol remington Foglesong
[email protected]
Anne M. Mell
[email protected]
Beverly Van Zandt
[email protected]
Rhoda Allen Brooks had her appendix out
at the beginning of Jan. after it had ruptured before Thanksgiving. She’s nearly recovered and looking forward to a cruise to
Australia and New Zealand in Feb. 2014.
Judy Brown Fletcher hosted a Sweet
Briar Day luncheon in Dec. She convinced spouse Steve to have a garage
sale. They’re taking the “kids” fishing,
again staying on Green Turtle Cay in the
Bahamas.
Jeannette Bush Miller wrote in Feb. from
Montclair, NJ. She had just returned from
Ann Arbor where older daughter Sarah will
graduate from Ross School of Business
in May. She starts a job with Pepsico this
summer and will live in NYC. Daughter Liz
lives in NYC, works as a media editor for
an educational publisher. They attended
Libby Tyree Taylor’s daughter’s wedding in
May 2013.
Cami Crocker Wodehouse misses Nan
Glazer Lagow. She was lucky to get to see
Nan in Richmond when Cami went there
to visit her daughter. On their last visit,
they shared lunch with Nan’s daughter
Caroline, and Nan was as upbeat as ever,
even though they both knew this was likely
their last visit. Cami will always remember Nan taking daily calls from her beloved
girls, answering the phone as if the sun
had just risen for the first time. In June,
Cami’s mother, Marilyn Crocker ’46, passed
away. She was fortunate to have her parents living in her neighborhood for the
last 17 years. Cami’s son, daughter-in-law
and two grandsons moved close by last
spring. Their daughter and her husband
live in Richmond. Cami and spouse have
taken great cruises in the last couple of
years on a small line (100 guests) called
Sea Dream: Greek Islands and Turkey in
2012 and Crete and Adriatic Sea, including Croatia and Montenegro last summer. This April they have rented a house
in Kauai and will take the family. Jacque
Penny, SBC’s new Director of Boxwood
Circle, will be visiting Cami, and they plan
to see Kathy Burns Beaudreau and Trudy
Slade McKnight as well.
Lendon Gray continues to teach dressage,
has an intensive program for 15 youth riders going on for three months this winter in Wellington, FL, and travels some to
teach and do Emerging Dressage Athlete
Clinics the rest of the year.
Mimi Fahs enjoyed a trip to Viet Nam.
Then her son Craig graduated cum laude
from Middlebury College and will start
work in July as an analyst at Goldman
Sachs.
Pat Fuller will be semi-retiring the week of
Feb. 17, limiting her psychotherapy practice to three days a week and looking forward to new adventures with a retired
husband. They’ve discovered the joys of
grand parenting. They visit her father (90)
53
in Long Boat Key, FL, and the west coast
where their daughter and her husband
have traveled via RV with baby and dogs
to his various internships. They’ve fallen
in love with the Pacific Northwest and
plan to go to San Diego for little Indiana’s
first birthday. They had two amazing visits with Cleveland Hall ’72, and her ever
so appealing man, Lafe, on their WA island paradise!
Barbie Gracey Backer had a house fire on
Christmas Eve. No one was hurt, the damage was minimal. They’ll be out of their
home for about six months. Besides this
drama, life is good. Their children are all
grown, unmarried and employed. Barbie
is still working, but able to do some volunteer work. She takes yoga lessons
twice a week. They’re leaving in a week
for a 10-day trip to the Holy Land with the
Episcopal Bishop of South FL.
Carol Johnson Haigh says the Haigh family
will be on safari in Africa for three weeks
after visiting London and Cape Town. Later
this year, they’ll be going to the Ryder Cup
at Glen Eagles, Scotland, and then to Loch
Lomond. Maintaining their VT ski house,
ski condominium, Boston apt., and two
farms in NC has kept her busy. Locally,
in VT, she’s been working on the State of
VT “Prevent Child Abuse” project through
the Okemo Valley Women’s Club. She’s
also in the Ludlow Garden Club. While in
Niskayuna, NY, helping with the 50th High
School Reunion, Emily Moravec Holt ’70
and Carol caught up.
Alison Jones is still pursuing watershed
research and documentation for No
Water No Life (www.nowater-nolife.org).
Sept.-Oct. 2013, she followed the TN,
Cumberland and OH rivers, as the major
eastern tributaries to the MS River. Spring
2014 will be an expedition to the Snake
River, the major Columbia River tributary
in the Pacific NW. Fall will bring a trip to
lower MS (New Orleans, the Delta, Baton
Rouge, Memphis, Natchez). She visits
her daughters in New England and Jean
Mackenzie Thatcher in Long Island.
Carolyn Jones Walthall is enjoying Julian’s
retirement (May 2012) and still adjusting
to the change from his being on call 24/7.
It has allowed them to travel more: Italy
to see David in Sienna; Albany, NY to visit
Claiborne, Beth and baby Madeleine; AK
this past July for a Road Scholar trip and
up to his family home in Newbern, Hale
County, AL.
Claire Kinnett Tate and John are busy with
community endeavors in their retirement.
She also goes to GA every month to visit
her dad. Claire returned in early Feb. from
six weeks in Southeast Asia, which brought
back memories of The Vietnam War and
life at SBC during those years. Son Austin
became engaged on Valentine’s Day!
Daughter Bright and husband Tim are both
in graduate school at the U. of AZ.
Amanda Megargee Sutton is in her third
year as a Master Gardener through U.Conn
and does her outreach volunteering at the
Bartlett Arboretum. Brooke Thomas Dold
is going to be a grandmother in March as
her daughter Lindsay is pregnant. Amanda
is Lindsay’s godmother. Amanda taught
herself to snowshoe this winter just to
reach the compost and birdfeeders!
Liz Mumford is having a good time teaching drawing and “art history” designed for
people going on trips to Italy, France etc.
She went to Rome and Florence in Jan.
2014. She still paints.
54
Wendy Norton Brown says the birth of
their granddaughter was exciting and now
they have one of each, and in town!
Bev Van Zandt commented that it seems
like only yesterday we were deciding
whether to walk to the boat house or to
study in the Pit.
Jacque Penney loves her position as director of Boxwood Circle at SBC. It allows her
to travel, reconnect with old friends and
classmates and it introduces her to fabulous alumnae. She’s never been prouder
to be a Sweet Briar graduate. She reminds
each of us to give their best gift not just at
reunion but every year. The College needs
our philanthropy now more than ever.
Thank you and she hopes to see everyone
very soon.
Carol Remington Foglesong continues to
strengthen after her bout with breast cancer during 2013. She’s starting to plan
short trip adventures for 2014 and making
several trips to Baltimore to see her mom
who is recovering from a stroke.
Martha Stewart Crosland and her husband attended the wedding of Carter
Burns Cunningham’s daughter Lolly
on Cape Cod this past Sept. Last week
she enjoyed lunch in D.C. with Charlene
Sturbitts ’72. Charlene worked with
Martha in the Office of the General
Counsel at the U.S. Dept. of Energy before she retired two years ago to a life full
of exciting adventures with her husband
Rick Ahern. Martha is looking forward to a
week in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, to enjoy
the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic at the PGA
Resort. She’ll to go to Vienna on work in
April and then to England with the Colonial
Dames in June for the Sulgrave Manor
Centenary. Kay Glenday ’69 and her husband will also be on the Sulgrave Manor
trip. Martha’s son Stewart, an associate
with Williams and Connolly in D.C., is engaged. Her daughter Mallory enjoys living
in Palm Beach Gardens and working for
the PGA of America.
Bev Van Zandt said that all is well in San
Miguel. She took a driving trip along the
Mexican Pacific coast with a good friend
from Boston. Her daughter Roberta’s wedding is March 22 at the bay.
Wendy Weiss Smith and Gil were just
back from San Francisco. Next they’ll be
off to southern Germany in May to hike
on their own between small walled towns,
partially inspired by their fun time in Berlin
last fall with Susan Greenwald.
Anne Wigglesworth Munoz and Milton just
got back from a trip to South Africa (Cape
Town and Kruger NP) and Zimbabwe.
Anne has lots of batik/quilt projects in the
works. She had art quilts exhibited in NY
and AZ this winter. And she has a new Etsy
shop, BatikEtc.
Alisa Yust Rowe is feeling good after last
year’s bout with breast cancer. She and
Richard are excited to see what this year
brings. He retired in early Feb., but is consulting some. They’re enjoying the grandchildren and going to the farm. They just
began taking the Master Naturalist course.
It may remind her of Ms. Belcher’s first
year biology course!
1972
Jill Johnson
[email protected]
Following a two-week tour along the Italian
coast last fall, Deidre “DeDe” Conley and
husband Gerard then sailed home. They
loved Vernazza in Cinque Terra and the
Sangiovese wines of Bolgheri nearby. They
also took tours off the ship with a stop in
Agadir, Morocco, where DeDe felt like she
was almost back in Tunisia for a while.
They loved the Canary Islands with one island, in particular, having spectacular, lunar-like volcanic vistas and vineyards growing in hollowed out pits in the volcanic soil.
Once home in FL, DeDe got a new zirconium left hip, a miracle of modern medicine. DeDe reports Liz Clegg Woodard
also enjoys sailing, having left in Jan. on a
Round-the-World Cruise.
Rosie Brache Leparulo and William continue to live in Tallahassee and are fortunate that both married sons, wives and
grandchildren Gracie (5) and Anthony (3)
live there as well. Her mother (90) is in
good health and lives a little over a mile
away. William is still on the faculty at FSU.
Rosie and former suite-mates, Kathy
Leibell Pasternak, Cindy Miles Martinez,
and Leslie Armstrong Ramsey began
having yearly reunions about four years
ago, usually in Oct. Last year they were at
Leslie’s lovely Santa Fe home, and this
year they plan to meet in Tallahassee and
get a beach house on the gulf for a few
days.
While Christmas shopping with friends,
Bev Horne Dommerich ran into Pam
Drake McCormick, whom she hadn’t seen
since SBC graduation in 1972! Since
then, Bev, Pam and Kathy Walsh Drake
have gotten together for lunch and a little 40-plus year catch up. Pam is a snowbird, coming for the winter, and Kathy is a
full time Floridian now. They invite any and
all classmates who wander down to SW
FL (Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs or
Naples) to contact them for reunions and
merriment.
Vivian Finlay and husband Clyde Boyer
travel a great deal, and they also have
family and friends visit them in Homer, AK.
In Jan., Vivian went to Burma/Myanmar
where she was born and raised for the first
few years of her life. She did some Rotary
service projects and was also able to find
her place of birth, and an old family friend
in Rangoon/Yangon. She, Clyde and their
dog also drove out of AK and through the
Western states visiting children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other family
and friends for about two months last fall.
They continue to enjoy their annual vacations in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Dale Shelly Graham reports from St. Louis
that her mom passed away last Oct. Dale
and James moved from D.C. to STL in Aug.
’11 to be near her mom who had been in
frail health. She said she feels so lucky
that she was able to have two years with
her mom because they hadn’t lived in the
same town since 1972 when Dale married
and settled on the East coast. On a more
cheerful note, son Fielding (27) is settled
in Dallas and daughter Lily (24) is in NYC,
and they’re both single, happy and gainfully employed!
Marion Walker writes that the loss of
dear friend Nan Glaser LaGow ’71 broke
her heart, but the birth of her grandbaby
helped the healing. Marion’s law practice
in labor and employment law for management continues to thrive with her Of
Counsel association with Fisher & Phillips,
LLP out of Atlanta and around the country. A terrific vacation at The Biltmore
Inn last year introduced her to two new
sports—shooting clays and fly-fishing. She
got a shotgun for Christmas, and there are
no plans at all to shoot any living thing!
However, she recently learned how to cook
duck. She hasn’t given up golf or sailing,
but does find her free time has less gardening and her yard looks it.
Inspired by an FDR letter written to members of the U.S. Expeditionary Forces in
1942, Kitty Adams Murphy spent the better part of 2012 putting together a tribute to WWII vets for her women’s club, The
Chatterbox. Now Kitty can’t stop reading
about WWII. We owe a lot. After the tribute,
Kitty and husband Pat flew to Nashville
to see friends, fell in love with the place
and soon after, bought a house. Since the
move, she’s been unpacking, getting organized, working with contractors, and enjoying Nashville. The people have been welcoming, although she did have to laugh
when a very precocious 10-year-old neighbor said her mom had made a “welcome”
coconut pie because her cookbook had
said that that was what Yankees liked to
eat when they came south.
Jane Powell Gray is still loving retirement
in Raleigh, NC. Husband Frank is practicing law full time, but taking time to go on
trips with her—Key West in March and then
Disney World with son, Matt, daughter-inlaw, Lauren, and grandson, Hunter. In May
they headed to Napa for a wine extravaganza and then to Tuscany in Oct.
Mary Pat Varn Moore continues to enjoy
her role as VP of Government Programs for
the Florida Association of Health Plans, although as the 2014 Legislative Session
quickly approaches, retirement looks like
a much better and less stressful option!
Mary Pat and husband Paul enjoy getting away to their home in Balsam, NC,
and hope to retire there in the mountains
of western NC—at least during the hot
and humid FL summers. The only drawback will be time away from two granddaughters, Adalyn Grace (5) and Arabella
Renee (3), children of son Warren (33)
and daughter-in-law, Anna. Paul and Mary
Pat also welcomed another daughter-inlaw into the family in Nov. 2013 when son
Taylor (25) married Caroline Strickland at
St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Tallahassee.
Rhonda Durham is her 8th year as executive director of ISAS—the accrediting body for 90 independent schools in
the Southwest and loves it. Work travel
and visiting her children who live in LA,
NYC and Salt Lake City keep her boarding planes way more than she’d like some
weeks. Rhonda has been able to keep
in touch with Bobo Ryan Hoyt when in
Houston, and, when visiting her parents
who are both well in their 80s in Virginia
Beach, has had many a fun time with
Susan Snodgrass Wynne. Rhonda’s iPad
these days is full of precious pictures of
her two grandsons Cole and Mordecai and
the five adorable Wynne grands and a fabulous picture of Bobo as first-time mother
of the bride, daughter Caroline. The
Durham grandsons have just been through
nursery school admissions in tough school
markets—NYC and LA. Sweating school admissions again, Rhonda reports, seems
like “Groundhog Day”—déjà vu all over
again. And, of course, there is the thrill of
being in two more annual fund solicitation
databases.
Susan Snodgrass Wynne announces the
birth of her five grandchildren (four girls
and one boy) in four years! Identical twin
girls arrived a year ago. This past year has
been a “WhirlWynne” adventure of travel.
She continues serving on the Norfolk
Academy board and enjoys seeing Rhonda
Griffith Durham (Midland, TX) who comes
to town for the meetings. Susan shares
the devastating news that Margaret Hayes
Brunstad (Birmingham, AL) lost her third
sibling, Susie, to cancer before Christmas.
Susie was diagnosed with a brain tumor when Margaret and Susan were SBC
sophomore roommates. In Jan. Margaret
tragically broke her pelvis after slipping
on ice. Somehow Margaret continues to
shine with grace and gratitude. What a remarkable role model she is for all of us.
(Margaret serves on the SBC Friends of
Art Board returning to campus often for
meetings.)
Martha Holland and husband Chris
Iribe are preparing for their daughter Katherine’s wedding this summer in
Virginia Beach. They traveled last spring
to China. Last fall they went to AK and enjoyed photographing birds, bears and
whales. They divide their time between
Washington, D.C. (where Martha sees Jill
Johnson, Mary Heller, Charlene Sturbitts
and Michela English ’71) and Virginia
Beach.
Kathy Upchurch Takvorian continues as
the Clinical Chief of Rheumatology at
UMass—a bit discouraging in the current
climate of governmental cuts all across
the board (teaching and research have
been hit pretty hard, for example). Kathy’s
and Tak’s oldest daughter (middle child)
married in June so Kathy acquired new
skills as the M.O.B! So many details, but
all in all fun. Tak and Kathy both are talking more about retirement, but haven’t
made the move yet and don’t know where
or in what way they would transition. She
writes that it’s good to get the weddings
off the table before taking that step!
Ginger Upchurch Collier’s husband Tom
traveled to Cuba on the SBC trip last Jan.
along with Eileen Gebrian and husband
Tim Barberich. Ginger declined the trip as
she was in Denver with her oldest daughter who just had her first baby. Her other
news, and this on the QT from Kathy,
is that Ginger is invited to be the SBC
Commencement speaker this year! Quite
an honor, to be sure.
Although Carter Frackelton is semi-retired having sold the block part of the family business, she stays just as busy as ever
running an equipment repair business
and managing several rental properties.
Her volunteer activities fill in many other
hours, particularly in the spring and fall. In
the past couple of years, Carter has traveled to visit nieces, nephews and cousins
in various locations and combined visits to
SBCers Dale Shelley Graham in St. Louis
and Marty Neill Boney in Wilmington, NC.
Last Sept./Oct. she and Mary Heller had
a great trip to Tuscany and the Lake Como
region of Italy together. Last August Carter
had a fun time celebrating a “Summer
Christmas” at Camp, her family summer
home in the Adirondacks. All three brothers, wives, and most of their children and
grandchildren were in attendance. Her
dear friend and floral designer Jan came
up from Fredericksburg and decorated
the 100+-year-old log cabin. Other local
friends helped with securing a tree and
preparing the holiday feast.
On an administrative note, if you didn’t
hear from me, then I obviously sent
my witty (?) emails to an incorrect address. Please, please send the right one
to [email protected]. One of the reasons I love Sweet Briar is because of the
dear friends who stick throughout the
years. In my last email, I asked if vexation came with wrinkles. The ever-straight
shooter Dale Shelly Graham quipped
back, “You were just as cranky 40 years
ago only we called it feisty then, so don’t
worry.” Through thick and thin, and now
mostly thick around the middle...Do stay
in touch, ladies. If not directly, then join
the Facebook private group Sweet Briar
College Class of 1972.
1973
evelyn Carter Cowles
[email protected]
Jane Potts: When I go to Richmond, I try to
visit with my SBC alumnae/St. Catherine’s
friends! Last week we had a fun dinner at
Lacy Williams’ with Melinda Davis, Susan
Dabney Smith (from Charlottesville) and
Lisa Wickham. We have our 45th St. C. reunion in April and hope Anne Major Gibbs,
Lisa Montgomery and Harriet Broughton
Holliday will be there! I’ve gotten together
with Deborah Ziegler Hopkins at their new
house in Cashiers, NC, and we had lunch
this past summer with Harriet Broughton
Holliday who also has a house in Cashiers.
Hope to see the other Charleston girls:
Jane McFadden, Jane Perry McCutcheon
McFaddin and Mac Cuthbert Langley. Her
son, Cuthbert, is a news reporter on a local station here, so I see him on TV all
the time!
Weezie Blakeslee Gilpin: Christopher and
Allison are expecting their second child,
our fourth grandchild, on March 1, joining Tillie (2 ½). I’ll spend a week with them
in Australia. Blake, Allison, and Bear (2)
moved to N.O. in Aug. for Blake’s teaching
position (history) at Tulane. Alexa and Mike
bought their first house in Leesburg, VA,
and have Elizabeth (1). I continue my work
at St. Mark’s School as a counselor. My
work with the Independent School Gender
Project (check out our website), now 17
years old, is rewarding and our sixth conference for women and girls will take place
in June at Hotchkiss School in CT.
Joan May Harden: “Rick and I will celebrate our 41st anniversary in April with a
Viking cruise on the Danube. Love seeing
Ginger Woodward Gast’s twin grandchildren on Facebook.” She also reported that
Julie Johnson Evans and Ken had their
third grandchild and first grandson May
2013. Baby Andrew joined sister Grace
and cousin Olivia.
Linda Moscato Wagner: I was selected to
be a member of the partnership between
the Illinois Commerce Commission and
the Tanzania Energy and Water Utilities
Regulatory Authority. Tanzania is one of
six African countries the U.S. has agreed
to assist regarding energy matters in a
program called Power Africa. After the
meetings concluded, I went on safari at
Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania
and visited Zanzibar Island. I’m looking forward to future exchanges with the
Tanzanians.”
Kathy Pretzfelder Steele: Husband Dave
and I are enjoying life in FL. We play golf
and pickleball and partake in many other
outdoor activities and cultural events as
well as volunteering at a local camp. I love
spending time with granddaughter Hailey
(2) and had a visit with my roommate,
Debbie Pollock Arce, from OR.
Kris Howell says that anyone visiting Key
West should give her a call. She is still
engaged, still fostering animals and is
off to Belfast, Ireland, for the Nashville
Songwriters Festival/Workshop and to
meet Donovan, the singer.
Diane Dale Reiling and husband Chuck
thought they were retiring to southern
OR, but they have both relicensed as
Realtors there. Son Steven (29) works for
Amazon up in Seattle while daughter, Erica
(26) works for a media company in Los
Angeles.
Christine Eng Leventhal: Our first grandson was born last Sept. We visited our son
in Maui, and Peter sold his natural food
store after 40 years in business. I’m still
teaching full time, and Peter is working
part time.
Linda Lipscomb: I moved back to Dallas
from Richmond in Sept. I’m working as a
consultant for a firm that counsels nonprofits. I bumped into Cathy Rasmussen
at a fundraising event soon after returning to Dallas. It was great seeing everyone
at our 40th.
Rene Conover Reed: Nat and I spent a
week in Italy last fall celebrating our anniversary. Daughter Melissa is attending
grad school for social work. Son Craig is a
second year resident in internal medicine
at UNC. Grandbaby Ava entertains us.
Sue Dern Plank: My husband retired at
year’s end. His co. was purchased two
years ago and the new corporate culture
wasn’t a good fit for him. We were able to
spend more time in a cool and damp (rain
90% of the time) Belize. Our daughter and
family spent two weeks with us over the
holidays. Snow has closed schools often
so I haven’t been teaching at the environmental education center much. We will be
spending more time in TN in the coming
months as our son-in-law unexpectedly is
being deployed.
Karol Kroetz Sparks is teaching law as an
adjunct at Wake Forest while in the process of moving to Lake Keowee, SC (3.5
hours apart), practicing banking law with
a Chicago firm, and teaching every other
Fri. at Boston U. Daughter Ashley has sons
Emmett (2 ½) and Ryan (8 months) in
Boston and her son Austin has sons Jack
(4 ½) and William (10 months) in Chicago.
Austin and his wife are beginning to interview in the Carolinas and may move.
Carter Morris: I have had nice visits in
Atlanta with alumnae who attended
a wedding here, Susan Craig, Jane
Perry McCutchen McFadden and Robin
Harmon O’Neil; and with Jenny Stockwell
Ferguson, who was visiting from Reno.
Our local alumnae club is hosting the
most fabulous Sweet Briar Living Room
Learning course this winter on the subject of World War I. About 250 men and
women attend the lectures on Wed. mornings in Jan. and Feb. organized by alumna
Camille Yow.
Jane Knutson James and Michael in
Southern CA have two granddaughters. I
see both each week! I’m taking a break
from painting classes while doing regular
childcare. We have a trip to New Orleans
planned in May as caregivers while the
parents attend a wedding. I do Kung Fu
sbc.edu/magazine
and yoga and enjoy gardening, reading,
cooking and seeing friends.
Lisa Fowler Winslow: Debbie Pollack Arce
(my roommate sophomore year) came to
visit me over a weekend in Jan. We had
a great time catching up on each other’s news and doing a bit of seeing some
sights in Los Angeles.
Marion McKee Humphreys: The last six
years have brought us two grandsons and
two granddaughters ranging from age six
to age nine months! Hunter is working as
hard and teaching at the U. of Memphis
Law School, and I’m co-teaching a chronological Bible study!
Ginger Woodward Gast: I got to see my
twins (2 mos.) in MS over Christmas and
also got to visit Kathleen Schultz’s new
house in Brandon, MS. Paul and I enjoy
line dancing.
Laurie Norris Coccio: We moved to
Saratoga Springs, NY, as our “retirement” home, even though we go back to
the Hudson Valley three days a week for
Chris to run his company. I’m still on the
board of the library there. My older daughter Stephanie is living in Oxford, England,
and will become a permanent resident.
We visit at least once a year. We’re expecting our second grandchild from Chris’s son
and his wife who live in CA. Chris’s older
son is getting married this summer. I’m
hoping to see Sue Dern Plank and Ginger
Woodward Gast this summer when Ginger
travels up to NY.
Trish Gilhooly O’Neill: For Christmas vacation we took the family to several of our favorite places where we had lived at one
point or another. We spent a week in Hong
Kong, spent Christmas in Bangkok, went
to No. Laos (Luang Prabang) and then to
Cambodia. We are spending much of our
time in Greenwhich, CT, and still come and
go to HI whenever we can.
Charlotte Ann Evans: I’m retiring from private practice. I’ll still work as a physician,
but entirely in the prison system in NC. It
is, amazingly enough, the best and most
satisfying job I’ve had! Low stress! Even
when taking care of serial murderers!
Kathleen Cochran Schutze: Steve and I retired near Jackson, MS, to a home on the
Reservoir. We loved visiting with Ginger
Woodward Gast during her trip to see
grandchildren. Our oldest son, Taylor, is
getting married this fall. Emily, who graduated Sweet Briar in 2011, is stretching her
wings as the human resources manager
for the Design and Production Company
near D.C., and Walker, our youngest, is
halfway through his masters in economics at George Mason U. after graduating Hampden-Sydney College in 2013. We
had a wonderful time at SBC reunion last
spring!
All is well in my world except for the unusual VA winter. We had a great time visiting with the kids and grandkids around
Christmas and went on a trip to Patagonia
fishing with Reynolds’s daughter, son-inlaw and friends in Jan. Reynolds then had
a shoulder replacement in Feb., which is
going well. I’ve been foxhunting as much
as I can with the weather and continuing to paint commissions. Like most people on the East Coast I’m looking forward
to spring!
55
L
ives to Remember
Since the last magazine issue, the College has lost four former longtime
faculty and staff members. Collectively, they served Sweet Briar for 129
years. We mourn their passing and celebrate their lives.
Edward Lee Piepho
Dec. 18, 2013
IN DECEMBER, BELOVED ENGLISH
professor Edward Lee Piepho died at his
home at the age of 71.
Piepho arrived at Sweet Briar in 1969
and held the title of Sara Shallenberger
Brown Professor of English when he retired
from active teaching in 2007. He retained
the title as a research professor in the years
since.
Piepho was passionate about his subject
and the humanities in general, loved
teaching and was twice a recipient of the
Distinguished Teaching Award.
He was a consummate intellectual and an
internationally recognized scholar in his specialty.
Unusual for a scholar of English literature, his research
broadly addressed the diffusion of Italian Renaissance
humanism in Great Britain and continental Europe,
particularly in neo-Latin literature — European
works written in Latin in the early modern period. He
published two books and numerous articles in this area
and continued to publish articles and present papers at
major international conferences in his retirement.
He spent many happy hours at the Folger
Shakespeare Library in D.C. and at major research
libraries abroad, including the Bodleian at Oxford.
Throughout his life, Piepho was a collector of rare books,
adept at finding treasures overlooked by most. He has
donated this collection to the Folger.
John Gregory Brown, Julia Jackson Nichols Professor
of English, believes Piepho was beloved by students and
colleagues because he so freely shared his “ardent belief
56
in the beauty and grace of literature and in its deep and
abiding consolations.”
“Lee was a man of great erudition, but an even
greater — far greater — generosity of spirit,” Brown says.
His deep convictions served his friend well through
an extended illness, Brown says of Piepho, who struggled
for four years with leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer.
“Lee faced [his illness] with great dignity and
humility. He never lost his mischievous sense of humor,
his wit, his kindness. He loved Sweet Briar College, and
Sweet Briar — its students, faculty and staff — loved
him back. We will all miss him terribly.”
Associate professor of history and fellow Renaissance
scholar Lynn Laufenberg knows his generosity well. She
counts Piepho and his wife, retired professor of chemistry
Susan Piepho, among her most cherished friends.
“Lee was a mentor to me and other younger faculty,
introducing us to senior scholars, suggesting venues
to present our research, and keeping up a running
intellectual conversation about the state of learning in
our field,” Laufenberg says.
She notes that he was instrumental in organizing
and launching the College’s medieval and Renaissance
studies program in 2011, well after he had retired. He
even presented the program’s first lecture. Naturally, the
subject was rare book collecting.
“He brought part of his personal collection as showand-tell,” Laufenberg recalls. “The library’s Browsing
Room was mobbed — and not just standing-room-only
mobbed. Students and colleagues spilled out into the hall
and far back into the stacks. I’ve never seen that kind of
response for a talk on such a seemingly arcane topic. But
that attests to the enduring respect and affection he has
commanded during his long career.”
During those years, he left an impression on many
students. Kathy Upchurch Takvorian ’72 says those who
studied with him were lucky.
“Dr. Piepho was the perfect combination of rigorous
teacher, academic champion and friend,” Takvorian says.
“He had an uncanny ability to speak knowledgeably
about everything from medieval English literature to all
aspects of popular culture, including music, film and
anything else ‘au courant’ or ‘avant-garde.’
“He defined the word ‘chuckle’ and redefined
‘professor.’ His students benefitted from a magnetic,
inspiring, memorable and unique classroom experience,
along with mentoring that lasted throughout a college
career and beyond.”
Piepho was born on Jan. 10, 1942, in Detroit and
grew up in Wilmette, Ill. He was a graduate of New Trier
Township High School in Winnetka, Ill., and graduated
with an A.B. in English from Kenyon College in
Gambier, Ohio. He received a Master of Arts in English
from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in English from
the University of Virginia. His specialty was Renaissance
English literature.
Susan Brand Piepho, his wife of nearly 50 years, his
sister-in-law, Jane Brand Jacobs of New York City, and
his nephew, Alexander Byron Jacobs of Chicago, survive
him.
Susan and Lee met on a boat going to Europe the
summer after their sophomore year in college and were
married in 1964, a week after they graduated. Together
they have enjoyed being professors at Sweet Briar
College, traveling all over the world, playing tennis and
golf, and scuba diving.
Piepho lived fully despite his illness, guest lecturing
as recently as October at the College and playing golf
just a few weeks before his death.
A memorial service was held at Sweet Briar during
Reunion. Donations in his honor may be made to
the College’s Mary Helen Cochran Library for book
acquisitions or to the Humane Society of Amherst
County.
Cheryl Mares, who succeeded
Piepho as the Shallenberger Brown
Professor, says his range as a scholar and
a human being made him a compelling
figure.
“Lee believed deeply in the value of a
traditional liberal arts education, but also
kept abreast of the latest developments in
contemporary popular culture, especially
film and music. He somehow managed
to be both dignified and joyous,” she
says. “His lively, inquiring mind, his
essential nobility and his generous spirit
impressed all who knew him.”
57
the Tye River where they raised cattle and
show beagles. They were ardent financial
supporters of the College — especially of
the art gallery and collection as Friends of
Art members — and active community
members. He also served on numerous civic
and community boards and committees in
Amherst and Lynchburg. In his retirement,
Daniel became an accomplished painter.
Jill Steenhuis ’80 recalls his influence
on her when she joined Sweet Briar’s diving
team, which he coached for several years.
Peter V. Daniel
Dec. 12, 2013
THE SWEET BRIAR COMMUNITY ALSO
learned of the death of Peter Vivian Daniel, vice
president and treasurer emeritus, in December.
Daniel came to Sweet Briar in 1954 as treasurer and
assistant to the president and retired as vice president
and treasurer in 1986. He oversaw numerous building
and physical plant projects during his tenure — such as
building Guion Science Center and renovating Pannell
— while taking great pride in operating the College “in
the black.”
He was a pillar who stood between the College’s
endowment and anyone who wanted to spend it, says
Paul Cronin, director emeritus of the riding program.
“He laughed at all my stories, and
it made me feel good. As I got better at
diving, I think I became Peter’s top beagle,”
Steenhuis says. “He was a wonderfully positive person,
and he believed in me.”
Daniel served in the Army Air Force as a navigator,
bombardier and radar operator during World War II
before graduating from the University of Virginia in
1949. He began his career at Chase National Bank in
New York and State-Planters Bank in Richmond.
In addition to Lydia, who died in August 2011,
he was preceded in death by his sister, Helen Daniel
Rodman, and his brothers, William V. Daniel and
Channing W. Daniel.
He is survived by his sons Peter Vivian Daniel Jr.,
of Wilton, Conn., and Dabney Maury Daniel and his
wife, Margaret Perry Daniel, of Atlanta; two grandsons:
Peter McLane Daniel and William Penn Daniel; and a
sister-in-law, Lucy Kellogg Daniel of Richmond.
“He was tough, highly respected and vitally
important to the success of the College,” Cronin says.
“Peter listened, although he did not often yield. With
distance and experience I would say it most often
benefited SBC faculty.”
Pat James, who worked for him from 1981 until his
retirement, says Daniel was exacting, but he was fair
and honest, decisive and always acted with integrity.
“He loved Sweet Briar,” James says. “He was going
to do the right thing for Sweet Briar.”
For many years, Daniel, his wife Lydia and their
two sons lived at their beloved McLivian, a farm on
58
Connie Guion
(from left),
Daniel and then
President Anne
Pannell.
Reuben George Miller
Jan. 8, 2014
IN JANUARY, FORMER PROFESSOR OF
economics Reuben George Miller died from heart and
lung complications.
Miller was born in Philadelphia on March 28,
1930. He attended LaSalle University, graduating
with an economics degree, and then enrolled in the
University of Montana’s
graduate program in
economics. From there,
Miller went to Sweden
and Ohio, where he
finished his Ph.D. He
taught economics at Smith
College, Mount Holyoke
College, the University
of Massachusetts and
Oberlin, among others,
before joining the faculty
at Sweet Briar College
in 1970. As the Charles
A. Dana Professor of
Economics, Miller headed
the department and taught until his retirement in 2003.
in Taiwan as a Fulbright Scholar and enjoyed reading,
traveling, lively conversations and good food. He was
a connoisseur of good wine, liqueurs and cigars. He
also loved new technology; horses and riding; as well as
music — particularly opera — and the theater, both of
which he discovered as a teenager. Miller also was skilled
in calligraphy. People who met him were always struck
by his wit, warmth, good humor, generosity and lively,
engaged mind.
“I was fortunate to
have someone like him to
advise me during my first
years [at Sweet Briar],”
German professor Ron
Horwege recalls. “I was
for many years a member
of the Sweet Briar poker
group and joined him and
some other male colleagues
once a month for poker. I
miss these evenings, and I
will miss Reuben. He was a
good friend and colleague
and a colorful character
who will not be forgotten by those who had the good
fortune to know him.”
He especially enjoyed the winter term, when
he took students to various countries to study their
economic systems. A global citizen, Miller spent a year
Catherine Coleman Seaman
Dec. 24, 2013
FORMER PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Catherine Hawes Coleman Seaman died at age 90 after
a long illness with Alzheimer’s.
“Kitty Hawes,” as she liked to be called, was born
Aug. 28, 1923, at Rockford in Nelson County. An
intense and driven student, she graduated from Graham
High School at age 16 and attended Bluefield College,
graduating in 1941. She immediately enrolled in the
University of Virginia School of Nursing and graduated
with a nursing license in August 1943. Seaman was
one of three selected to join the nursing staff at the
Henry Street Nurses of New York. She moved to New
York City in September 1943 and enrolled in graduate
studies for working nurses at Columbia University.
In early 1945, her brother was classified as missing
in action and presumed dead after surviving the Bataan
Death March in the Philippines. Intrigued by her
father’s military service in World War I and devastated
over the loss of her big brother, Seaman joined the U.S.
Army Nursing Corps.
“I felt if I could make it to some location in the
Pacific, I could find my brother and bring him home,”
59
she said later, according to her obituary in the
Lynchburg News & Advance.
After graduating at the top of her class in
May 1945, now-2nd Lt. Catherine H. Coleman
was instead assigned to the Woodrow Wilson
Convalescent Center in Staunton. There, she pieced
together information on her brother’s fate from the
many wounded soldiers she treated.
One of them was 1st Lt. John A. Seaman Jr.,
whom she married in January 1946. The two
remained together until his death in March 1997.
In February 1946,
she was released to fill
a much-needed nurse
teaching position at the
UVa School of Nursing.
The Seamans moved to
Nelson County, where
they started a family,
farmed part time, and
she began renovating
Rockford, her beloved
1768 family home. In
1963, Seaman returned
to UVa to receive her
RN license and in 1965
graduated with a B.S. in
nursing.
At UVa, Seaman also earned her master’s in
anthropology and sociology, and subsequently her
Ph.D. in 1969. She began teaching anthropology
at Sweet Briar in 1967, serving in various faculty
positions. She loved teaching and formed many
enduring relationships with her students.
Dance professor Ella Magruder, a 1975
graduate of Sweet Briar, remembers Seaman well.
“I have such wonderful memories of [her],”
she says. “[She] introduced me to new concepts
and ways of looking at family and community and
human behavior. She had an intellectual curiosity
that seemed to know no bounds.”
60
But Seaman was more than just a great teacher.
She was also an “extraordinary role model,”
Magruder says, because she showed her students
“that it was possible not to have to choose between
family or career, but that you could — if you were
very clever — manage to achieve a full life with
your family and have a rewarding career.”
Seaman traveled extensively and in 1980
was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for research
in India. She retired as chair of the department
in 1993, at age 70, and was awarded professor
emeritus.
During retirement,
she focused on farming,
real estate investment,
painting and writing
until her declining health
forced her to give up
many of the things she
loved.
Seaman was the first
woman to serve on the
Nelson County School
Board, a position she
held from 1955 to 1988.
She also published a
nursing research text in
the U.S. and abroad and
wrote numerous books
on the history of Nelson County. A member of the
Nelson County Historical Society, she served as its
president for three years and attended Adial Baptist
and Trinity Episcopal churches.
In addition to her parents and husband,
Seaman was preceded in death by her brother
William Irby Coleman Jr. Sisters Ann Coleman
Currie and Elizabeth Coleman Gentry survive,
as do her children Catherine Seaman Fisher,
Gwendolyn Seaman Whipp, John A. Seaman III
and Andrew C. Seaman. She also leaves behind 10
grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
In
1943
1951
1958
Jane Norton Duncan
March 20, 2014
Sally Anderson Bernays
January 24, 2014
Sarah Benton Halsey
December 13, 2013
Elizabeth Shepherd Scott
April 17, 2014
Susan Ostrander Hod
April 8, 2014
Elizabeth MacFarland Wilson
December 17, 2013
Barbara McNeill Yow
April 30, 2012
Eugenia Ellis Mason
April 16, 2014
1959
1944
Elizabeth Cooke McCann
January 19, 2008
Eleanor “Nellie” Morison
December 15, 2013
Sally Skinner Behnke
December 12, 2013
Evelyn Miller Meservey
January 12, 2014
1960
Antoinette Hart Moore
September 9, 2013
Janet Johnston Phillips
December 25, 2013
Patricia Whitaker Waters
February 8, 2014
1952
Mabel Breese Wellinghoff
April 12, 2014
Sally Fishburn Crockett
April 13, 2014
1945
1953
Lile Tucker Bell
December 26, 2013
Lucinda Shaw Sangree
February 23, 2014
Mia Hecht Owens
October 28, 2013
1954
Louise “Petie” Cross Tate
February 21, 2014
Clara Tretter Rosegger
October 27, 2013
1946
Ann May Via
March 7, 2014
Wistar Watts King
December 6, 2013
1955
1947
Gail Davidson Bazzarre
January 19, 2014
Gloria Gamble Jones
December 12, 2013
Sally Strothman Eklund
January 30, 2014
Elizabeth “Betty” Ball Fenson
February 15, 2014
Nan Hart Stone
March 10, 2014
Mary Langs Holekamp
January 12, 2014
1938
Memoriam
If you wish to write to the family of someone
recently deceased, please contact the alumnae
office, (800) 381-6131, for the address.
1929
Martha Dabney Jones
February 15, 2014
1933
Nevil Crute Holmes
December 31, 2013
1934
Ruth Myers Pleasants
March 9, 2014
1936
Adalyn Merrill Luthin
August 13, 2011
1937
1948
1956
Edwine Schmid Mill
December 8, 2012
Virginia Pekor Culpepper
April 13, 2014
Jeannie Applequist
October 1, 2012
1941
1950
1957
Jeanne Posselt Clear
November 24, 2013
Anne Estill Campbell
February 27, 2014
Marylew Cooper Redd
November 30, 2013
Caroline Des Granges Wallis
April 4, 2011
Marianne Delacorte Holland
April 26, 2014
Eleanor Frost Wrotnowski
October 27, 2013
Meredith Moore Lynn
September 3, 2013
Barbara Nevens Young
June 30, 2010
Dain Fuller Searle
January 20, 2014
Julia Todd Kappler
February 2, 2014
Deborah Lane Lyon
January 30, 2014
1964
Charlotte Turner Springford
November 25, 2004
1969
Frances Robinson Boyer
October 15, 2013
1975
Elizabeth “Beppy” Walton
November 7, 3013
1978
Valerie Phillips
January 7, 2014
Emma Laura Pryor
December 27, 2013
1942
Shirley Hauseman Nordhem
December 4, 2013
Ann Hauslein Potterfield
January 11, 2014
61
1974
rosalind ray Spell
[email protected]
Vicki Bates: My mother Carolyn Bates
passed away on 12/28/13. Many will remember her as the director of career planning at Sweet Briar when we were seniors.
After her retirement, she lived about a
mile off campus, where she continued to
enjoy hiking, wildflower photography, swimming and playing Scrabble with a group of
her retired friends. Seven years ago, she
came to Tallahassee, FL, to live near me.
She has left me with many fond memories.
Phyllis Becker: I’m still living in Pacific
Palisades, CA. I’ve left the television business in Los Angeles and am now a travel
consultant for a company that provides
travel arrangements for Americans to go to
Cuba legally! In May I’ll be taking a trip to
Cuba with a group of Hemingway scholars
so I’ll miss being at the reunion.
Daun Thomas Frankland: Daughter Leslie
received her appointment to West Point
and begins this summer! The Association
of Graduates sent her to a year of military prep in Marion, AL. Paris to AL suits
her just fine.
Paula Hollingsworth Thomas: Steve and
I still live in Lewisburg, TN, where he is
the pastor at Belfast Presbyterian. Our
daughter, Elyse is in Nashville and works
for the restaurant Husk, which started
in Charleston. Charles and Julie live in
Franklin and are the parents of granddaughters, Eva (3) and Caroline (2 mos.)
Bonnie Chronowski Brophy: Son Chris
married Lori Allen in Cabo San Lucas,
Mexico, this past Oct. They now reside
in CA where Chris is marketing manager
for Foster Farms, and Lori is a telemetry
nurse. Daughter Meghan left her job as
PR manager at J. Mendel to work at the
The Carlyle Group, a global asset management firm. Jim is still at BAML and I’m in
my seventh year of running a Bible study
in my parish.
Missy Leib Veghte and Bob (college sweetheart) still live in Wilmington, DE. She has
two grandsons and a third on the way.
She plays competitive tennis—going to
Nationals this year with her senior team—
and coaches field hockey and tennis at
Wilmington Friends.
Mary Combs: I live in Naples, FL, full time
and invite everyone to visit. My cell is
859/533-6946. I had my mom with me
the last year of her life. My daughter Ann
Sydney lives in Lexington, KY, and I visit
her throughout the year.
Laurie Epstein Dearlove: John and I welcomed our second grandchild, Cecilia
Louise Dearlove, born 7/8/2013.
Daughter Brady graduates from Indiana
U. in May. I had a scare with an aneurysm
last fall. I get checked out in a year to ascertain if it has enlarged. In the meantime,
I was told to live life. Back to Pilates and
training sessions, traveling this year.
Mary Landon Darden: I’m serving my
fourth year as Center Dean of Concordia
U. Texas, San Antonio. Husband Bob is still
commuting to Baylor U. where he teaches
journalism. We had a third grandbaby last
fall. Her name is Rhett and she joins San
Antonio cousins Asa (5) and Eilan (3).
Beth Franke Lynn: I’m on a leave of absence from being a second grade teacher
at an elementary school in Warrenton,
VA. Our daughter and son-in law are expecting their second child in March. For
62
several months Ann Bailey was unable
to lift their two-year-old due to her doctor’s restrictions, so I have enjoyed lots
of time with granddaughter Lilly Bell. My
mother is 90 and both of Jon’s parents are
99. One of our twin sons is an attorney in
Washington D.C. and the other is at the
Haas School of Business at Berkeley. This
past summer our family stayed in a cabin
near Lexington, VA, and took Lilly Bell to
the Safari Park at Natural Bridge. I’d love
to hear from classmates ([email protected]).
Mary Lee Burch Doering: Unfortunately,
the dates for reunion coincide with my
youngest child’s graduation from high
school, Vista del Lago in Folsom, CA. She’s
been accepted to three CSU universities and will probably attend San Marcos.
Marissa graduated from Ithaca College in
May 2013 with a degree in clinical exercise science and is engaged! My sons both
live in NY. Grant is doing well with his landscape business and snow removal. He is
also employed by Crista Construction as a
project manager. His wife is expecting their
first child in Aug. Grayson is working for
the government in communications and
continues in the Air Force Reserves. My
husband is a senior partner and account
executive with Parkside Lending in San
Francisco. I keep myself busy with a book
club, church activities, Rotary Club and tutoring five or six students per week in ESL,
French, Language Arts and SAT prep.
Mary Bush Norwood: I was re-elected as
a Citywide Councilmember to the Atlanta
City Council. I’m so appreciative of the
support I received from alumnae.
Tricia Barnett Greenberg: Patty married
Drew Shenkman in April, and they now
live in Atlanta. Barnett is marrying Heather
Meibach in Chicago in Oct., and they’ll
move back to Florence. He’ll continue to
do real estate in Charleston and Florence.
Andy is a dentist in Charleston and available. I continue to have my antique booths
at Terrace Oaks in Charleston. Rossie
Spell, Meredith Thompson Sullivan and
Lucinda Young Larson were the hits of the
wedding weekend!
Sandra Taylor: I’ve been busy with work
(SunTrust Mortgage), my volunteer work
(Sweet Briar, Young Women’s Christian
League) and family. I have two nieces and
two nephews ranging in age from two to
14! My parents are still well and living
independently.
Edie McRee Bowles: My oldest, Jamie, and
his bride, Megha (from India, they met in
London), moved to NYC a year ago and
are expecting a baby girl end of March. My
youngest, Alex, moved to Colorado Springs
from TN last summer and loves the outdoor life. Barney and I bought a Richmond
house last summer and spend time at our
river house in Tappahannock during warm
weather. For the last six years I’ve managed a nonprofit network focused on telemedicine and rural health, and now also
am the consulting director for Virginia’s
statewide telehealth group. Barney has a
marketing/communications business and
is an accomplished painter. He had his
work exhibited at the VA General Assembly
and helped found the art guild/gallery in
Tappahannock.
Mary Witt: I’m busy with work at United
Healthcare, volunteer activities for UVA
medical alumni and students, church
and social activities. We spent a week in
Oxford, England, with a UVA group staying
at Trinity College, studying with
Andrew O’Shaughnessy, the author and
Center for Jefferson Studies director at
Monticello.
Janie Reeb Short: I love my new job as senior VP/private client advisor for U.S. Trust.
Last year I was chosen by the YWCA as
one of their “Women of Distinction” and
was also selected by Inside Business magazine for the “Power List,” one of 75 people who shape and influence Hampton
Roads. Win and I have been married for
13 years and now have four granddaughters. I’m busy with civic activities, serving
on the Virginia Symphony Board, on the
boards of the Access College Foundation
and ForKids, and have recently been invited to join the Board of Trustees of the
Eastern Virginia Medical School. I have enjoyed chairing the SBC Boxwood Circle for
the past three years and want to thank all
my classmates who so generously give to
the college.
Haideh Khosrowshahi Partovi: We have
two granddaughters. Hossein, my husband
of 38 years, has been battling pancreatic cancer since last Feb. His illness has
changed our paths and we’re both staying
home now and though the changes have
been challenging, we’re grateful and remain hopeful.
Cindy Sorenson Sutherland: I’ll be coming to the reunion to see Ann Stuart McKie
Kling receive the Outstanding Alumna
Award.
Andria Francis: I’m in my 28th year working at CTB/McGraw-Hill developing educational assessments. Daughter Ashleigh
was married at the Eden Project in
Cornwall, England. She and her husband
live in England where Ashleigh is completing her doctoral dissertation in archaeology. I continue to volunteer at the local animal services.
Eleanor Magruder Harris: Sandy and I
have two grandsons now with one son
married, one engaged and one single! I
continue to do volunteer work with the museum, church and zoo and have my jewelry
making business on the side.
Cynthia Hardy McCabe: Husband Dave
has accepted pastorates at the Cresson
and Patton Presbyterian churches in central PA. I have been serving as director of
records and registration for Montgomery
County Community College. Our three children Brian, Tiffany (SBC alumna) and
Caitlin are grown. I have three grandchildren. I’ve enjoyed the past six years in our
cottage in Chester County. Dave’s parents
both passed away this past year, and I’m
helping my parents through health issues.
They’re living in Hendersonville, NC.
Julie Shuer: Youngest daughter Sofia is in
her second year at Barnard. Our two older
kids live in Tel Aviv where we will spend
the next two months. Benji (26) works for
an immigration NGO. Gaby (24) finished
the Army there, serving as a sergeant and
a caregiver for dogs who perform search
and rescue and hurt locker operations. We
purchased an apt. in the old north of Tel
Aviv. Husband Steve is still a lawyer in a
busy litigation practice.
Barb Ashton Nicol: Our first grandchild,
a boy, will be born about two weeks before reunion. Husband Robert is retiring in
March, and I plan to join him in Oct. I will
have been at the U. of AL for 25 years.
Elizabeth Andrews Watts: After 22 years
at Episcopal High School, Bobby and I are
retiring in June and moving to our house
near Onancock on the Eastern Shore of
VA. Our fourth grandchild, Grace Tomlin
Metcalf (second daughter for Betsy and
David) was born on Jan 27.
Jan Renne Steffen: This spring we’ll travel
to AZ, NM and TX. Early summer will find
us traveling up to the Calgary Stampede in
Canada then sightseeing through Canada
to Newfoundland. I still edit two newsletters for different sewing organizations:
Southern California Council of Quilt Guilds
and San Diego’s ASG chapter.
Lee Wilkinson Warren: I still work with
Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger and relief organization. I will not make
it to the reunion because I’ll be exhibiting
for Stop Hunger Now at the International
Rotary Convention in Sydney, Australia.
Charles and I will celebrate 41 years together in May. Our daughter’s girls are
four and one. They’re moving from Raleigh
to Richmond. Our son and his wife live in
Charlotte. My job took me to Boston this
past year where I got to visit with Robin
Ryan and Ruthie Lentz, Liz Camp and Ellie
Boyd. This fall I returned to spiritual studies enrolling in Fr. Richard Rohr’s two-year
Living School in ABQ.
Marcia Brandenburg Martinson: My husband, Terry, retired briefly in June. He
was offered an interim minister’s position
on Martha’s Vineyard at the Federated
Church of Edgartown. We’ll be moving into
the church’s 1820s parsonage that sits
on the shore of Edgartown’s Great Harbor!
Two new grandchildren on the way in the
next couple of months!
Sarah Johnston Knoblauch: After 24 years
teaching Montessori and art, I have begun a new career teaching watercolor to
adults. I am also painting watercolor commissions of houses, animals and landscapes. Brendan (30), our Marine, finished
his MBA at Case Western and is working at a startup grocery delivery service,
PrestoFresh. Kelly (27) graduated from the
U. of MD and is a compliance officer with
UBS Bank, traveling throughout the U.S.
Evan (24) graduated from Denison U. and
works in marketing at DVUV with Michael,
his dad. Michael and I have been married 36 years. He’s an entrepreneur, owning his own business. Last May we took a
three-week trip to Tanzania. We traveled to
Korogwe where son Brandon has worked
hard coordinating volunteers to improve
St. Raphael’s Hospital.
Val Gordon-Johnson: We divide our time
between NYC, where Doug and I continue to work as Theatrical Producers for
Broadway and Off Broadway, WY, where
we, with my brother and his family, are
helping to run the family cattle ranch—
and HI.
Helen Willard Travis: I won’t be attending reunion as I’ll be in Beirut, Lebanon,
visiting my older sister and her family.
Since my parents’ death eight years ago,
I’ve been managing the family “farm,”
The Homestead, in Syosset, NY. My great
grandfather bought it in 1909 from Walter
Jones’ family who built it in 1810. Walter
was the nephew of the original John Jones
from Ireland of “keeping up with the
Joneses” fame. I’ve made numerous donations of my father’s papers to Stanford U.,
SUNY Stony Brook and Cold Spring Harbor
Library. I’ve found my life’s passion-archivist. I’m very lucky to have found a job at
LiRo to help pay the taxes here. It’s a construction mgt. company in Syosset, and I
work in accounting.
Mimi Hill Wilk, Scottsdale, AZ: I had the
most fun with Rip and Lou Rainey, Andrei
and Penelope Constantinidi at my daughter’s wedding last Nov. My son Beau and
wife Heather have started their family with
baby George.
Wendelin A. White: Daughter Annie graduated from Duke in May and is now back
in D.C. working at a PR firm (Hellerman
Baretz). Daughter Cole graduated from
Vanderbilt in May and is in NY working for
Bank of America Merrill Lynch as an alternative investments analyst.
Susan Stephens Geyer: I’m still involved
with the Dallas Opera, teaching Sunday
school and singing in the church choir.
Stewart and Julia finished grad school
years ago. Edward is still in grad school for
counseling. All five of us traveled to Asia
last summer for a month.
Noni Petrovits Campbell: I’m living in
Thomaston, ME, having purchased an old
brick tavern built by General Henry Knox
of Fort Ticonderoga fame. I will be in D.C.
for my daughter Morgan’s graduation from
GWU in May. My other daughter, Haley,
graduated from Cornell and is now working
on her Ph.D. in marine biology. I keep up
with roommate Val Gordon.
Ann Pritchett Van Horn: My grandchildren
are: Wade (7), Henry (4) and Liam (2). I’ve
been involved in our Churches’ Community
Ministries for the past 16 years and more
recently have become certified to travel
as an educator for Living Waters For the
World.
Marion Van Horn Eagan is busy with her
family and six grandchildren, but finds
time to paint, sculpt, and travel with husband Lee for VanHorn/Wurth Co.
Ellie Plowden Boyd: I’ll be joining Robin
Ryan on the SBC Friends of Art Board
and look forward to learning more about
the sculpture/folly project being commissioned to compliment the library addition.
Molly Gwinn, head of FOA has asked me
to be a judge for the student art prize this
spring. Our oldest, Clayton, has relocated
from Brooklyn to San Francisco where he
continues to work as a studio photographer/digital tech. Son John is happy at
Vandy and will be working this summer
in Austin.
Kelly Borrowman Slobodian: I’m in New
Bern, NC, involved in residential and commercial coastal real estate with husband
Paul. We spend time at our place in southern VT. Our three sons are grown and one
married two years ago. I keep in touch
with Susan Brown, Lee Warren and Cottie
Mathieson.
Jennifer Smith Hanes: After 30 years of
living and raising our family in Roanoke,
VA, my husband, Tom, and I moved to
Richmond where Tom’s law firm is headquartered and where two of our three children are now located. Oldest daughter,
Whitney, lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with her
husband, Dr. Michael Pencina, who is director of biostatistics at Duke Clinical
Research Center. They have three children: Karolina (7), Henryk (4), Laura
(2), with baby number four due in April.
Whitney and Michael lived in Boston, MA,
for 13 years where she was a regular flutist sub for the Boston Symphony, Boston
Pops, Tanglewood, etc. Middle daughter,
Ann Blair, is married to Harrison Higgins
from Richmond whose grandmother is
Emily Peyton Higgins ’41. They have two
children, Millie (4) and William (7 mos).
Son Leigh Thompson Hanes, Jr. lives in
Richmond and is finishing his kinetic imaging degree at VCU. I’ve been busy singing, playing handbells (for over 30 years!),
teaching choir classes for children, volunteering, book clubs, gardening/garden clubs, owning a business (now sold),
teaching preschool and raising children
and now, grandparenting!
1975
Johna Pierce Stephens
[email protected]
1976
Cissy Humphrey
[email protected]
1977
Sally Bonham Mohle
[email protected]
If you didn’t get an email from me, it
means I don’t have your email address.
Please send it to me at the email address
listed above.
Susan Griffith Grossman: I’m a professor
at Providence College in RI and live in NYC
(Union Sq. area) with second husband of
20 years. He’s now retired from his professorship at U. of CA, Berkeley, and we each
have private psychotherapy practices in
NY. My three children from my first marriage are all grown: Meghan (36) lives in
Farmington Hills, MI, where she’s a psychiatric case manager for adults; the second and third are identical twin girls (34).
The elder, Elizabeth, lives near Dallas,
TX, with her son Jordan (12) The younger
twin, Moira, lives outside of Pittsburgh and
has two daughters Molly (6) in first grade
and Charlotte (3). Hopefully they’ll follow in their grandmother’s footsteps, as
I did in mine. My grandmother Katherine
Knorr from Fargo, ND, attended SBC when
the lower floor of Grammer was used as
the quarters for the maid each student
brought with her! I speak to Mary Winston
Blount and Carolyn Williams Seeling less
frequently than I’d like and always hold my
SBC friends in my heart. I think the best
birthday party I ever had was the surprise
“Tacky 20th” that Dorothy Lear ’78 threw
for me in the campus Laundromat!
Ann Crossingham Cannon: Two grandchildren, boy (2) and a girl (4 mos.) Still work
with rescue. Formed my own 501 c 3 Spay
It Forward whose mission is to help fund
spay and neuter pets of low income families. Have eight dogs of our own and have
two foster dogs. Still feed five retired saddlebreds in barn behind house. And still
show saddlebreds. Been married for 37
years. Garden, volunteer on boards, take
care of dogs, horses and family. Think often of SBC.
Carolyn Williams Seeling: I continue to enjoy work with elementary school kids in
special ed. Son Justin (27) married Emily
Hartsough in June ’13. They’re both working in the world of international medicine. We’ll celebrate his getting a master’s
from Boston U. We will celebrate daughter Sarah’s (21) graduation, also in May,
from Franklin & Marshall (psychology).
My husband Stephen has a new job working with a medical school, St. Georges,
in Grenada. We look forward to a trip to
Cuba in two weeks. Jane Maloney ’74 is
back in the Philadelphia area! She and
I drove to SBC in the fall for the memorial service of Nancy Godwin Baldwin ’57.
Saw Jane Mooney, Dorothy Lear Mooney
’78, Sophie Crysler Hart ’81, and Cannie
Crysler Shafer ’78, the VanTreese’s and
Lee Piepho.
Anne “Rube” Rubel Waddell: I’m doing
well as an artist (www.annewaddell.com).
I also care for elderly/disabled patients
in their homes part time. Husband Jim
Waddell has been promoted to portfolio
manager for the La Jolla office of Morgan
Stanley. Youngest son Jack graduated
from San Diego State U. with a degree in
mechanical engineering. He plans to work
for NASA. Both boys are college graduates
with jobs. Jim and I plan to go on our first
cruise in March. We’re also going to celebrate our 28th anniversary in Los Cabos
Mexico. I hear from Toni DuPont Bredin
Massie frequently. She’s in Kona, HI, as
I write this. We hope to get together this
summer on Nantucket Island.
Debbie Falcigno Carr: Jed and I retired
and sold our Alexandria, VA, home and
moved back into our south FL townhouse
last fall. I am also doing some consulting
in between to support special initiatives
for the CDC and national not-for-profits.
Dee Hubble Dolan: I’m still loving employment at Brandermill Woods Retirement
Community outside of Richmond, VA. All
the critters on the farm (Paradise) are
healthy, although I’m downsizing to have
more free time. Love traveling back to SBC
for alumnae board!
Ellen Sellers McDowell: Oldest daughter Emily is getting married in April and
moving to Portland, OR—any alumnae out
there? Youngest daughter Kate is graduating from Samford in Birmingham in
May. I’ll miss my trips to Birmingham and
getting to see Lochrane Coleman Smith
’76 and Eve Jackson London ’78. Took a
trip to Paris with my daughter Ginny and
my sister Susan Sellers Ewing ’71. We’re
working on a family history project researching our artist aunt, Rella Rudulph,
who lived in Paris for many years. Ran
into Sophie MacKenzie Belouet ’68 at the
American Cathedral where we had gone
with our cousin Lois Seward Kumpers ’58.
Daughter Mary Susan is enjoying life in
Houston and her work at Baker Hughes as
a mechanical engineer. Rex is still traveling back and forth to AL for work, but we
got in a fun trip to Spain last fall. I volunteer at church, organize cookbook clubs in
Dallas and travel.
Kathy Roantree Renken: Grandson
Benjamin was born last June in GA. I’m
working towards my master’s in curriculum
and design with a focus in instructional
design and technology. I still teach a GED
class at our church. I tutor math at the local community college.
Beth Wade: Today (2/16) is my 32nd anniversary with IBM. I’m still working in sales
and my customer is Homeland Security.
Husband John is in his fourth year as CEO
of The Clearing, a management consulting
small business located near Dupont Circle.
Ellie (16) is looking at colleges—only co-ed.
Noel, my son, is in 7th grade and is a basketball/football fanatic. We moved Mom
and Dad to Rockville from Louisville a couple of years ago.
Fran Scott’s marketing consultancy is celebrating its 15th year. Her son Zach’s music production career (aka CutThroatKid)
is beginning to take off. His track
“Sidewinder” climbed the charts from #88
to #12 in a matter of days.
Elvira Cash Pecora, Chapel Hill: My husband Chip works for SunTrust bank as a
financial adviser and refs recreational/
travelling/h.s./adult soccer. Oldest son
Greg works with Schooldude as a customer service rep and plays and coaches
soccer. Second son Kent lives in Baltimore
and works for Columbia Bank as a teller
and also part time for a lawyer. I have returned to teaching four-year-olds as of July.
I still work at Talbots most weekends. Chip
and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in
Oct. with a two-week trip to Italy.
Libby White Drbal: I had a wonderful girls’
weekend in NYC in late Jan. with Vivian
Yamaguchi Cohn. Vivian and I will be together again in Lexington, KY, late in April
at the three-day Rolex event. We’ll put our
house on the market this spring. Oldest
son Drew (24) is employed in Boston. I
went to a dude ranch in MT last June with
a childhood friend. Hoping to visit Maggie
Shriver outside of D.C.
Jean Romanske Zaniewski and husband
Ken are enjoying their mix of early retirement and late parenthood. Their children
(17, 14 and 11) are students in the public schools of Sharon, MA. Jean enjoys
reading, writing, gardening, the Unitarian
Church, the Sharon Historical Society; and
swimming, biking, and running. Jean completed a full Ironman triathlon in Quebec
in Aug. ’13.
1978
Suzanne Stryker ullrich
[email protected]
Michelle Tarride Frazier
[email protected]
Living here in Noumea, New Caledonia,
has brought many surprises, challenges,
and even some disappointments. Rick
and I were able to come back to PA for our
son Andrew’s wedding to Esther Martin
in Aug. I’m amazed at the underwater life
waiting just a short distance away, and
also continue to wish I had taken more invertebrate zoology! Thanks to Margaret
Simpson, who challenged us with that collection of specimens from the Pacific. The
lagoon around the island, within the coral
reef, is an amazing sight. This island is
full of adventure, not to mention all of the
French bread, wine and cheese!
Paula Brown Kelley has been busy with
weddings and Navy football, and trips
down to SBC to see daughter, Genny, perform with the Sweet Tones and play lacrosse. She continues to stay busy with
commercial real estate in the D.C. area,
while husband Jack is still with NASA.
Jean Beard Barden met with Ann Maricle
Stefano, Lu Litton Griffin, Janet Smalley
Todd, Julia Sutherland, Sue Griste Russell,
and Becky Dane Evans for a visit in
Charleston, SC, this past Feb. (Ann came
all the way from CA.) They’re planning another get together in Bar Harbor, ME, so
that Cecelia Garcia-Tuñon Lear can join.
Jean’s son Scott is working in NYC, and
daughter Lelia will graduate from Hobart
in May. Jean keeps busy with small assignments in consulting.
Julia Sutherland chimed in about their
mini-reunion, adding that conferencing in
Cecelia by phone was fun! Julia and husband Phil went on the SBC sponsored
tour to Cuba in Jan., “an amazing trip and
one that I never thought would be possible,” which included visits to artists’ studios, museums, musical performances
and lectures on modern art, Havana’s
architecture, and the Cuban economy.
63
Her two-year-old business, Sutherland
Consulting, keeps her busy with crisis and
litigation communication.
Ann Key Lucas was disappointed to have
missed Reunion last year. Son William (22)
graduated from U. of Dayton and is now in
Cincinnati working for Fidelity Investments.
Older son John (24) in living in St. Louis,
and (also a U. of Dayton grad) helps
with the family shop, Baumann’s Meats.
Youngest son Hunt is a sophomore at U.
of Dayton.
Clare Cartwright Vaughn and husband
George are opening a Youth Wildlife
Conservation Photography Program at
their ranch in South TX, but they enjoyed
time in Dallas when son Gus married his
college sweetheart!
Kim Hershey Hatcher’s son George married his girlfriend of 12 years, Alexandra
Lane Hostetter, in Easton, MD, last July.
Daughter Lynn graduated from St. James
School in MD, and attends Gettysburg
Coll. For summer training Lynn used the indoor track and outdoor fields at SBC for a
few days last Aug. They stayed with husband George’s aunt, Mary Smith Brugh
’57, at her home, “The Brick House” in
Clifford. “There is hardly a day when I don’t
think about my time at SBC and of professors like Miss Sprague who taught me
so much.”
Lee Corollo Boyes is still teaching h.s.
chemistry, as well as teaching student
teachers at the local university to become science teachers! Lee’s son followed in her footsteps, also teaching in an
h.s. classroom, yet after six years decided
to get a second master’s degree from U.
of WI. The only person Lee hears from is
roomie Tricia who is in San Diego.
Mimi Borst Quillman got together in
Center Sandwich, NH, with Ginny Craig
and Mary Goodwin Gamper at the Gamper
house last July. Mimi and Mary also got
together with Meg Richards Wiederseim
for Meg’s birthday. Meg is now executive director of the Devon Horse Show,
Devon, PA. Mary will visit her daughter
(in Durham, England) while she is in grad
school and playing lacrosse. Mary will also
attend the National Bee Conference in
England, as she raises bees in Towson,
MD.
Nancyellen Keane Smithers’ son West III
is applying to law schools. Daughter Austin
is a junior at St. Catherine’s. Austin holds
the school record for the 55-meter dash
with 7.49 seconds! Nancyellen is still working as a lawyer in Richmond, while husband West is working at the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting in D.C.
Cassandra Smith Babbitt has been
bouncing around the world (Saudi Arabia,
England, Philippines) for many years, but
is now in Orono, ME, working as a paralegal. The great outdoors of ME, hiking, skiing and kayaking keep Cassandra busy.
She has one child at home and three who
are settled (for the time being) in Hong
Kong and ME.
Katie Renaud Baldwin in OR still teaches
first and second grade. Her oldest daughter is an RN, soon to be BSN! Katie’s
youngest is in San Francisco. Katie reflected on how lucky she was, with parents
(90 and 92) doing well, and able to make
it to a family reunion last summer in Duck,
NC. She hopes to make the trip back to
Duck this coming summer.
Jane Lauderdale Armstrong’s son David is
working for an investment bank in Atlanta,
64
while daughter Kate will be graduating
from W&L in May ’14 with a double major
in music history and bio-chem. The plan
is for her to take a gap year before heading on to medical school. Mike is working
for a computer software group, while Jane
is still teaching part time at Westminster
Schools.
Ieke Osinga Scully (New England) stated
that Mark was at a new job in NYC three
days a week and also in the Simsbury office, close to home! Their oldest, Brendan,
is an analyst for an actuarial consulting
group in Chicago. Ieke visited him there
last Oct. Second son, William, will be graduating from Trinity College in May ’14 with
degrees in physics and German. Youngest
son, Kirk, is now a senior in h.s. and training at Mt. Snow Ski Academy for slopestyle skiing. He plans to attend college in
CO. Ieke keeps occupied taking care of her
mini-horse, pony and chickens, singing in
the Women’s Praise choir and volunteering at the local historical society.
From the West Coast, Holly McGlothlin
wrote: “Won’t have a big veggie garden
this year due to no rain, but I do hope to
be making more peach jam this summer!”
Cindy Whitley Auman has had no luck
with the job hunt since being downsized in
2012. “Hubby Dave is still partner at his
firm, and I’m raising a yellow lab puppy,
Riley. We’re heading to Napa Valley in
March for a wine-country trip.”
Mary Page Stewart says: “Cannie Crysler
Shafer and Win, and Kathy Jackson Howe
and Root joined us to ring in the New Year
at our new place in FL! I look forward to
hosting more mini-reunions down there!
This marks my last year of teaching.”
Cathy Mellow Goltermann says twins,
Catherine and Christen, graduated from
Westminster Coll. in Fulton, MO, with degrees in early education. Catherine is
teaching at a parochial girls’ school, Oak
Hill Nursery School and Christen is teaching kindergarten at a charter school,
Better Learning Communities Academy.
Woody is finishing his junior year at Ole
Miss and is involved with his fraternity
ATO. Cathy is still teaching pre-school and
is a “mother’s helper” and dog sitter on
the side. Chris is still manufacturing shoe
laces.
Anne Taylor Quarles Doolittle is still in
Nashville. Husband Bob’s son and daughter have graced them with six grandchildren (age 1.5 to 16). Daughter Betsy
Beveridge is now associate director of admissions at McDaniel Coll. Anne rides almost daily and sees Emily Dick twice a
week during hunt season. Her parents
and family business in Fredericksburg, VA,
have been through major changes, requiring Anne to return there monthly. She and
Bob spend the summers on Cape Cod in
Truro, MA, where they’re very near both
The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown
and Castle Hill Center for the Arts.
Carol Baugh Webster enjoys being a marketing consultant for small businesses,
and celebrated the 10-year anniversary
of her company, Cassel International, in
Aug. ’13. She and Tim haven’t been doing much traveling in the last few years,
“as it is difficult to arrange with taking care
of aging parents. We plan on going to my
godson’s graduation in May in Atlanta.”
Carol hears from Jane Hemenway, SallyAnn Polson Slocum, Katie Renaud
Baldwin and Lu Litton Griffin through
Facebook. Youngest son Blake will be married April 26.
Katherine Powell Heller and John are
looking forward to traveling in Vietnam,
Cambodia, Thailand and Kyoto, Japan.
With their youngest graduating in May
13, Katherine was hoping to see Carey
Johnson Fleming in Hilton Head during
the summer.
Lenore Cox is still in Richmond working for
Genworth Financial and also mentioned
that major h.s. reunion coming up!
From VT, Lauren Place Young got to see
roommate Marianne Hutton Felch ’79
and Janet Deans ’77 when both godmothers attended Marianne’s daughter Sarah’s wedding in Bermuda in Jan.
Lauren’s daughter Brittany is in Boston,
as is son Jake, although Jake was able to
snag a one month stint for a nonprofit in
HI! Daughter McKenna is attending Rollins
U. in FL, and enjoyed a six-week internship
in Madrid.
In Nov. ’13 Helen Bauer Bruckmann’s
daughter Meg, graduate of W&L, was
married in the Bahamas. (Helen and
David moved from outside London to the
Bahamas in the last year.) Classmates
Michelle Tarride Frazier, Missy Powell
Adams, Emily Dick McAllister, Lizabeth
Lambert Bowden and her daughter Zara,
and Lisanne Purvis Davidson attended the
wedding while also coming early and staying afterwards. Drew Springer Oswalt with
her husband and family also attended.
Sadly Audrey Townsend Bertram was unable to attend at the last minute due to
a family illness. Muffy Hamilton Parsons
and others wanted to express their sadness over the passing of Laura Pryor
and Valerie Phillips, as well as Paxson
McDonald, a great friend of Suzanne
Collins Kilborn, being ill.
Sally-Ann Polson is president of
MedWatch, a national medical management firm. Her husband of 29 years has
spent much of the last five years traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan. Son Steven
graduated From U. of SC. Sally-Ann is still
in touch with Mavis Ray Griffith in Dallas
or at their ranch in Blanco, TX, and Jana
Joustra Davis ’80, as well as Lee Malley ’84.
Barbara Mendelssohn Price enjoyed entertaining Janet Smalley Todd, Sue Griste
Russell and Jean Beard Barden in FL,
where they had a mini-reunion and “enjoyed biking, eating, talking and being together reminiscing about SBC and JYF. Our
first son has graduated Vanderbilt and is
working as a design engineer in Detroit
for GM and our second son is graduating
from SMU in Dallas, but plans to continue
studying for a master’s.” She and her husband have moved into a co-op in D.C. “I’m
still riding, playing tennis, playing golf and
bridge. I walk to classes at the Alliance
Francaise to keep up my French.”
While it is always fun to hear what you
have all been up to, hearing about accomplishments, large and small, and the major
events of life, it’s also always great to see
the names of a few “long lost” classmates!
As time goes by, we are all too often reminded of the passing of time, the loss
of a loved one or dear friend, and school
days remembered with the news that a favorite professor has left us. It was indeed
a rough time at SBC this past fall and winter. Remember to stay in touch, any time,
one way or another.
1979
Mary “robbie” McBride
Bingham
[email protected]
1980
Fran McClung Ferguson
[email protected]
Phyllis Watt Wilson
[email protected]
1981
Claire McDonnell Purnell
[email protected]
Molly Davis Garone and John are empty
nesters in Franklin Lakes, NJ. “Daughter
Maddie (24), a St. Lawrence grad, lives in
Hoboken and is a marketing assistant at
the high-end stationery retailer Dempsey
& Carroll. Son Thomas (19) is a freshman
at Bates Coll. I’m taking three art classes
a week—one at the Art Students League in
NYC—and concentrating on portraiture!”
Margaret Robinson Tallmadge lives in
Cincinnati, OH, with husband Dan and
son Douglas. She is teaching chemistry lab courses at the U. of Cincinnati,
Blue Ash Coll. as an adjunct professor.
“Husband Dan is still with P&G, leading
an R&D group. Douglas will graduate from
Cincinnati Country Day School in June so
we’re in college admission limbo.”
Sarah Martin Herguner is in Richmond,
VA. Son Levent (20) is a junior at Lehigh
U. in Bethlehem, PA. Daughter Lale (18),
a senior at St. Catherine’s in Richmond,
will attend American U. in D.C. “I work part
time for St. Catherine’s archives and am
researcher on a book: ‘History of Church
Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, Vol. II.’”
Class co-president Brendy Reiter Hantzes
enjoys seeing friends and playing tennis.
“I had dinner with Eve Devine and Mary
Kate Ferguson at Eve’s house. I also had
a lunch with Claire McDonnell Purnell and
Kearsley Rand Walsh. I caught up with
Amy Marshall Lewis and Cari Thompson
Clemens ’80 in Baltimore.”
Our other co-president Mary Kate
Ferguson runs Beeswax Bookkeeping service, on a small scale. Mary Kate rides and
has begun volunteering at a farm that rescues draft horses.
Eva Devine lives in Baltimore, MD, and
has been working for five years with The
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore as VP of human
resources. “I see Brendy Reiter Hantzes
and Mary Kate Ferguson often. I saw Tania
Voss Ryan in Alexandria for a long overdue visit.” Eva’s family company, Faidley’s
Seafood, is still going strong at Lexington
Market in Baltimore and on the web.
Last spring Nancy Webb Corkery
(Dedham, MA) and husband David went to
Baker’s Bay Bahamas with Virginia Donald
Latham and husband Rick for a golf trip,
hosted by Laura Evans ’79. Son Kevin
(25) lives in the North End of Boston and
works at The Brooks School in Andover,
MA. Son Kyle (23) is in the training program at Putnam Trust and lives on Beacon
Hill in Boston. Nancy spent three weeks in
Southeast Asia with five other women including Carla Pelligrino Cabot ’84. They
went to Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and
Hong Kong. Nancy and David played golf in
Scotland last Nov. and look forward to upcoming golf trips.
LEAH JORGENSEN ’96 KNOWS A GOOD GRAPE
— and Wine Press Northwest knows it, too. In March,
the magazine named her cellar an Oregon Winery to
Watch for 2014.
What’s special about Jorgensen’s wine is that it’s not
a pinot noir, which is widely popular in Oregon, but a
cabernet franc, and it’s made in the style of France’s Loire
Valley.
“Most of the vineyards in the United States plant
cabernet franc so that it is a blending grape, but it has
been a rock star in the Loire Valley,” Jorgensen told the
magazine. “That is the style of cabernet franc I want.”
Her “Loiregonian,” as Eric Degerman of Wine
Press Northwest calls it — specifically last year’s Leah
Jorgensen Cellars 2012 Tour Rain Vin Rouge — made
it into The Seattle Times’ Top 50 Northwest Wines of
2013, ranking at No. 33.
But despite all the praise, Jorgensen, who also
works as assistant coach for the Jesuit High School girls’
lacrosse team, is still growing into her role.
“I’m still new at this in terms of production,” she
admitted. “To me, this is not second nature. It’s even
weird for me to call myself a winemaker.”
Her resume would argue otherwise.
Soon after graduating from Sweet Briar with a degree
in English and creative writing, Jorgensen managed
Chrysalis Vineyards near Washington, D.C., before
working for a distributor in the nation’s capital. Her sales
Photo: Josh Chang
Alumna’s
Wine One
to Watch
in 2014
of pinot noir made by Domaine Drouhin prompted the
producer to invite Jorgensen to Oregon Pinot Camp in
2004.
“It took three hours before I called my parents and
said, ‘I’m moving to Oregon,’ ” Jorgensen said in the
article.
Erath Winery hired her immediately for sales and
marketing, and she worked for Ste. Michelle Wine
Estates before joining Adelsheim Vineyard. By 2009,
she was studying enology at the Northwest Viticulture
Center in Salem.
Harvest and cellar work kept her afloat, first at Anne
Amie Vineyards and then at Shea Wine Cellars with
Drew Voit, who left the producer to focus on his Harper
Voit wines at the newly re-occupied Beacon Hill Estate
winery in Gaston, Ore. Co-leased by a few friends, it’s
where Leah Jorgensen Cellars wines are made. This year,
her winery will produce more than 400 cases.
“I feel very fortunate to be able to explore making
my own wine, building my own business and just doing
what I want to do,” she says. “Life is so short, and I felt
a serious compulsion to pursue my own thing. I had
no choice but to follow my heart, and I love a good
challenge.”
One of them is breaking the stereotype of the male
winemaker.
“I do want people to know these wines were crafted
by a woman,” she told the magazine. “I’m proud of that.”
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After four years of serving the troops
through the USO, DJ Stanhope has left the
combat zone in Kuwait and Afghanistan.
DJ said: “I will cherish those experiences
and feel I made a difference in lives every
day.” She runs the USO Warrior Center at
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center serving wounded, ill and injured troops. DJ is
“incredibly thankful to my great network
of SBC sisters who have supported me in
all sorts of ways, but particularly by sending items we use in our programs and activities. All I can say is ‘Thank you—and
keep it up!’ I’ll be posting a list of our
needs. I was thrilled to partner with Amy
Leigh Campbell ’97 to create a special 12
Days of Christmas T-shirt that we gave out
to troops participating in hilarious activities based on the 12 days of Christmas.
That ‘hug from home’ is essential to their
recovery!”
Kearsley Rand Walsh held off writing because “I was sure I was dying. After trips
to the doctor and much testing, they think
I picked up a virus which affected my liver.
The virus is gone, but I have jaundice.”
Sons Angus (23) and Duncan (21) are in
school and set to graduate in Dec. ’14 and
in May ’15.
On Jan. 31, Sarah Huie Coleman’s horse,
Dakota Bell, along with 17 other horses,
died in an electrical barn fire. “Joe and
I are devastated and our hearts go out
to our friends who lost horses and to
the Brookwood Equestrian Center. We
found complete and utter joy in Dakota
Bell’s presence.” Dakota Bell was a
Nokota, which is an endangered breed of
(1200+/-) horses from ND. The Nokotas
are believed to be descended from Sitting
Bull’s herd.
Susan Graham Campbell lives in
Philadelphia, works at PNC, and rides. In
addition to her quarter horse gelding, Ben,
Susan is leasing Dixie, a large chestnut
pony, who used to compete as a jumper.
Susan visited The Hill Country Equestrian
Lodge in Bandera, TX in Nov. Daughter
Sarah (27) is back in the Philadelphia area
living with her dad and best bud, Oscar,
her puggle! As these notes were being written, Susan was heading to Boca Grande,
FL, with her sister and niece to visit her
parents.
Carol Hays Hunley in Boston is chief compliance officer at Santander Bank, and
travels to the parent company in Spain.
Carol has two daughters out of college and
working at New Balance in Boston. Son
Tommy is a senior in h.s. “We love Boston
and have enjoyed exploring New England!
Tom is still with PNC and works from home
in Boston, traveling back to Pittsburgh
once or twice a month. I saw Vickie Archer
before the holidays. Vickie’s daughter
Annie will be graduating from SBC in May!
Sandy Meade Turturro has had a busy
year! Michael’s job with Corvias took them
from Pinehurst, NC, to Palmdale, CA. Son
Rick (30) lives in San Diego and is engaged to be married next May. Daughter
Becca (26) is in Boston working on her
doctorate in child psychology. Katie (23)
is at DePaul U. in Chicago working on her
master’s degree in nursing.
Liz Winson Sweeney and Tom are scuba
diving in Roatan, part of the Honduras Bay
Islands in the Caribbean. They try to go every winter. “We spent a fabulous evening
with John and Claire McDonnell Purnell
and their two daughters, Mary and Lizzie,
over Christmas.”
66
Sigrid Carlen Veasey, Doug and their three
boys, twins Carlen and Campbell (18) and
Wylie (17) live in Philadelphia, PA. The
twins are waiting to hear from colleges.
Sigrid has been promoted to full professor
at U. of PA School of Medicine. “Last year
I was lucky enough to dine with Susan
Graham Campbell!”
Liz Seacord saw Caro Lawrence ’79,
Hannah Craighill Morehead ’79, Stephanie
Stitt Fitzpatrick and Claire McDonnell
Purnell at the Dec. funeral of her cousin,
Jonathan Pine, W&L ’79. “I wanted to let
other people in our class know that he had
passed away as he knew so many SBC
girls, and loved SBC, having spent lots of
time down at House 1, and of course having been married to his favorite SBC girl,
Corby Hancock Pine ’79.”
1982
Jennifer rae
[email protected]
Claude Wasserstein still lives in
Manhattan with three teenagers Jack,
Dash and Lucy. They have fun together
and try to travel to new places every year.
Monika Kaiser subs part time at the h.s.
her kids attended and volunteers for PTSO
and drama club. Alexa was cast in the role
of the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz
at the Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables
and will be part of Guys and Dolls in April.
Julius is at U. of Miami. Richard is still
busy at PepsiCo. She is hoping to visit her
mom in Germany this spring.
Charlotte Fitzgerald got her workout shoveling snow off the driveway with James
(15). He’s a sophomore at Our Lady of
Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD,
and plays basketball and baseball. He is
a great kid who teaches them lessons in
gratitude on a regular basis. James has
epilepsy. “As parents, it’s hard to see one
of your dear child having a grand mal seizure. James has a good attitude through
it all. Once they asked him if he was bitter towards God for allowing this medical
problem. He told them that he was thankful to God for epilepsy because it gives
him a good reason not to give in to peer
pressure and “party” like a lot of the high
school teenagers. He lives an active life,
even though he has a seizure disorder.
And we are very thankful to God.”
Francie Belliveau: Anna (17) is going to
Sweet Briar next year! Class of 2018—Go
Vixens! Michael (19) is a Fourth Classman
at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Ned (21)
graduates in May from Hampden-Sydney
and is interviewing for a job in sports.
Scott continues to work at VMI. Francie
still teaches at her church’s preschool.
Heidi Willard is back in MD and teaching. She doesn’t ever want to go to any
place in Asia again and doesn’t recommend Mongolia. As your fundraiser, I want
to remind you to purchase the Sweet Briar
Rose cards (box is $14.95) or make a donation in the name of the Class of 1982.
Gail Mickley Murthy: Moved from Fort
Worth, TX, to near Charlottesville, VA.
Jettisoned the husband (long overdue)
and decided to come home after farm-sitting for my brother in Rapidan, VA, in Aug.
Having a great time getting to know neighbors and family again!
Mary Ames Booker, Wilmington, NC,
serves on her church’s vestry and continues to manage their website. She is
learning about editing videos for church
and work creations. She is planning to attend Patti Snodgrass Borda’s nuptials in
late April.
Anne Bortz is developing an e-card business. Also, she is helping to take care of
her mother in FL who has just suffered
from two mini-strokes.
Liz Hoskinson is training one horse and
looking after her elderly horse, whom
she’s known all of his 20 years. Traveled to
Costa Rica and stayed on the Pacific coast
on the “thumb” of the country. She continues to write and work at her proofreading/
editing job.
Liz Kauffman is living in KY, working as a
lawyer, and enjoying her horses. She and
Keith are excited about their newest yearling colt. They may breed several mares
this spring.
Jean Bryan writes: Betsy is home and
working toward an associate degree in
multimedia arts. George (21) is a junior at
VA Tech majoring in housing. Anne loves
James Madison U. and sorority (Tri SIG)
life. She has her sights set on the medical
profession. Jean and Peter went to Prague
last spring. The month of June “they” dealt
with a kidney stone—Peter. The summer
was celebrated with Jean’s father Chan’s
90th birthday. Nancy (83) is well. Eva
(Peter’s mom) is a little frailer. When the
kids went back to school they attended the
American Community School of London
Reunion in Annapolis over Labor Day.
Then off they were to Sanibel for a week.
Thanksgiving time they celebrated Peter’s
uncle’s 95th and aunt’s 93rd.
Joy and blessing being our class’s secretary! Jennifer “Jenny” Rae made
Thanksgiving dinner with all her family’s recipes. Being with an Italian man all
these years, he was the one that cooked
all the time. Since the cook got sick she
stepped up to the plate and started cooking again after 30 years. Well the “cat is
out of the bag.” Hubby wants her to cook
all the time now, and she enjoys it very
much. Lost a little time with her business
last year, but is playing catch up and making headway.
Anne Powers Woodward, Williamsburg,
VA, is a single mother of three boys. First
career: boat sales and Mom; second career: government economic development;
third and current career: medical-pharmacist technician. Would love to find Virginia
Carabelli, Kim Hicks, Roberta Perillo, Nan
Dabbs and Ellie Kay Gardner?
Deborah Bowman re-entered the full time
workforce as a financial advisor at Morgan
Stanley and loves working with people to
help them meet their goals. She moved
into a new home in Dec. This year she is
off to Miami and Newport to watch the tennis tournament!
Lele Casalini’s kids live close by. Eli is in
med school at IU in Indianapolis. Sophie
is in nursing school. Liza, Ethan and their
daughter Harper Willow (4 mos.) live near
her new farm, Two Creek Hollow. She’s
working on designs for their new house.
She has hired her son-in-law, Ethan, as her
farm manager. Lele is still teaching Pilates
and working as a yoga therapist! She’ll begin a yoga therapy internship this spring
working on a three-year yoga therapy research program for veterans at the VA hospital in Indianapolis.
Carol Searles Bohrer in Greensboro has
two seniors this year! Price is graduating from W&L. Emily will be graduating from Greensboro Day School, off to
Sewanee next year. Jason is a partner in
a consulting firm, Newbold Advisors, with
offices in Clearwater and Dallas. Carol is
looking forward to traveling with him next
year. She volunteers for the Greensboro
Symphony Guild and the Guild of Family
Services. She plays golf and is learning guitar. Valerie Youree came to visit at
their Rappahannock River home. Valerie
has moved to Sunrise Senior Living in
Fairfax, VA.
Marie Earnhart, Northern VA: Daughter
Mary Whitney will graduate this May 2014
from Sweet Briar. They’re looking forward
to returning to campus to see her walk
the stage!
Joan Vetter Ehrenberg is working part time
organizing for the Democratic Party in her
community having volunteered for many
years. She and her daughter have some
great times together, amidst the challenges of facing the loss of her daughter’s Dad and being a sophomore in h.s.
They’re grateful to have the support of
their friends in their community.
Leslie A. Kavanaugh, Downingtown, PA,
is the controller for Matt Slap Subaru
in Newark, DE. Her three children live
nearby, and she enjoys traveling, sailing
and spending time with her granddaughter. Next trip is to Greece to sail for 10
days this spring. Last year she sailed in
the British Virgin Islands for nine days and
went to Scotland and the Caribbean.
Beth Reed, Birmingham, AL: Kate
(Sewanee ’08 and Vanderbilt ’12) is the
assistant director of residential life at
her undergrad alma mater, the U. of the
South. Matthew (Sewanee ’10) is a specialist in the U.S. Army and posted in CA.
Beth is now able to focus her attention on
their Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. The
first puppy that they bred earned his AKC
Championship from the Bred-By class with
her as his only handler. This is the first
conformation title for Beth too. Bryan has
proven to be a great kennel hand.
Lisa Henderson Bice’s daughter has been
accepted into the undergraduate communications disorders program at Auburn and
will train to become a speech pathologist.
Her son is still exploring options.
Cathy Miller: Madeline and Ali are doing well in college. David and I are enjoying our empty nest. I have started showing
again after five years (after back surgery).
I’m showing on the flat for a while. David
and I are trying to decide where to go for
our spring vacation and to celebrate his
50th birthday.
Gaye Browne’s oldest is in college, her
middle in high school, and her youngest in seventh grade. She is relaunching Greenopia’s website this spring and
releasing 15 city guide e-books. Go to
Greenopia.com to sign up for your city
guide! Greenopia makes shopping, eating
and living green easier!
Patti S. Borda: April 27, Patti will marry the
Rev. Earl Mullins at All Saints Episcopal
Church in Frederick, MD. Earl is the interim rector at All Saints, and retired
Bishop Robert Wilkes Ihloff will officiate at
their wedding service. Earl has also been
rector at St. Paul’s Church in Dedham, MA,
and at St. Barnabas Church in Sykesville,
MD. Patti continues as a reporter for
The Frederick News-Post, where she has
worked since 2009. Mary Ames Booker
will be her matron of honor and her daughter, Virginia Jackson Snodgrass Borda, will
be a maid of honor.
1983
Cary Cathcart Fagan
[email protected]
1984
Debbie Hodgkinson Jones
[email protected]
Tracy Glaves Spalding and Randy in CO
near Denver, celebrated their 25th last
summer and are empty nesters. Daughter
Emma is a junior at the U. of Puget Sound.
Son Preston is a freshman at the U. of WY.
They took a family trip in Aug. to Scotland,
with a stop in Iceland. Tracy is studying to
be a Natural Food Chef.
Liz Rogers Boyd writes that Louie survived his knob year at The Citadel and is
now Regimental Staff Clerk. Tommy has
come back from back surgery in Jan. 2013
to play both football and basketball for
Bethel U. Tom and Liz took a trip to Spain
and France.
Liz Sprague Brandt: Daughter Betsy graduated from Vanderbilt in May and is now
employed with Ernst & Young in NYC. Oct.
found them joining Chris and Elizabeth
Willett on a trip to both Argentina and
Peru—marvelous time.
Betsy Becton Hannah and husband
Harry moved to the Upper Westside of
NYC after three years in HI. Before arriving in NYC they spent three weeks in
Formentera, Spain. Betsy is working remotely for American Society for Training
and Development.
Peg Twohy Devan spent most of the
summer in VA showing. She and her
horse Crown Royal placed sixth in the
Washington International Horse show last
fall. Now they’re showing in CA with John
French for the winter. Bob and Peg alternate weekends with Carolyn showing in
Thermal. Carolyn is headed to college next
year and has to make the decision between Sweet Briar, Rollins or Chapman!
Michelle Klimt Scherrer: Recently relocated to Jacksonville, FL, from Clarksburg,
WV. Still working for the FBI after 24 years.
Recently named the first female Special
Agent in Charge for the FBI Jacksonville office. Married to Robert going on 17 years.
Colleen Kuebel Berthelot is now 28 years
into a Commercial Real Estate brokerage
career, chasing a black lab puppy, a middle schooler and a 25 year old! Colleen
went to Paris last spring to meet her “man
friend” who was working in Oman in the
Middle East. She is planning an overdue
50th birthday in Tuscany (man-friend’s
brother has an olive orchard near Lucca).
Colleen has visited with Penney Parker
Hartline and her hubby at the beach, and
with Elizabeth Proctor in Houston.
Anne Richards is still living at Sweet
Briar, retired and enjoying her new puppy
as her dog Fletcher had been poisoned!
She’s still active with miniature structures
which range from ¼ to 1 inch! She volunteers for Rotary and Meals on Wheels.
John still lives in Boston; David is now at
Lynchburg Coll. teaching government, with
tenure; Arie is a lt. col. in the 101st at Fort
Campbell, though doing his battalion command in Afghanistan. Anne mentions that
all of us economics comrades must be
saddened by Ruben Miller’s death.
Patsy Roby Gotfredson is happily married 21 years to Ed. They moved back to
Grosse Pointe, MI, from San Francisco
about 10 years ago. Teddy (17) is a senior awaiting college acceptance letters.
George (14) will be entering h. s. next year.
Patsy is a portrait associate for Portraits,
Inc., out of Birmingham, AL. She’s still volunteering in assorted associations and
The Garden Club of MI, a GCA club. Patsy
and her mother travel annually with the
Detroit Institute of Art.
Erika Dorr Marshall says it will be a year
in May, since opening the Marsh Tacky
Market Cafe on Harbor Island, SC, where
she welcomes all vixens vacationing on
Fripp, Hunting or in the Beaufort area!
Reel Marsh Charters is Foster’s charter
fishing company. And, Erika is also the
head trainer at Camelot Farms. Wiley (22)
is working at the Charleston Angler where
she enjoys buying trips to Atlanta; Foster
(21) is a junior at the Citadel and captain
of the sailing team. Erika enjoyed seeing
Liz Rogers Boyd and Cheryl Fortin Young
at football games. Elise (17) will attend
College of Charleston.
Janet Lewis Shepherd is divorced and living in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, with three
kids at home full time and the oldest at
Georgetown. She is working part time at
Krista Eberle boutique. Janet ran a half
marathon on 2/23/14 for breast cancer. She’s taking certification classes to
teach yoga.
Leslie Eglin was promoted to managing director and head of human resources for
the Americas at The Carlyle Group. She is
based in Washington, D.C., and will celebrate her 10-year anniversary with the
firm in March. Leslie went to Italy last year,
Spain this year, and Sweet Briar in May!
Elizabeth “Betsie” Hicks Zedah and husband Frank live on the North Shore where
they also have a restaurant, Frank and
Betsie’s. They spent time this winter at
their home in southern CA near San Diego
on the coast. Betsie and Frank will visit NY
for their 25th. Frank is a poet laureate.
Here’s a list of all Chris Svoboda has going on! 2013: Founding board member of Virginia Equality Bar Association;
Sr. Policy Advisor for Heather Mizeur’s
Gubernatorial Campaign. 2014: “Russia
Declares Discrimination Newest Olympic
Sport”—PSA produced by my company,
Berserk Creative Agency, after three
weeks on YouTube we hit 920,000 views;
Listed as one of 19 things happening on
an international scale to highlight LGBT
discriminatory laws in Russia and 76
other countries; hosting women’s comedy night at Artisphere in Rosslyn; co–
chairing Mautner Gala—annual gala for
the national lesbian health care organization; cover story for Metro Weekly magazine; (present) designing restaurant in
Richmond and in charge of entire bar
menu; guest executive chef at the Blagden
Alley Social Club in D.C.; Coordinating restaurant for new brewery in SilverSpring,
MD. Had a great time visiting with 12
other vixens at the home of Leigh Watkins
on the Eastern Shore in late Feb. Looking
forward to Old Lady Lax game in the spring
and reunion; and also looking forward
to the new Square One offerings coming
soon to a liquor store near you.
Laurie Scovel Pfeifer: We live on Cape
Cod, and I teach kindergarten. Brad (HSC
class of ’79) and I celebrated our 25th anniversary last fall! I’m involved with several charities including the Sampson Fund
for Veterinary Care. We spend our summers volunteering as intern coordinator for
the Hyannis franchise of the The Cape Cod
Baseball League. Last fall we were able
to get to our first HSC football game since
graduation when they played at The Coast
Guard Academy in CT.
Ginger Reynolds Davis and her friends visited Debbie Jones at her new farm in Jan.
and had a blast.
Debbie Jones: I’ve enjoyed being the
class secretary for five years and look forward to our reunion. I’m in love with my
new farm and not even the crazy winter
has been a burden on me or the horses.
Ginger Reynolds Davis has visited a few
times as has Chris Svoboda. I’m down the
road from Kathy Barrett Baker ’83, who
was kind enough to include me in an “all
girls” Christmas season party each year.
I also run into Sarah Babcock ’83 from
time to time and hope to see more vixens
this year! Still in mortgage banking and
supporting my sister in her Square One
Organic Spirits biz—thanks for all the support and we have a new flavor coming out
soon. Special thanks to Chris Svoboda
who has been a huge supporter!
Classmates: please email me at elliesam@
aol.com your current email addresses so I
can cross-check to our database. I am getting more and more emails kicked back
each time I sent out class notes! Thank
you for letting me be your secretary for the
last five years, it has been enjoyable to say
the least!
1985
ellen reed Carver
[email protected]
1986
April Adelson Marshall
[email protected]
Leigh Ann White
[email protected]
Anne Toxey met several alumnae from San
Antonio and Austin at the home of Jenny
Gough ’13 in Jan. “Feeling the presence of
SBC in TX makes me feel more at home.”
Anne is back in school where last fall she
became a master naturalist, and this
spring she is studying to become an arborist. Most of her time is spent with husband
Patrick McMillan designing and developing
museum exhibitions.
Mary Johnson Ryan is saddened by
the loss of Dr. Sharon Beard Testa. At
Sharon’s funeral, there was a wonderful reunion of SBC alumnae. Mary was
moved to see our class represented from
as far away as CA by Betsy Knott Hall and
Cara Heard Elliott. Mary is so fortunate
and blessed to have had Sharon in her life.
Mary is thankful to SBC and to our class,
and proud to be part of this great school.
She’d feel honored if her two girls also attended SBC.
Louanne Woody is still enjoying life on the
Outer Banks of NC.
Bella Viguerie Gsell celebrated her
50th birthday on Jan. 1. She still lives in
Houston with three teenage children. Bella
still reminisces about her SBC days.
Shannon Kuehlwein and her fiancé are
busy planning for their upcoming wedding. To start off the festivities in June,
they’re having a ring blessing in the chapel
at Shannon’s prep school, St. Andrew’s,
in DE. In Oct., they’ll marry at an inn in VT,
where they’re making the event a weekend
sbc.edu/magazine
celebration, complete with golf, fly fishing
and kayaking.
Mary Beth Miller Orson is still living in
Scottsdale, still married, still raising two
kids, working and hoping classmates stop
by when they’re in town. Ava Spanier now
lives nearby.
Harriette Cooper Liederbach is enjoying her second year as a middle school
science teacher. She and Mark have a
son now at NC State U., a daughter at
Appalachian State U., and a 9th grade
daughter at home.
Meme Boulware Hobbs enjoys life in
Birmingham, AL. Daughter Libby is finishing her sophomore year at TX Christian
U. and son Whit is graduating from
Woodberry Forest School in May. Meme
and David are awaiting college application acceptances. They spent five weekends in TX last year supporting Libby at
football games (she’s on the dance team)
and three weekends in VA watching Whit
play football.
Elizabeth Hall and Roger have been living
in LA for 23 years. Their son Griffin will be
17 in June, and daughter Caroline is 14.
Jessica Sinnott is still working for DuPont
(15 years in Oct.) as assistant chief IP
counsel. Together with husband Bill,
Jessica enjoys horseback riding on their
PA horse farm.
Beth Ann Trapold Newton is in her fourth
year at The Social List of Washington, and
Bob is in his 15th year working for CSCI
as a senior engineer. He retired last summer from his “other” job after 28 years as
captain in the USCG Reserves. Youngest
daughter Annie is a year-round lacrosse
player and basketball player. The oldest two, Gus and Bonnie, are both in
the Presidential Leadership Program at
Christopher Newport U. Beth Ann had dinner with April Adelson, Barb Tragakis
Connor ’85 and Vicki Vidal Blum ’85.
Susan Mann Levy and Geoff are still
practicing law together in Columbia, SC.
Daughter Preston at Wake Forest. Susan
and Geoff have a house in Brevard, NC,
which they’re getting ready to renovate.
Susan is so proud of our class and our efforts to support each other this year.
Leigh Ann White is still living in Boston,
sharing a peaceful but snowy life with
Brian. Leigh Ann is still at Biogen Idec, loving her job as a health economist working
in drug development for Alzheimer’s and
ALS treatments. Contributing to initiatives
that create wildlife corridors for endangered big cats makes her feel like she’s
doing a little to give back.
April Adelson is into her second year as
a Virginian. Enjoying her apt. inside the
home of Heidi Turk ’85. April turned 50
and had several celebrations, so spoiled
by friends! Still at Fannie Mae, enjoying
her work as a recruiter on the talent acquisition team. April attended a “Vixens in
the Country” event on the Eastern Shore
to honor Leigh Watkins ’85 visit. Karen
Gonya Nickels is a superb party planner.
Holla Holla—love our class!
67
Nature Draws Young Alumnae
Alison Lifka ’13 has
always been fascinated
by dog driving. She just
[I’m] working with the same team
of dogs I worked with this past
winter. Also, I am excited to be
part of the community up on the
glacier.”
never quite knew how one becomes
a “musher” — until last winter,
when she worked as a dog handler
for Lev Shvarts, an Iditarod rookie,
in Willow, Alaska.
The position is seasonal
and will run all summer. In the
winter, Lifka plans to return to
Willow and her previous job as a
dog handler.
It was there she met the owner
of Alaska Heli-Mush, the company
she’s working for as a musher this
summer.
“[He] trains his Iditarod
team on the same trail system as
us,” Lifka says. “Over the winter,
I heard what a great operation
he runs in the summer down in
Juneau and decided to apply.”
“Life as a dog handler is fairly
simple,” she says. “You live to take
care of the dogs: feed them, clean
up after them and run them.”
Alison Lifka running her 10-sled dog team, led by
Envy (left) and Wrath.
After graduating from Sweet Briar with a major in
environmental science and a minor in biology, the North
Carolina native knew she wanted to work outside, and she
wanted to go to Alaska.
When the opportunity came to lead kayaking tours
with Alaska Sea Kayakers, Lifka jumped on it.
One day while giving tours, she met a friend of
Shvarts’. The two started talking about sled dogs, and he
told her about the dog handler job.
Since May, Lifka has been leading dog sled tours on
Norris Glacier near Juneau for Heli-Mush. She’s also in
charge of feeding her dog team and treating any injuries or
illnesses, responsibilities she was well prepared for through
her job as a dog handler.
“I [helped] with the
general operation and
maintenance of a thirtysled dog kennel and ran the
dogs anywhere from ten to
sixty miles a day,” she says.
“I am most excited
about being able to
continue to work with sled
dogs through the summer
months, especially since
68
While there is some stress
involved, Lifka finds it mostly
relaxing.
“Most of my day is spent on
the runners watching the dogs
with only my thoughts to keep me company,” she says.
“While that may seem lonely, you’ve got the dogs, and it’s
a beautiful — if forbidding — country we travel through.”
Working as a dog driver and tour guide this summer
is quite different.
“I have all the company in the world, as people come
up to the glacier to experience what it is like to run dogs,”
she explains. “[It’s] a nice contrast to the silent, thoughtful
winter. That is what I like about Alaska and my job: The
winters are for me to train and work with sled dogs, and
the summers are for passing that love on to other people.”
Alaska, she adds, has taught her a lot in just one year:
about herself, about sled dogs and about “enjoying life for
what I do and not about the money I make.”
Lifka doesn’t have a concrete plan for her future — at
least not yet. But there are many ideas swirling around in
her head.
“At some point I’d like to take a year off and throughhike the Appalachian Trail,” she says. “I also enjoy
working as a field technician, and I may want to pursue
getting qualified as a Wilderness EMT — [I’m] currently
qualified as a Wilderness First Responder.
“I’m living my life one step at a time and jumping at
each new exciting opportunity.”
to Northwest
Since graduating in 2009, Sarah
Doyle has been busy saving the
environment, one tree — or
salmon — at a time.
As stewardship coordinator for the North Olympic
Salmon Coalition, Doyle spends most of her days in the
streams, fields and forests of the Olympic Peninsula, a
wild, picturesque area west of Seattle.
But her job also requires some paperwork — grant
writing, developing and implementing small landowner
restoration projects, coordinating a Washington
Conservation Corps Crew,
as well as monitoring
the coalition’s completed
restoration projects.
One of them, the Morse
Creek Restoration Project
in Port Angeles, Wash.,
rerouted a creek to its original
alignment and helped
improve the stream’s natural
habitat, including increasing
the local salmon population
by 500 percent. It was the
second-largest in-stream
restoration project on the
Olympic Peninsula.
“I fell in love with the place and the ability for me to
spend a day kayaking around the Puget Sound looking
at killer whales and seals, and the next day hiking the
Olympic Mountains observing marmots and black
bears.”
Since moving to the Northwest, Doyle has hiked
about 200 miles each summer and practices yoga,
horseback riding and stand-up paddle boarding, in
addition to snowshoeing in the winter.
“I’ve had quite a few Sweet Briar friends come out
to visit, and we have had lots of fun [on] camping and
hiking adventures,” she says.
Attending Sweet Briar, she
says, made her realize that she
“couldn’t live anywhere that
didn’t have beautiful natural
surroundings.”
Doyle took advantage
of everything else Sweet
Briar had to offer, too. She
majored in environmental
studies with a concentration
in environmental policy and a
minor in biology. She was part
of the Environmental Club,
Amnesty International and
Young Democrats. She also
Each year, Sarah Doyle surveys salmon in the creek
was inducted into Phi Beta
to provide data on fish returns to the ashington
Kappa and completed a Senior
Department of Fish and ildlife.
In 2013, the coalition
Honors Thesis, in addition
received more than $13 million
to
studying
abroad
at
the
University
of Cape Town the
in funding to implement similar small- and large-scale
spring of her junior year.
projects in the area.
But success doesn’t always come in dollars.
“Since working at NOSC, I have coordinated the
planting of over thirty thousand trees on forty acres of
riparian habitat,” Doyle says, citing one of her proudest
achievements.
For the Baltimore native, making the leap across the
country wasn’t so daunting after visiting her brother in
Washington State her senior year.
“[He] was living as a wooden boat builder in a small
Victorian seaport called Port Townsend, about two hours
north of Seattle,” says Doyle, who now lives in the same
town.
After graduating in 2009, Doyle landed an
Americorps internship with NOSC. One year later, she
was hired full time.
“Sweet Briar gave me so many skills that have led me
to where I am today,” she says.
Collaborating with her professors on a daily basis
and being able to talk to them about anything made
a big impact on Doyle. But above all, she says, her
professors gave her the confidence to go after her dreams.
“The most important thing Sweet Briar did for me
was to empower me to realize that I can achieve anything
with hard work, dedication and passion.”
69
1987
1989
[email protected]
[email protected]
Pamela Miscall Cusick
Lee Caroll roebuck
[email protected]
1988
Christine Ans
[email protected]
Katherine Cole Hite: Had a mini reunion with Katie Keogh Weidner, Kathryn
Ingham Reese, Mary Halliday Shaw and
Beth Bennett Haga in Miami. So fun
catching up.
Gussie Harrison Dunstan: My family and
I will move from São Paulo, Brazil, where
we’ve been for two years, to Belgrade,
Serbia, for three years. Woody is a Foreign
Service Officer with the State Dept. We
were posted in El Salvador for two years
before Brazil. My older daughter Millie (17)
attends Exeter Academy in NH, and Guen
(14) and Harrison (8) travel with us. I substitute teach in the lower school international school system. Sing it Sweet Tones!
Stacey Vilar Csaplar: My daughter is starting to look for colleges. Sweet Briar is
at the top of the list. I have retired from
teaching. I am volunteering with NEADS,
an organization that trains dogs for disabled people. My Sweet Briar friends are
often in my thoughts.
Paige Schiller Okun: It’s my 12th year living in Singapore. In July, I had a mini-SBC
reunion in NYC with Cameron Cox Hirtz
and Denton Freeman. In Oct. I joined an
international group of 12 women to trek
100Km and do some rock climbing in the
desert of Jordan to raise awareness and
funds for Women on a Mission Singapore,
an organization that supports women who
are in war-torn countries or victims of domestic violence or victims of human trafficking. We raised nearly $100,000 for
our efforts.
Dena Driver: I’m still working in real estate
in Brooklyn and have joined Stribling and
Assoc. this year. Sent my daughter Emma
Morcroft to Belmont U. in Nashville this fall
where she is studying music.
Kathryn Ingham Reese: I teach 5th
and 6th grade reading at Tower Hill in
Wilmington, DE, and I coach middle school
lacrosse. Daughter Elliot is 12 and daughter Landon is 14.
Christine Ans: I was able to have a mini-reunion with Andrea Fraley, who came down
to Tampa/Sarasota to check out the hunt
scene. Andrea was able to participate in
the South Creek Foxhounds Hunt and then
we attended the Hunt Ball on Fri. evening,
followed by the races at Tampa Bay Downs
on Sat. Remember, if you are a little chilly
up there, please consider coming on down
to FL! I can help you find a home, and I still
work for an attorney. And the children’s
books will always be near to my heart. It’s
been a busy year as president of my local Rotary Club! As always, it’s great to
hear what everyone is doing in our class.
Looking forward to seeing you all if you
happen to be in the area!
70
emmy S. Leung
Stacey Quinn Hannan: After living in Boca
Raton for most of my life, we found out in
2010 that Nokia was relocating my husband’s job to northeast TX! We have now
been living in Frisco (just north of Dallas)
for nearly four years. Mike and I have been
married for 16 years and have two daughters (Courtney, 14 and Caitlin, 11). I volunteer with both of the girls’ schools, Girl
Scouts and Junior League. Although I can’t
believe it’s been so long, I am looking forward to our 25th Reunion!
1990
Kelly Wood erickson
[email protected]
1991
Lorraine Haire Greer
[email protected]
1992
Charlotte Bonini
[email protected]
Amy Peck Driscoll
[email protected]
1993
Lauri Leann Dabbieri
[email protected]
1994
Mary-Linda “Molly” Morris
Flasche
[email protected]
Greetings to the class of 1994! Things
have been busy, and we’re in the midst of
celebrating our 20th reunion this year!
Alexandra Stewart Manwarren continues to remodel her home. She’s working
to restart the Philadelphia area alumnae
group. She is still enjoying teaching therapeutic riding and consulting and now golf.
She keeps busy with her two boys.
Parslee Robyn Barto has re-set her life
and re-claimed her maiden name. She remains at Bryn Mawr College as student
counselor and financial aid administrator, does the soccer and “core curriculum” mom thing, plays knights, dragons
and Star Wars and otherwise wrangles the
“mischievous twosome,” Madeline Axelle
(8) and Alexander Scott (5).
Elizabeth Gilgan saw Amelia McDaniel
Johnson in the beginning of Jan. when
she happened to be in Boston during a
huge snowstorm. She was stuck at Liz’s
house with her two kids Wyly (12) and
Jed (8). They had a great time with Liz’s
kids, Nicholas (5) and Isabella (4). Ashley
Henderson Swigart visited last summer with her son Preston (6). At the end
of Jan., she went to Austin for Rosemary
Ratliff Harris’ wedding.
Caitlin Sundby Russell and Scott celebrated their 10th anniversary last year.
Eva is 8 and Julia is 5. Caitlin is a registered dietician nutritionist in Atlanta and
has a private practice for adult weight
management.
Amy Davis had her second book published in Dec. 2013. “Handsome Heroes
and Vile Villans: Men in Disney’s Feature
Animation” is earning a lot of buzz, and
she has three more academic articles set
to be published in 2014.
Vinca Swanson moved from Seattle to
Portland, OR, over Christmas. She’s still
doing graphic design work, creating art,
and playing and coaching lacrosse.
Andrea Buck and husband Chris have settled in southwest Wales, not far from the
ancient and historic town of Carmarthen.
In 9/2013 they bought a 17th-century
house and land and embarked on a longterm renovation project. On a clear day,
they can see all the way to Lundy Island
on the Devon coast. They hosted Lisa
Johnston and Birgit Stolle as they traveled
through Wales and hope to catch up with
Birgit again when they travel to Germany
later in 2014.
Heather Bayfield Weidle is enjoying
her work at Life Management Advisors.
She’s been in business for 12 years,
and started a second company called
Care Management Advisors that helps to
manage their clients’ healthcare needs.
Katherine Lindsay Auchter came to work
with her at CMA. Michael (9) plays soccer, Matthew (6) plays golf. She lost her
mother in 2012, and her SBC friends were
wonderful support. Now her father is engaged to marry his high school sweetheart, and she’s very happy for him.
Kim Szuszczewicz Snead is working as director of information systems for a health
informatics organization, Invalon. She
spends her free time with boys Cole (12)
and Grayson (9). Both boys are playing
baseball, and Grayson also plays football. She had a trip to Spain last fall with
Heather Roby, Christy Young McCain,
Dorothy Bailey, Jodi Szuszczewicz McGee,
Katherine Schupp Zeringue and Shelly
O’Brien. She attended a baby shower for
Heather Roby, and will travel with the family to San Francisco for spring break.
Molly Flasche: I’m working for Delta
Gamma Fraternity (I’m an alumna initiate,
believe it or not, initiated at the American
U. chapter in 1995), and I’m in their housing office. I work with the collegiate officers in the sorority, making sure they’re
getting their bills paid. Chuck and I have
an adorable Goldendoodle (1) named
Indie (named after our Indiana Fletcher
Williams), and we’re planning to grow
our family through adoption, hopefully
in the next year. We’re both looking forward to reunion, and hope to stop at some
of the wineries and breweries around
Charlottesville while we’re in VA.
1995
Beverley Stone Dale
[email protected]
1996
Sarah reidy Ferguson
[email protected]
Kelly Collins Lear
[email protected]
Robin Bettger Fishburne and Joe have
been in Greenville, SC, for over 12 years.
We have two children, Parker (1) and
Gibbs (9). I’m with Keller Williams Realty.
Joe and I celebrated our 13th wedding
anniversary.
Catherine Lanter had tea with Jo Ellen
Parker in Santa Monica beginning Feb. 9
at Shutters Hotel—fantastic time!
April Collins Potterfield and family still live
in Winnetka, IL. I have returned to work
as an associate professor, director of biology and health professions programs
for Westminster Coll. as they set up a new
campus in Mesa, AZ. I commute between
MO, IL and AZ.
Mary Copeland Stockton and Martin are
expecting their first child, a baby girl, on
March 21!
Beth Ike, Charlottesville: My daughter,
Sara Temperance Tatum, (aka Tempe, SBC
’34) is one year old, and her brother Willie
will be 5 in Aug. We’re grateful to spend
time with Susie Gross Leroy and her son,
as well as Margaret Brodie Williams ’97
and her son and daughter. We’re missing
Leigh Mason Kitchin, who has a new son
and lives in OR!
Heather Baskett: After 16 years as a
zookeeper I have decided to go back to
horses! I’ve taken a position at the VA
Tech Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical
Center in Leesburg. I’ll be working in the
operating room.
Angie Conklin Abell is still running my real
estate company Beach Bay Realty down
here in Chincoteague Island, VA. Hope
(11) is big into catching for a travel softball team. Taulman (14) plays guitar. I attended Tracy Walters’ wedding in Oct.’13.
I’ve traveled with Heather Terry Adams ’97
to Dominican Republic, and in April we’re
taking our daughters to Disney World.
Sarah Dennis Roberts: Next year (201415), I’ll serve as Parent Teacher Fellowship
president at Crossings Christian School
(my kiddo’s school).
Sarah Reidy Ferguson continues to write
my daily lifestyle blog, Duchess Fare, coupled with selling vintage and one-of-kindfinds through One Kings Lane, Etsy and
privately. Happy to be included by Rizzoli in
previewing and featuring posts on their upcoming design book launches.
1997
Amy Leigh Campbell
[email protected]
1998
Chantel Nicole Bartlett
[email protected]
Anne Smith Culver and Brian (VMI ’98)
are still living in Chesterfield, VA. Anne
is in her fourth year of teaching art at
Banner Christian School, where all three
of her kids attend. Their oldest daughter
is 13, second daughter is 11 and son is
8. Brian started a new job with the City of
Richmond last March. They volunteer with
the church youth group, and Anne was
asked to coach middle school girls cheerleading at school. She was never a cheerleader, but you can learn anything on the
internet! Anne keeps in touch with Melissa
Pembrooke and Andrea Sheetz McCarney,
who has opened up her own dance school.
Candince McMillian’s construction company, McMillian & Holden, opened a community center in central city New Orleans,
named Exodus Place. Candince wanted to
say a special thank you to her Vixen family for all of their support. Daughter Charli
Tyler McMillian celebrated her 1st birthday
on 2/18/14.
Cady Thomas saw Susan Barney and
talked with Serena Putegnat over the holidays. “It was fun to go back to campus for
the Homecoming weekend, and I am looking forward to being there in April again for
the next alumnae board meeting.”
Candice Broughton Maillard and Chantel
Bartlett spent a few days together in early
Feb. (Chantel had been in Vegas on business.) Candice reported that it was great
having a few days with Chantel, and meeting fellow alumnae and prospective students in Santa Monica for an SBC tea with
President Parker. Boys Everest (10) and
Judah (8) keep her moving, as does working alongside her husband in his new fitness endeavor. Daughter River is three.
Cynthia Bumgardner Puckett is teaching third, first and preschool to her four
kids. She created the first rite-of-passage for her daughter (9), which included
seeing Dannah Gresh’s Crazy Hair Tour
in Chattanooga, TN. Cynthia and Darrin
live10 minutes from Louisville.
In Dec.’13, Anna Meres Wade started a
new job at the U. of TN working with distressed students. Patrick and Anna still
live in Knoxville, TN, and Patrick continues to enjoy his job as the director of the
Pat Summitt Foundation where he is raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s
disease. Patrick and Anna are expecting a
little girl in June ’14. “It’s been a long and
emotional journey, and we feel so blessed
and excited to finally become parents!”
1999
Lindsey Neef Kelly
[email protected]
Margaret Dally Abate is still in Southern
CA working as a hospitalist and enjoying
her two kids Alamael (7) and Elionaye (4).
Kate Akers is in Nashville. She is the director of retail sales and marketing for Gray
Line of TN and has Ruby (2).
Christy Carl Allison lives in Brambleton,
VA, with husband James and daughter
Laurel (4). In addition to working for author/educator Suzanne Scurlock-Durana,
Christy’s hard at work on her first fulllength sci-fi “space opera” novel.
Aimee Armentrout got engaged on
Christmas Eve to Jesse Peacemaker; they
plan to get married on 10/25/14. She’s
in her eighth year teaching kindergarten
in Caroline County, VA, but is applying for
teaching jobs at private schools. Aimee
and Jesse live Ashland, VA, with beagle
Molly.
Devon Vasconcellos Bijansky is working
at the TX Racing Commission, where she
prosecutes drug offenses in horses and
contributes to various other projects relating to horse racing. At home, she gardens and focuses on running and triathlon training.
Rachel Bratlie, husband Chris and son
Zachary have moved to Hamilton, New
Zealand for at least two years, where
Rachel will continue to work as an inpatient psychiatrist. She and Chris are expecting another baby in Aug.
Amy Gibbs Brown is living in Atlanta with
husband Kenton and two boys, Cooper (8)
and Malcolm (6). She’s busy with her design business Amy Brown Interiors. She
plays tennis with ALTA.
Angela Walton Carpita still lives, coaches
and teaches part time in Annapolis with
husband Chris and two boys Tommy(3)
and Morgan(2). Angela renewed her
connection with Emily Sartor Patterson,
and will visit Kibby Bryenton Furgesson
’00 in HI this summer.
Aracelie Castro continues to work in
Washington, D.C. as an international
trade specialist at the Foreign Agricultural
Service.
Brenda Elze and husband Jon Mikan welcomed son Xander Elze in Aug. ’13. She was
blessed with visits from Alex Sienkiewicz
Auer, Jennifer Schmidt Major, Heather
Carson ’00 and had a baby shower thrown
by Kim Schmidt Miscavage ’01. Brenda is
staying at home since she and Jon moved
into a new house in Camp Hill, PA.
After 14 years, Natasha White Gamboa,
her husband and two boys left CA last year
and bought a home in Glen Allen, VA! She
enjoys being able to play tennis, volunteering at school and becoming a part of her
new community.
Katelin Chmielinski Garland, Meghan
Pollard Leypoldt, and Sarah Kingsley all
vacationed together for a week in Nags
Head. Meghan’s daughter, Piper, and
Katelin’s daughter, Abby, made a perfect team and may be together in the SBC
class of 2030. Meghan and Katelin also
got together in Los Angeles and ran the LA
Marathon together.
Kelly Turney Gatzke and family moved to
WA last summer. She is keeping busy as
a volunteer-aholic, Army wife and stay-athome mom.
Lindsey Neef Kelly is still working at
Shapiro Brown & Alt, LLP in Virginia Beach,
where she represents banks by doing real
estate title clearance, foreclosures, and
mortgage, banking, and eviction litigation.
She recently co-authored several briefs for
the Supreme Court of VA. She and Sean
are still running a lot and home brewing.
Catherine (7) was the youngest finisher
at a regional 8K race last Dec. and has
started in a kids running program.
Deborah Lanham still resides in Sneads
Ferry, NC, with her three children. She is
active in the BSA, at church and in the
community while working from home as a
seamstress.
Heather McLeod and TJ Griffin are still living the dream in Austin, TX, with Eamon,
who’ll start first grade in the fall of 2014,
and Hazel, who’ll start her last year of preK. Both kids got into a new public charter Montessori school opening in the fall.
Heather continues to copyedit YA novels for Simon & Schuster part time from
home.
Lindsay Hicks Watrous is still living in
Gilbert, AZ, with Tim and their three children. She visited with Jera Niewoehner
while she was in town on business last Oct.
Shannon Smith married Duane Willis
9/7/13. She is still a veterinarian with
Banfield, but is now living and working in
Burlington, NC.
2000
Marilen Jordas Crump
[email protected]
Laura Wessells Waisner: Enjoying life with
boy/girl twins Will and Hope and daughter
Emily in CO.
Victoria Zak Rosenthal and husband Ben
are expecting a baby boy in May. Spent
the first two weeks in Dec. in Amsterdam,
Venice and Prague.
Emily Pegues: Going back to school for
Ph.D. researching the sculptor Jan Borman
at the Courtauld Institute of Art. This
spring there was a mini-SBC reunion in
London when Caroline Stark gave a lecture at the Warburg. Also saw Professor
and Mrs. Witcombe and Misa Sarmento
’01 in London. I love being an aunt and
working at the National Gallery of Art.
Emily McGregor Fenlaw and husband
Jay are enjoying their four kiddos and life
in Dallas. Emily stays busy with artwork
commissions and freelance architectural
design.
Heather Carson: Jan. ’13 was in D.C. to see
Christy Carl Allison ’99, Kelli Rogowski ’99
and Katherine Carr ’99. Also became a licensed MA real estate agent in Feb. and am
starting a new HR position.
Kimberly Earehart Coleman: Living in
Inwood, WV, working at WV Dept. of Health
and Human Resources as a family support
specialist. Enjoying time with my daughters Claire (7) and Allison (4).
Kimberly Ann Burge: Kim, Christian, Sarah
and Rebecca Burge are well. Kim enjoys staying home raising her girls. She
had a great time when Dina Orbison visited in Dec.
Carol Skriloff Starr and Pierce are having a blast with James (2) and are expecting their second child in Oct. They’ll attend
Mary Friberg’s (’98) wedding in Charleston
in May.
Maureena Crawford: Busy raising two kids,
working full time, maintaining our home
and yard.
Alethea Okonak: Living in Pittsburgh
with her husband and enjoying the active
handmade community. Runs “John the
Craftist,” a paper craft company and loves
being part of the rust belt revival.
Cara Millar Bean: Opened her own daycare! Loving every day with Ellie (8 mos),
Wyatt (16 mos), Abby(4), and Gabe(6).
Josie Beets: Welcomed husband back
from a deployment to Afghanistan in Feb.!
Continues to work as a legislative analyst and enjoys connecting with alumnae
in Nashville.
Evangeline Easterly Taylor and husband
Eric are heading to their next embassy assignment in Moscow, Russia.
Elissa Pugh-Arguello and husband Enil
welcomed baby Elida in Nov. The entire
family, including Ziggy (6) and Goldie (2),
is smitten!
Melissa Bellan: Made the runoff in her
election for Justice of the Peace. Runoff
happened May 27.
Melissa Fauber Carter: Teaches fourth
grade in Amherst County. Jack (HSC ’00)
is a sergeant for the county sheriff’s office. Aubrie will start kindergarten in the
fall and Clara will be in fourth in my class—
that could be fun!
Lindsey Custer: Horse Copper that she rescued last May is thriving. She’s hoping to
show him this year.
Anne Harper Biard: Welcomed daughter Grace Margaret 7/3/13 with husband
Will. Catherine (6) and Clary (5) are enjoying being big sisters.
Anne-Ryan Sinnott Craig: Works as preschool director for a Catholic school in
McLean, VA. Daughter Abbey (8) is enjoying second grade. They welcomed a baby
boy, Colin, in Dec.
Abby Schmidt Anzalone: Teaching Pilates
and working at TjX. Will start teaching at Btone Fitness 05/14 (Wellesley &
Sudbury).
Amanda Ankerman: Living in the D.C.
area and traveling on occasion. Co-hosting
a Mary Kay party with Evangeline Taylor
in March and hoping to see more alumnae there!
Amanda Atkinson and Noah welcomed
their third son, Harvey Abraham Atkinson,
10/2/13. He enjoys big brothers Arlo (8)
and Gus (8).
Marilen Jordas Crump: Became a
board member for Philippine-American
Community of the Peninsula (VA) and performed at Dancing with the Williamsburg
Stars in March to help raise nearly $100k
for Big Brothers Big Sisters and The
Literacy Foundation. Marilen is working
on her businesses ArtInspired.com and
VAPhotoClass.com.
2001
Julia Ambersley
[email protected]
2002
Margaret Brooks Tucker Buck
[email protected]
Lori Smith Nilan
[email protected]
PLEASE SEND LORI or BROOK your
UPDATED email addresses (or to the
Alumnae Office)! Some of you still have
@sbc.edu by your names and we know
that isn’t correct! Thanks to all of you who
submitted class notes and keep sending them. Nicole Stamant and husband
James welcomed their first child, Henry
Emile Stamant, on 12/19/13. She visited with Meg Anderson Richburg to celebrate the birth of their boys. Nicole and
Jamie still live in Decatur, GA, where both
teach at Agnes Scott Coll. Her book, Serial
Memoir: Archiving American Lives, will
be published in June ’14. Becky Lewis
Dowdy had her second child, Ann, in Nov.
’13. She lives in Woodlands, TX, with husband Joe, George (3) and Weimeraner
Dorian (9). Katherine Moncure Stuart and
husband Harrison still live in Orange, VA.
They have two boys, Teddy (5) and Jack
(3), and are expecting twins at the end of
April! Harrison is director of admission at
Woodberry Forest; she is working for The
Education Group. In Houston, TX, Jennifer
Taylor Catano and husband Dave welcomed their second daughter, Emily Claire,
on 10/2/13. Taylor Grace (4) loves being a big sister! Jennifer stays home the
majority of the time. She’s still doing personal training and some telephone interviews for her former employer, YES Prep
Public Schools. Serena Basten Kachinsky
and husband Louey are selling their house
in Oakland, CA, and moving back to VA to
be near family. Serena is applying to graduate family nurse practitioner programs.
She loves being mother of Claire (1). In
Sept., Mary Tassone Dunlevy and family bought a house in Fort Lee, VA. Ariana
(4) is now big sister to Lorien Gael born on
1/29/14. Melissa Rudder and son Shaine
(2) live in Greenport, NY. They live near
her family, the water, farms and vineyards
of Long Island! Kassie Brown was married on 2/1/14 in San Juan, PR, to Edward
Popwell at the El San Juan Resort and
Casino. They live in D.C., and she is still
working for PWC. Casey Perlow Davidson
and her husband welcomed Larkin Hope
on 11/22/13. Misa Sarmento Francis
71
welcomed her daughter Mayumi Barbra on
8/23/13. Emily Johnston has been traveling this past winter and spring to LA and
NYC! She had a mini reunion with Megan
Tarnowski-Gundogdu and Arney Walker.
She was in NYC for Fashion Week, and
they went to see Justin Timberlake! Her
blog, Fashion Foie Gras, has allowed her
to do some amazing things, like spending
a week in Antigua and LA for red carpet
fashion! Kelly Monical Goossens and her
husband spent three months in Merida,
Mexico. Brook Buck is now the new events
chair for the alumnae association! She’ll
go back to SBC three times a year and participate in Reunion! After the meeting in
Oct., she was able to have dinner with Lori
Smith Nilan and Denise Mcdonald Gentry
along with her son Graham in Richmond,
VA. It’s fun reconnecting with SBC, alumnae, current students and seeing all the
changes around campus! Her mom has
done a remarkable job after her stroke, almost two years ago, and is now walking
with a cane! She will always need help,
but they are all amazed at how far she has
come! Otherwise enjoying nursing, working
on the house and playing with our choc.
Lab Beaufort (5).
2003
Courtney Arnott Silverthorn
[email protected]
Chesley Phillips married Owen Gaddis in
Atlanta, 8/3/13. SBC girls in attendance:
Alisa Cline Berry, Christi Rose Hart ’02,
Samm Grist ’03, Erin Keck Walsh, Sarah
Farber ’01, Erin Gibbs ’05.
Laurel Speilman Rodgers and her husband welcomed their first child, Ivy
Rodgers on 11/12/13.
Kathleen Herndon moved to Roanoke, VA,
so she has no excuse not to come to reunion next time. She started a new job
with Staralight Custom Cycling Apparel.
2004
Virginia Wood Susi
[email protected]
Autum MatysekSnyder Fish, Jeremiah and
Xavier welcomed Daisy Geraldine Fish on
9/4/2013. Schyler Ellis Burke and husband Peter are expecting their fourth, a
girl, to be born in June. Megan Owens
Thompson and her husband Mike welcomed their second child, Lulu Rose on
2/27/14.
Nicole Basbanes Claire became a firsttime homeowner in March with her husband Billy after they purchased his late
mother’s lake house in Marlborough, MA.
She is also excited to catch up with fellow
alumnae at reunion. Billy is excited to visit
SBC and meet the friends and community
who are special to her.
Camille Simmons is in her ninth year of
teaching middle school Spanish. She was
able to catch up with and attend the wedding of Caville Stanbury ’06 in Jamaica.
Maria Kitchin Moore and husband Preston
welcomed their son, William Preston, Jr.
(Preston) on Jan. 24. Maria is looking forward to seeing everyone at our reunion
in May!
Denali LeeAnn Hetzel was welcomed
by Stacey Maddox and John Hetzel on
12/27/13 at Providence Alaska Medical
Center in Anchorage. She weighed 6lbs,
15oz and was 18 inches long. Denali was
72
diagnosed with anencephaly at her 17week ultrasound and was not expected to
survive past birth. She lived three incredible days and died on 12/30/13. She is
greatly missed.
Diana “Dee” Marshall spent most of Dec.
’13 at her family’s house in Fort Myers, FL.
In Jan., Dee attended the Boston alumna
clubs event in Milton with Michelle Badger
’06. Dee has enjoyed catching up with fellow classmates before the reunion weekend while working on the committee.
2005
Mindy Wolfrom
[email protected]
Torrey Shallcross is VP of external affairs
at the national nonprofit Women Against
Prostate Cancer in Washington, D.C.
Hillary Cooper Cook and husband
Matthew moved to Dallas for a job opportunity that she accepted for Epsilon
where she’ll continue working in the loyalty industry. They’ll be living in Addison,
TX, and have already been welcomed by
Lynnsey Brown Wilhelm ’07. Since she
moved, she stepped down as president of
the Richmond Alumnae Club and gave the
reigns to Lara Salyer D’Antonio ’09.
Amanda Watts Moffett took a 14-day vacation to France in 5/2013. She also got
Macaroni, a Goldendoodle, last July. She
and husband James are expecting a baby
boy in April!
Samira Hossain and husband Philip spent
an amazing week in Istanbul in Feb. for
vacation. She also attended the wedding
of Christina Marchetti in Dec. ’13 along
with Ashley LaGanga. She also planned
a spring weekend getaway in SBC with
Lynsie Watkins Steele.
Sarah Kidd Burchett has started taking
prerequisite classes needed to apply for
George Washington’s physician assistant
program. If all goes according to plan, she
would start at GW in 5/2015.
Cathy Sobke bought a house with her fiance in Wellington, FL. She’s working as
an attorney in West Palm Beach and will
be married on 5/31/2014 (and will become Mrs. Catherine Cole).
Lynsie Watkins Steele has welcomed a
new baby boy to join her two boys (ages
3 ½ and 2). Her two stepchildren are almost off to college. Her food blog (www.
dinnerdivide.blogspot.com) chronicles her
family’s challenge of cutting their grocery
bill in half. She saved $10,000 after one
year and teaches classes on the subject.
Her goal is to spread this message to people living at or below the poverty line and
to help those suffering from today’s “common ailments” such as obesity, diabetes
and asthma.
2006
Nicole e. Brandt
[email protected]
2007
emily Olson
[email protected]
Allison Shaw Camper and husband Ian
welcomed son Liam on 9/8/14, weighing
3 lbs 7oz.
Karen Summers (Atlanta, GA) became a
grandmother to William Owen Summers
on 6/6/13. Son Matthew is going to
Cleveland Clinic for his cardiology fellowship. Daughter Samantha is still an ER
nurse at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and
she hopes to go to grad school this fall to
become a nurse anesthetist.
Kimberley Battad is still living in San Jose,
CA, and has been promoted to program instructor/music coordinator and case manager at Aim Higher Disability Services.
She still works part time as a teacher for
Noteworthy Music School.
Brittany Lambert Locku married Alper
Lokcu on 10/11/13 in Chapel Hill, NC.
She writes, “Kristy Bloxom and Jackie
Fowler attended. Alper and I honeymooned in Cancun, Playa Mujeres, Playa
del Carmen, and Tulum, Mexico. We are
looking forward to Kristy’s wedding to
Chris Fairman in Sept. of this year!
Heidi Trude traveled to CharlevilleMézières, France in Nov. to visit her partner school, the Lycée Bazin. In Dec., Heidi
presented at the VASCD conference. She
has been selected to serve as a mentor
teacher for new teachers at Skyline H.S.
Heidi has joined the Warrenton Chorale.
Heidi will be taking a group of her students
to France and Spain in July 2014.
Danielle Dionne Sullivan writes, “I married
the love of my life, John Sullivan on
10/12/13 at Veramar Vineyards in Berryville,
VA. We had a great time with family and
friends including Lisa Bethune ’08 and Jenny
Lowery. We are buying a house in NOVA.
I continue to teach for LCPS schools and
stay busy with work and horse activities. I
visited with Jessica Wooten Allen at her baby
shower. It was fun catching up with Amanda
Cash Browning and Lindsay Henderson
Moga. John and I caught up with Brooke
Agee ’08 at DuCard Vineyards.”
Laura Schaefer writes, “I passed the
Association of Energy Engineers examination to become a certified energy manager
and am continuing to put my skills to work
for the ONPRC. I also completed an extensive 10-week leadership and management
program within OHSU and am looking forward to using these new skills!”
Kelsey Jeffers writes, “This winter, I moved
down to Key Largo, FL. I completed the
NOAA Dive Program last month and am
now a NOAA Working Diver for the FL
Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Marine
Operations Dept.”
Corinne Davies Asakevich writes, “I’d like
to announce the arrival of our baby girl
Mirielle Lynette Asakevich! She was born
2/19/14 at 5 p.m. She was 5lbs, 1oz and
18 inches long.”
I, Emily Olson, am in my third and final semester of the MAT program at Pacific U. in
OR. I’m student teaching theatre at a local high school. I graduate in May and am
looking forward to new adventures, which
will hopefully include a full-time h.s. theatre teaching position.
2008
Mary Berry
[email protected]
Alexandra DiFeliciantonio: I started working as a post-doctoral research fellow
at Yale U. in Nov. and am living in New
Haven, CT. My lab is starting a collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in
Cologne, Germany, and I’ll be moving there
in March. On New Year’s Eve 2013 I got
engaged to Matthew Howe. We’ll be getting married in Oct. in Wilmington, NC.
Jessica LaTray-Wilson: My husband,
Mike Wilson, and I welcomed our second child, Adalaide Temperance Wilson on
10/22/13.
Kristin Barnes: I graduated from SMU with
an MBA and an MA in May 2013. In Dec.,
I returned to Dallas to start a new job with
Tantrum Street, a mobile payments startup, as the director of customer service
and good returns.
Meggy O’Neal: I graduated from the U. of
Tulsa with a master’s in museum science
and management and a tract in anthropology in May 2013 and was hired by the City
of Gonzales to be the new director of the
Gonzales Memorial Museum in TX. Over
the New Year’s break I spent some time
with Kristin Barnes and Laura Bowry.
Chelsea Capizzi-Walsh Lomicka: Christian
Lomicka (VMI ’08) and I were married
9/14/13 in my hometown of Ocean City,
NJ, in the church where my parents were
married. I was honored to have Heather
Coley as my Maid of Honor and Mary
Margaret Hammock as a bridesmaid. We
honeymooned in HI. We live in Columbia,
MD. Christian has accepted a position at
the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab after graduating from JHU, and I’ll be returning to grad school to complete my second
master’s degree in the spring.
Isabelle Jacque au Zanoto: A lot has happened since my junior year abroad at
Sweet Briar in ’07! I graduated from the
Paris Dauphine U. in France and got a job
in HR at LVMH Watches (TAG Heuer, Zenith
and Hublot brands) in 2010, got married in 2012 and am expecting. My husband made it to the U.S. for the first time
last fall, and we got to catch up with Kelly
Kincaid ’11 and Allison Vuillaume.
Rebecca Penny: I’m engaged! My fiance
surprised me with a proposal stamped in
my dessert spoon on Jan. 23. We’re looking forward to planning a wedding for next
spring (when I’ll be done with my Ph.D.).
Rachel Gotwalt: I have been working as
a software engineer since leaving college. I’ve been taking classes in ballet
(just started en pointe), Japanese, tennis and golf.
Brittany Carlton O’Bannon: On 1/20/14
Keegan Greer O’Bannon was born to
proud parents Brittany and John O’Bannon
III and big brother Norrie of Warrenton, VA.
Erin Coyne Lanier: “I’m sending a picture
of Jenn Milby Gutierrez, Whitney Towler
Carpenter and me and with our little ones,
Joaquin, Audrey and Quenton. Joaquin,
Jenn’s son, was born 6/8/12. Audrey,
Whitney’s daughter, was born 8/12/13,
and my son was born 1/10/14. The three
of us went through the MAT program and
graduated in 2008 with our bachelor’s,
and 2009 with our master’s in teaching.”
Diana Simpson: After a few years out
west, I have returned to the East Coast!
Over Thanksgiving, I moved from AZ to VA
for my job. The company where I was a fellow, the Institute for Justice, brought me
on as a full attorney at our Arlington, VA
office.
Allison Hancock Kijak: My husband
(Jeremy Kijak, H-SC) and I welcomed our
first child, Grayson Montgomery Kijak, on
Feb. 12.
Jennica Harris: After graduating, I changed
my career direction and got a second
bachelor’s degree in accounting from a
CA U. I have had several part-time tax
preparation and bookkeeping positions
since then, and I’ll be looking for a fulltime position soon. I moved to CT in July
’12 for a two-year program for adults with
Asperger’s Syndrome, where I have been
learning social skills, job skills and independent living skills. The program is very
helpful, and I have had fun and made
great friends. I plan to stay in CT for the
foreseeable future.
Amelia Villacorta: I’m living in Alexandria
with my boyfriend, Joseph Lojek, (Stevens
Institute of Technology ’07) and working
as an intelligence trainer/analyst as contractor for the government. I have lately
enjoyed my free time running and reading, and have started a book club with
Stephanie Perks ’09, Lauren Miller ’10
and other girlfriends in the area. I am looking forward to seeing Brittany and Brianna
Deane soon.
Allie Garrison Bridges is a medical claims
representative for State Farm Insurance
in Charlottesville. She and her husband
bought a house in Lake Monticello, VA.
Amanda Samford started working for
Wisper ISP, a wireless high-speed Internet
provider. She is working in their sales and
marketing dept. as an associate. She handles graphic design, events (planning and
marketing) as well as customer sales.
Amanda got married while at SBC, so
she’ll be celebrating her five-year wedding
anniversary in Aug.
2009
Julia K McClung
[email protected]
Kennedy Munro: I earned my Master of
Arts in Public Policy from Trinity Coll. I live
in Middletown, CT, and often have mini reunions with Glenna Vine.
2010
2012
2011
Ashley Corren Hinkle
[email protected]
Alaina McKee
elizabeth Martin Davey
[email protected]
[email protected]
Celeste Winslow Rustom got married, but
hasn’t had the actual wedding ceremony
yet. Celeste was deployed to Afghanistan
and conducted deconstruction missions.
She was also part of the main effort in the
largest base closure in Afghanistan to date
and returned home in Oct. Celeste and her
husband moved into a rental house and
got two heeler puppies.
Beginning in fall 2014 Anna Rij will start
her master of education program through
Virginia Tech’s Coll. of Agriculture and Life
Sciences. Anna was hired on 10/23/13
by Virginia Tech as a field faculty member working in their outreach department
called Virginia Cooperative Extension
(VCE). She works with the youth branch of
VCE as a 4-H agent running the 4-H program in Caroline County, VA. Her job is to
create experiential learning opportunities
for youth ages 5-19 to develop leadership,
citizenship and life skills.
Sarah Davis Fishback is the assistant director of hunter programs with the U.S.
Hunter Jumper Assoc. She is responsible
for the day-to-day organization and facilitation of the hunter programs in the USHJA.
In addition she coordinates projects, manages and works with task forces and assists with the implementation of new
programs.
Helen Ruth Phillips earned her master of
the arts in teaching from Randolph Coll. in
Dec. ’13 and is a licensed teacher in VA.
She is in her second year of teaching biology at Brookville High School in Lynchburg,
VA. Helen was awarded the MAT Research
Award at Randolph Coll.
Catherine Gumpman Springer married 2LT Logan Springer (2012, Liberty
U.) in Aug. ’13. Devra Schachter was a
bridesmaid.
Rosalie Morgan graduated from
Quinnipiac U. School of Law in May ’13.
She is an associate attorney with Lynch,
Traub, Keefe & Errante, PC, in New Haven,
CT. She’s engaged to John Louis (H-SC
’09) who is completing his Ph.D. at Boston
Coll. Rosie and John reside in Wallingford,
CT.
Jami Kontkanen: Currently getting my
masters in Roman archaeology at the U.
of Leicester.
Libby Hannon: I’m completing my M.A.
in English literature at UNC-W, teaching
composition to college freshmen, and am
working on applications to teach abroad in
South Korea.
2013
Jackelinne Montero
[email protected]
Emily Cochran works at Lendmark
Financial Services in Charlottesville, VA.
She started riding her horse Odessa again.
Elizabeth Hansbrough is finishing BB&T’s
Leadership Development Program in
March at which point she’ll begin her first
assignment as a sales and service officer for the commercial lending team in
Chesapeake, VA.
Sarah Morgan started her position at SBC
as an accountant.
Danielle “Dani” Humphrey is a professional swim coach at Machine Aquatics
Club in Northern VA. She started her
own candle company and will move to
Southern CA in Aug.
Katie Bitting is attending Duke U. to get
her Ph.D. in chemistry.
Jackelinne R. Montero is the barn manager and trainer at Grey Gables Farm in
Swoope, VA. She adopted a Welsh corgi
named Lilly.
Lindsay Davis is a process engineer at
AMTI, an electronic manufacturing company in Lynchburg where she lives with her
dog, Doppler.
Elizabeth Koslow began medical school at
DMU in Aug. ’13. She joined the Army and
enrolled in the Healthcare Professional
Scholarship Program.
Whitney Waller is now working for
Bandwidth. She’s engaged to Michael
Davis and is planning a Sept. wedding!
Caitlin Swauger has relocated to Raleigh,
NC, to start her first year of law school at
Campbell.
Alyson Booth is in her first year of veterinary school at OSU; she’ll graduate in
2017 with a DVM.
Stacie Wilson is employed at Danville
Pittsylvania Community Services at a residential crisis stabilization house. She is
working on an M.A. in marriage and family
therapy from LU.
Victoria Elizabeth Mills Ramsey works for
Genworth Financial in Lynchburg, VA, and
has started her MBA at LC.
Carli Hammer will be moving to NYC in
Jan. ’14 to apply to physician assistant
programs.
Sarah Lindemann is working as a regulatory technician at Wetlands Studies and
Solutions, Inc. in Gainesville, VA.
Cristina Thomas has moved to New
Orleans, LA, to attend Loyola U. Coll. of
Law to receive her JD.
Morgan Franke started graduate school at
Virginia Tech in the Invasive Plant Ecology
Lab in the Department of Plant Pathology,
Physiology and Weed Science.
Samantha Schwartz is employed by Kitty
Hawk Kites.
Ann Roach is a front desk agent for The
Inn at Perry Cabin in MD. She’ll be going
to Rome for an internship this summer before starting graduate school in the fall for
art therapy.
A research paper Jennifer Gray wrote was
published in the fall ’13 issue of the SBC
Honors Journal.
Marianna deLyon is enrolled at Lynchburg
Coll. and is pursuing an M.Ed.
Julie Moorhead works in the House of
Representatives for Congressman Scott
Rigell.
Rachael Ashdown is a part-time contributor for a news website, American News
Review.
Julia Green is deferring her master of accounting at W&M for a year to retake core
accounting courses at CVCC. She is hoping
to qualify to take the CPA exam fall ’14.
Margaret K. Johnson accepted a job at
ZERO-The End of Prostate Cancer in Nov.
and moved to Arlington, VA, with Jessie
Edington and Kaitlin Eckenberger.
Kaitlin Eckenberger works at Capitol Office
Solutions, a Xerox company, as a client relations manager for large accounts.
Alexandra “Ali” Davidson moved to Ocala
to work at Don Stewart Stables in the
equine industry.
Ashley Hester Harris is working as a management assistant for Enterprise Holdings
in Williamsburg, VA. She resides in
Williamsburg with her husband and dog.
They are expecting their first baby in May!
Yuliya Rigg is now working as an admissions counselor at Emory & Henry College.
She works with high school students as
well as international students.
Jenness Gough is living in San Antonio,
TX, working as the corporate affairs assistant for Silver Eagle Distributors, the No. 1
Anheuser Busch distributor in the nation.
She started playing golf again and is looking to buy her first home within the next
few months.
Remy Stein is attending the London
School of Economics and Political Science.
She will graduate with her Master of
Science in International Development
and Humanitarian Emergencies in Oct. of
this year.
Please submit
your notes to
[email protected]
as follows:
t8JOUFSOPUFT
due Sept. 1, 2014
t4VNNFSOPUFT
due March 1, 2015
73
T H I S
P I C T U R E
1
2
5
74
8
9
10
12
13
14
1. Correction: Our apologies, this photo was
mislabeled in the previous issue of the
magazine. This is actually Judge Jane Powell
Grey ’72 with husband Frank in front of
Neptune’s Fountain in Gdansk, Poland.
2. Grace Janelle Sherfy Straszheim ’72 switched
to Arabians and is pictured at an endurance
race competition in the Shenandoah Valley.
3. Mirielle Lynette Asakevich, daughter of Scott
and Corinne Davies Asakevich ’07, born
2/19/14.
3
4
4. Kim Hershey Hatcher’s (’78) son George
Albert Hatcher III married Alexandra
Hostetter.
5. 1978 classmates attended the wedding of
Meg Bruckman in the Bahamas last fall: From
left to right, Emily Dick McAlister, Lizabeth
Lambert Bowden, Zara Bowden, Lisanne
Purvis Davidson, Ellen Donnelly, Michelle
Tarride Frazier and Missy Powell Adams
6. Charli Tyler McMillian, daughter of Candince
McMillian ’98.
7. Samira Hossain ’05 and her
husband Philip in Istanbul.
8. Jennifer Taylor Catano ’02 with her husband
Dave and their two girls, Taylor Grace (3) and
Emily Claire (2 mos).
9. Danielle Dionne Sullivan ’07 and her
husband, John, on their wedding day,
10/12/13.
6
7
10. Melissa Rudder ’02 with son
Shaine (2) on the Village Carousel.
11. 1978 classmates in the Bahamas last fall:
From left to right, Lizabeth Lambert Bowden,
Michelle Tarride Frazier, Helen Bauer
Bruckmann, Missy Powell Adams and Emily
Dick McAllister
12. 1978 classmates from left to right: Sue Griste
Russell, Janet Smalley Todd, Ann Maricle
Stefano, Becky Dane Evans, Julia Sutherland
and Lu Litton Griffin
13. Bev Horne Dommerich ’72 and Pam Drake
McCormick ’72 met for the first time in 40
years while shopping in Florida.
14. Jacklyn Fowler ’07 and Kristina Bloxom ’07
with bride Brittany Lambert Locku ’07.
11
15. Mary Donohoe Carrera ’72 and grandchildren
at home in Bethany Beach, Del.
16. Class of 1972 President in Perpetuity and hardworking attorney Marion Walker ’72 taking a
break in Newport Beach at Pelican Hill.
15
16
75
Members of the Class of 1964 raised more than $1 million for their Reunion gift.
Reunion 2014
76
The Class of 1964 processed into
Reunion with bagpipers, marking
exactly 50 years to the day since
their commencement from Sweet
Briar. Alice Fales Stewart ’64
brought her grandmother’s gloves
to wear during the commemorative
procession.
Preston Hodges Hill ’49 and Kathy Upchurch Takvorian ’72
Children of all ages enjoyed the hay ride around campus.
77
78
79
Sandra Taylor ’74, president of the board
of the Alumnae Association, gave opening
remarks.
Professor Hank Yochum
and Lynne Crow ’64
(with engineering students)
accepted a $10,000 grant
from the Million Dollar
Round Table Foundation
to support the engineering
department’s Tech and
Society projects in Brazil.
Cindy Sorenson Sutherland ’74 and husband Dwight; President Parker; and Outstanding
Alumna of the Year Ann Stuart McKie Kling ’74 and husband Bill.
Professor Linda Fink
led a nature walk
and described the
College’s new warmseason grasses
initiative.
80
Catherine “Tee” Porter ’44 in Benedict
301; her donation helped to renovate the
classroom, including technology upgrades.
Charitable Gift Annuity: A Gift Plan That Matches Your Goals
YOUR GOALS: To Strengthen Sweet Briar College and Supplement Your Retirement Income
YOUR BENEFITS: Current Income Tax Deduction and Tax-favored Fixed Income Payments
“Being an Amherst County resident and beneficiary of a tuition scholarship, I was able to receive a top-tier
education at Sweet Briar. There is no question that the course of my adult life was greatly impacted by that
gift. Over the years since graduation, I have been happy to be able to say ‘thank you’ with annual giving
contributions. This year, celebrating my 45th Reunion, I decided not to wait until the end of my life to make
a significant gift, but to give a gift annuity that would help the College and also provide some income and tax
benefits to me in future years. When I visit the College and see the outstanding programs being offered these
days, I want to help ensure that the Sweet Briar degree remains an option for young women.”
— Elizabeth (Betsy) B. Laundon ’69
Thank you for making a difference by giving to Sweet Briar College.
Because of you, Sweet Briar students change the world.
For more information, please contact the development office at (434) 381-6131 or toll free at (888) 846-5722, or contact
Margie Lippard, director of major and planned giving, at (434) 381-6538 or [email protected].
Box 1056
Sweet Briar, VA 24595
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PPCO
Change Service Requested
Sweet Tones Reunion
October 31–November 2, 2014
Have you heard? A Sweet Tones
reunion is coming!
Were you a member of the
Sweet Tones when you
were a student?
If so, we want you to
join us on campus
for a very special reunion.
We’d love to hear from you;
please make sure we have your
most up-to-date contact
information and watch your
email for more details!
Contact Dinah Watson
Office of Alumnae Relations
[email protected] or (434) 381-6318

Summer 2014 - Sweet Briar College

Transcription

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